The Rezillos

All Music Guide:

Although frequently aligned with the punk movement, the Rezillos' (later known as the Revillos) irreverent glam rock image and affection for campy girl group iconography set them distinctly apart from their peers. Formed in 1976 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the group was initially a fluid and highly informal collective centered around lead vocalists Eugene Reynolds (born Alan Forbes) and Fay Fife (Sheila Hynde), and fleshed out by lead guitarist Luke Warm (Jo Callis), second guitarist Hi-Fi Harris (Mark Harris), Dr. D.K. Smythe on bass, drummer Angel Patterson (Alan Patterson), and backing vocalist Gale Warning.

The Rezillos' early repertoire contained material from the likes of Screaming Lord Sutch, the Dave Clark Five, and the Sweet. The success of their 1977 debut single "I Can't Stand My Baby" was unexpected, especially by the bandmembers themselves, who never considered the group much more than a lark; as a result of the more serious pressures now exerted on the Rezillos, Harris, Smythe, and Warning all departed, while bassist/saxophonist William Mysterious (born William Donaldson) signed on as a permanent member.

After signing to major-label Sire, the quintet reached the U.K. Top 20 with a single titled, ironically enough, "Top of the Pops." After releasing their 1978 debut LP Can't Stand the Rezillos, Mysterious was replaced by Simon Templar, but internal problems continued to plague the group, and following a farewell tour, they disbanded in December 1978. Patterson, Warm, and Templar continued on as Shake, while Reynolds and Fife, promised they could be released from their contract if they dropped the Rezillos name, formed the Revillos.

Rejoined by Harris as well as one-time Pork Dukes drummer Rocky Rhythm, bassist Felix and backing vocalists Babs and Cherie (aka the Revettes), the first incarnation of the Revillos recorded a pair of singles, "Where's the Boy for Me?" and "Motorbike Beat." In mid-1979, Harris left to become an architect, and was replaced by 17-year-old guitarist Kid Krupa in time to record 1980's Rev Up. Following the usual lineup fluctuations (Felix was replaced by Vince Spik, and Babs was replaced by singer Drax), the Revillos signed to the Superville label and issued the single "She's Fallen in Love with a Monster Man" and the 1983 LP Attack! After a pair of self-financed U.S. tours, the band split in 1985; Reynolds formed Rockatomic and Planet Pop, while Fay joined Destroy All Men. The Revillos re-formed in 1994 to play a series of concerts in Japan, ultimately recording the Live and on Fire in Japan album and the Yeah Yeah EP. In 1996, they issued a rarities compilation, From the Freezer, and played some live dates in Britain.

Wikipedia:

The Rezillos are a punk/new wave band, who formed in Edinburgh in 1976 and still play gigs around the world in a re-formed line-up. Although frequently aligned with the punk movement, the Rezillos' (later known as the Revillos) irreverent glam rock image and affection for campy girl-group iconography, set them distinctly apart from their peers. They are probably best known outside of the UK for their cover version of the song "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight". The song was written by Jeremy Spencer and originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac, who released it in 1969 as the b-side of "Man of the World" — credited to Earl Vince and the Valiants. Since The Rezillos recorded it, the song has been covered by numerous punk bands, including Youth Brigade and Murphy's Law.

Career

The band originally consisted of Eugene Reynolds (real name:Alan Forbes), vocals; Fay Fife (born Sheilagh Hynde), vocals; Jo Callis, guitar; William Mysterious (born Alastair Donaldson), saxophone; Angel Patterson (born Alistair Patterson), drums; Hi-Fi Harris, guitar; Dr D.K. Smythe. bass guitar, and Gale Warning (Gail Jamieson), backing vocals. The Rezillos' early live repertoire included versions of songs originally recorded by Sweet, Screaming Lord Sutch, Fleetwood Mac (in the guise of Earl Vince and the Valiants) and the Dave Clark Five. Bootleg recordings exist of this stage of the band's history.

This line-up released their first single "Can't Stand My Baby" on the indie record label, Sensible Records. This led to a major recording contract with Sire Records, home at that time to such other rising new wave and punk acts as Talking Heads and The Ramones. The band also underwent a transformation, shedding both Hi-Fi Harris, Dr. D.K. Smythe, and two backing singers. William Mysterious then shifted to bassist for the band's debut album Can't Stand the Rezillos, widely regarded as a classic of both punk rock and New Wave. A second single "Flying Saucer Attack" / "My Baby Does Good Sculptures" grazed the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart, and contained different versions of the songs found on the album release.

However, the quintet reached the Top 20 of the UK chart with their third single, "Top of the Pops" in 1978. By this time, William Mysterious had left the band to be replaced by another bass player Simon Templar (a pseudonym for Simon Bloomfield). The single version of "Top of the Pops" features him, whilst the album version was recorded with William Mysterious.

After releasing their debut album Can't Stand The Rezillos — also in 1978 — Reynolds and Fife left the original band. The live LP Mission Accomplished but the Beat Goes On remained as a testament to the original line-up. A final single, "Destination Venus" made the lower reaches of the UK chart, and earned them a final appearance on Top of the Pops.

Reynolds and Fife renamed themselves The Revillos for contractual reasons, recruiting new members, including original Rezillo Hi-Fi Harris, and released an album Rev Up in 1980 under the new name. The Revillos had a longer career than The Rezillos, and toured and released music continually during the 1980s. The band had an ever changing line-up, but the focus and nucleus always remained Reynolds and Fife. The band later also released a compendium of their music. The remaining three Rezillos plus Troy Tate, ex-Teardrop Explodes, renamed themselves Shake, and released a 10" EP and a single ("Invasion Of The Gamma Men") before disbanding. A side project named S.W.A.L.K was also short lived. Jo Callis went on to perform with The Human League.

Some of The Revillos reformed in 1994, playing a series of concerts in Japan, and recording the Live and On Fire in Japan album. In 1996, they issued a rarities compilation album, From the Freezer, and played some live dates in the UK.

In 2001, the band reformed as The Rezillos with the Can't Stand… line-up, except for new bassist Johnny Terminator and toured the USA, South America, Europe and Japan, often to younger crowds introduced to the band by the use of their track "Somebody's Gonna Get their Head Kicked in Tonight" in the movie "Jackass". Former member Simon Templar was last heard of in 2006, having created songs on the debut album "If I Ever Die" by the Swedish singer, Thomaz.

In 2008, Johnny Terminator retired from the band and was replaced by Chris Agnew. The Rezillos performed Can't Stand The Rezillos in its entirety on their 2008 UK tour, and released a new single in January 2009, "Number One Boy". In 2010, original founding member Jo Callis left the band and was replaced by Jim Brady of Nanobots and formerly 90's Techno-Grunge duo Barky!Barky on guitar.

In November 2011 the band received the Tartan Clef "Legend" Award at the 13th Annual Scottish Music awards and in December 2011 released a single, "Out Of This World". Although following demand for "No 1 Boy" which was only available as a download this new single was produced in download, CD and 7" 45 rpm vinyl, delivery of the vinyl was delayed when the pressing plant in the Czech republic was burnt down just a week before the scheduled release. CD and download availability was not affected. The release was followed by a December UK tour.

Line-up changes

Music excerpt