Wayne County & the Electric Chairs

Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of punk bands from the 1970s. The band was headed by Georgia transgender woman, Wayne County, who later changed her name to Jayne County.

Career

Wayne County had originally begun performing in New York with a band called Queen Elizabeth, followed by Wayne County and The Backstreet Boys which was documented on Rhino's DIY: Blank Generation compilation album with an early single, "Max's Kansas City 1976". Upon moving to London, England, with Greg Van Cook, a member of the Backstreet Boys, she recruited a new drummer and bassist to form "The Electric Chairs", with the band comprising Van Cook (guitar), Val Haller (bass) and Chris Dust (drums). The band became known for their campy and foul-mouthed ballads, Glam punk inspired songs, and image which was heavily influenced by Jackie Curtis and the Theatre of the Ridiculous.

Jools Holland had his first studio session with the group in 1976.

None of County's albums were ever released in her native country of the United States, except for three songs on the very early punk compilation, Max's Kansas City.

Wayne County and the Electric Chairs were supported by The Police during their 1977 tour of Holland.[1] Dust, a Czechoslovakian, was deported during the band's return to the United Kingdom following a tour, when the authorities discovered that his visa had expired over a year ago.[2] He was replaced by J. J. Johnson, and the band recorded their first album, The Electric Chairs. In order to recreate the sound of the album live, the band needed another guitarist, and so recruited Henry Padovani, of former tourmates the Police, on rhythm guitar.[2]

This new five-piece lineup toured extensively, but Greg Van Cook left the band to be with the Vibrators & his soon to be wife, Marguerite Martin, who then formed the Innocents and replaced him with Elliot Michaels, another former member of the Backstreet Boys.[2] Producer Martin Birch exerted a great deal of creative control over the band's second album, Storm the Gates of Heaven, and Padovani later commented in his memoir that the album "wasn't bad, but it wasn't the Chairs as we wanted it to be."[3] Their third album, Things Your Mother Never Told You, was produced by David Cunningham, whose musical inclinations were more in synch with those of the band.[3] After a few more tours, Wayne County & the Electric Chairs split in two, with Elliot Michaels following County in his solo career. Padovani, Haller, and Johnson recorded a final single, "So Many Ways", as simply The Electric Chairs, before management problems forced them to disband completely.[4] During this period, Padovani and Haller took turns on lead vocals.

Wayne County played 'Lounge Lizard" in the first punk rock film, Derek Jarman's Jubilee, and the band performed "Paranoia Paradise",[4] which also appeared on the Jubilee Soundtrack album, released by Polydor UK in 1978. County is featured in the 2013 film CBGB, and the Wayne County and the Electric Chairs track "Out Of Control" appears on the CBGB film soundtrack, released in the US by Omnivore Records.

The much bootlegged 'live' appearance of Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1978 on the German TV show Rockpalast was released as a DVD/CD double pack by Repertoire Records UK in December 2014; the concert happened while the band were touring their second album, Storm The Gates Of Heaven.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles and EPs

Bibliography

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Sutcliffe, Phil & Fielder, Hugh (1981). L'Historia Bandido. London and New York: Proteus Books. ISBN 0-906071-66-6. Pages 42 and 54.
  2. 1 2 3 Padovani, Henry (2009). Secret Police Man. Pen Press. pp. 90–97. ISBN 978-1-907172-83-0.
  3. 1 2 Padovani, Henry (2009). Secret Police Man. Pen Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-907172-83-0.
  4. 1 2 Marko, Paul (16 January 2001). "JJ Johnson: Drummer Electric Chairs". www.punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2010.

See also

List of musicians in the first wave of punk music

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