Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Rezillos on tour

THE REZILLOS!
Fay Fife-Vocal * Eugene Reynolds-Vocal * Angel Paterson-Drums * Jim Brady -Guitar * Chris Agnew-Bass
 
 B A C K F R O M THE D E E P!
NORTH AMERICAN/CANADIAN TOUR CONTINUES THIS WEEK!
November 12 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
November 13 - Washington, D.C - U Street Music Hall
November 15 - Oakland, CA - The Uptown
Novem,ber 16 - San Jose, CA - The Blank Club
November 17 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
Nobvember 18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
November 21 - Chicago, IL - Mayne Stage
November 22 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
November 23 - Hamilton, ON - This Ain't Hollywood
November 24 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern

The Rezillos burst forth upon the rock scene through a shared love of Sixties Garage Rock and the Spectoresque Girl Group glam of The Ronettes and the Shangri Las. The Rezillos found themselves inadvertently caught up in the Punk or New Wave movement, if only because they didn't proscribe to fifteen minute slabs of tedious progressive rock, shunning it in favor of three minute sparkling pop gems, which would eventually be fully realised in their inimitable sound and vision. Their debut single, 'I Can’t Stand My Baby' shot them to underground fame initially via airings on John Peel’s radio show. Their classic singles 'My Baby Does Good Sculptures', 'Top of the Pops' and'Destination Venus' signalled critically acclaimed milestones for the band.

Their landmark album 'Can't Stand the Rezillos' reached the Top 10 in the UK album chart. They appeared twice on the legendary Old Grey Whistle Test and hit the Top Twenty with their hit single “Top of the Pops”, a satirical swipe at the UK pop music programme of the same name. Once the band had achieved chart success, it was inevitable that they should appear on the same show! They followed up that same year with a live recording, 'Mission Accomplished... But the Beat Goes On', and promptly broke up to the anguish of fans and music critics alike.

In recent years, their music has appeared on various'History of New Wave' compilations with the band enjoying a growing status on US underground and college radio stations and rock fanzines. Interest has continued to expand, seeing a CD re-release of their material in 1993 and the subsequent Web buzz via the internet, etc. Bringing it to a head, they reformed on New Year’s Eve 2002 with a spur-of- the moment gig in Edinburgh, Scotland, playing to 150,000 hogmanay revellers gathered in the capital city. The writing was on the wall, it was time to get the band together again, tour the world and set to work on the creation of a new album. Following rave reviews, the reformed group embarked upon a twelve-date tour of the US. Strangely enough, although signed to an American label, and having recorded their debut in New York City, the band had previously played only one gig in the USA in 1978, at the infamous CBGB’s.

They played exceptional sell out shows in the USA and won over a new generation of fans. Their UK shows, again including the sold out Astoria 2 show in London, have re-established them as one of the most exciting bands currently on display, with a verve and energy that puts many younger bands to shame. The long-awaited cult-movie,'Jackass: The Movie' was finally released in the UK. having grossed $66 million in the US. The Rezillos classic foot stomper Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight features on the soundtrack.

Having made it into the 21st century, that they sang about so often in the 20th, it’s fitting that their rebirth should warp them into the present still finding themselves firmly in step both musically and conceptually. Their music has stayed edgy, having remained in its own league from the very beginning. Certainly, like all punk rock, it's sometimes creatively derivative (er, like all rock and roll...), thus, while a lot of good bands can sound like everyone else, the really great bands are what everyone's sounding like and yet whose sound simply cannot be repeated.

Musically, The Rezillos are truly influential to the so-called neo-punk scene as the best musicians that recorded and performed during that era. Their music is, upon inspection, "poppy,"but at the same time quintessentially loud, fast rock and roll that eschews the mainstream. It's upbeat, while at the same time showing a dark side to their songs ("Cold Wars" could be a theme from a yet-to-be unearthed John Le Carre novel-turned-film circa 1967, and "I Can't Stand My Baby" is an anti-love song about breaking up because one can’t stand the other.

The Rezillos are/were clearly passionate about the great UK rock and roll bands like The Kinks (first and foremost) and The Dave Clark Five. They prefer a planet where growing up doesn't happen until after you’re dead and the world runs on high-octane, guitar-driven, anti-mope rock with the wildest hook lines.

The Rezillos recently released their first new single of the 21st Century, 'Number 1 Boy', which is available for download. The first half of 2012 brought another new single on their own label, Rezillos Records: Entitled 'Out Of This World', also available in downloadable format, CD and on 7 inch vinyl.

Their aim? To "rock their market share of the planet!"

The Rezillos - unique from the Get-Go!
http://www.rezillos.com

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