The book Glam Punk London 1980’s takes us back to the roots and birth of the 80s glam punk scene in London. Writer Adam Honey (known a Pig) played drums both in MARIONETTE and The BABYSITTERS. We had to ask him a few questions about his book, his bands and the scene at that time.
When did you get the idea of writing a book about 80s London glam punk? When did you start working on it? Was it easy to remember everything?
As I mention in the book I’ve had a lot of paranormal experiences throughout my life & originally the idea was a memoir about both subjects. I began writing in 2017 but after several years it became over blown & disjointed. I decided to split it into two books requiring rewrites & extensive editing to get it to where I enjoyed reading it.
Thankfully, my long term memory is pretty much intact but any sketchy memories were clarified with research or asking the person in question. Thanks to social media I’ve managed to stay in touch with many of those mentioned in the book & I still see KK from Marionette who has an almost photographic memory of those times.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you discovered glam and punk rock?
Well the music that first grabbed my attention as a young kid in London was Glam Rock of the early 70s. When punk exploded in late 76 with The Sex Pistols I was hooked, attending my first concert at 13 which is when I decided I wanted to play drums in a band. By the time I felt competent enough to do so the original punk scene was on its last legs & it was a question of what’s next? The Glam Punk thing came when I joined Marionette in the spring of 82.
MARIONETTE started in the early 80s. Was mixing glam and punk a choice of the band from the start?
It wasn’t really a conscious choice but kind of evolved organically.
Virtually all the bands that had an influence on Marionette were from the early 70s Glam era that was reflected in the band’s early image. Mother’s wardrobe became a source of genuine glam attire.
Originally, Marionette started out as a punk rock band called The Mandies who got a name change and rewritten lyrics upon Ray Zell, KK’s older brother joining the band. So most of the early tunes were actually bastardised punk songs.
When I joined the band the common denominator as far as influence was concerned was the New York Dolls. So to make sure we were all pulling in the same direction we set out to become London’s answer to a modern version of the NYDs but with an anti-hero do it yourself punk attitude. However, at that time there was no glam scene so we were a bit of an anomaly for a while until Geoff Barton the editor of Sounds music newspaper became a fan & started giving us press coverage.
Then you played with The BABYSITTERS who were close to MARIONETTE when it comes to the music and image. Was there many other bands in that style at that moment?
In early 82 there was Marionette and maybe one or two other bands but when Hanoi Rocks first came to London to play some gigs more people began to sit up & take notice of Glam & then other band’s began appearing on the club scene like Dogs D’amour, The Genocides & a few others. The Babysitters came later in mid 83 by which time the was a small but flourishing underground club scene.
Do you remember when you first heard of HANOÏ ROCKS?
It was soon after joining Marionette in 82, Ray had got hold of their first album on import & brought it over to Razzle’s place to give it a spin, Razzle loved it. They played a couple of gigs, the Moonlight club in west Hampstead & the Fulham Greyhound & we checked them out but I can’t remember which one it was. That would’ve been around March/April 82.
Razzle was your friend and drum mentor before he joined HANOÏ ROCKS. Can you tell us about his influence on you and on the scene at that time?
I don’t think he influenced me personally but he certainly did around the kit. It’s not so much an influence but he left his mark on you just by his character and his friendly nature. He did inspire me with his determination & the sacrifices he made to become a professional musician. He was a people person, always socialising & would talk to anyone like they were old friends. He also loved to laugh & if things got too serious or if you were feeling down he’d find some way to lighten the load & bring a smile to your face. He lived for having a good time & making others laugh. Once he joined Hanoi he became well known on the Glam scene and as he was so social I’m sure he inspired and encouraged others to go after their dream.
Do you think Razzle would have stayed in HANOÏ ROCKS for long if the tragedy didn’t happen? It seems like the atmosphere in the band was on a downhill altough their popularity was growing…
After what he told me I guess if the tour had been a success & the album sold reasonably well he would’ve stuck around at least until after the next Hanoi album had of been recorded. Also, it would have depended on the dynamics of the band after replacing Sami who was going to leave after the American tour finished. Maybe if the guys had cleaned up their act & reached their full potential he would have stuck around for the long haul but as it was, he’d be looking for pastures new within a couple of years. The debauchery was fun at first but he knew living on the edge would eventually rip the band apart & perhaps his uncertainty as to whether certain members would ever clean up influenced his thoughts. It’s been mentioned he considered Heart an ideal future band but I think what he meant was a band that wasn’t so full on as far as being in a rock & roll circus. A more tranquil lifestyle would have been sought had things not changed. Maybe Sami’s impending departure influenced his thoughts although his situation was different, he’d been on the road since he was sixteen & wanted to find out what a normal life was all about. Razzle had done all of that & was heading in the opposite direction so it’s a difficult one to call.
What did you think of his portrayal in the movie The Dirt?
Brief as it was I think the actor did an okay job considering how little video is available of Razzle,. Perhaps a little more coaching from someone who knew him well would have proved fruitful but as for the death scene, it’s total fiction. Razzle died on impact. I can’t fathom why they portrayed it the way they did, palatable viewing & poetic license I guess.
Have you enjoyed Ari Vantanen’s book about Razzle?
Yes, it was great effort by Ari who did a thorough job with the available material which I think gave the reader a good idea of his character. Obviously, some people didn’t wish to contribute so I hope the recollection of my friendship with Razzle fills in a few holes.
Back to MARIONETTE. Can you tell us about the “no headlining policy” of the band? This is quite a rare thing to hear!
As I said, Marionette was an anti success band so the attitude was we’d be selling out if we headlined a gig. It was also a good cover story for the fact that in the early days the band didn’t have any transport. My car at the time was barely big enough to transport my drum kit so the other three had to travel to a gig by public transport. This was only feasible if they left their amps at home & used the headline band’s gear. Even when we did have transport being a support band meant they took care of promotion & if the gig was crap or no one turned up it wasn’t our responsibility. It really began as a mode of operation that suited our circumstances while absolving us of all responsibility. We were kind of lazy which did grate on me sometimes but we kind of perfected the art of being in a band while doing the minimum we could get away with, hence we never toured. After our album was released in July 85 a few gigs were advertised with us as the headline band but we were never the last band on stage. Virtually all of our gigs were either offered to us or booked by record companies or club promoters, we never had to go looking. If a band didn’t have enough fans to get a headline slot they would offer us the gig & we’d swap places on the night. When we started the band we never believed we’d get any press coverage or appear on compilation albums let alone release our own album. Being in a band was a reason to socialise, have fun, get drunk and meet women.
You said you never got any money from the sales of the album “Blonde Secrets & Dark Bombshells”… Do you know how many pieces got sold? It’s crazy to see it in the old charts with bands like MÖTLEY CRÜE and METALLICA in them too.
Yes, imagine how surprised we were to see the album in the Heavy Metal charts mixing it with the big boys, not bad for a band who almost couldn’t be bothered.
Unfortunately, the record company has never supplied any accounts so I can’t say for sure. I believe the original pressing was five thousand copies some of which were exported to America & Japan & I believe Germany. In 86 the album was released on a Brazilian label under license but again I have no idea how many copies were pressed. It was never released on CD although apparently the label released a cassette version with us on one side & The Babysitters on the other. I’ve never seen any evidence of this so if someone has a copy I’d love to see it.
I seem to remember I did make an inquiry before I moved abroad in 86 and was told the album had yet to break even. Based on reputation I took that with a pinch of salt even though we did go over budget I’m sure with licencing fees and music streaming sites the record company got their advance money back.
You say that Pandora Peroxyde (Ray Zell’s cartoon character in Kerrang!) was probably based on your manager Jade Starr. Is she featured in the album’s inner sleeve?
No she isn’t & she was never our manager. She started a rumour after she started the Mystery City club at the Clarendon Hotel, we were the first or second band to play there. We were getting a lot of press attention at the time so I guess she thought it was a good rumour to start as a way of promoting her club.
What were your favourite places (clubs, bars…) to hang out in those days?
Dingwalls & the Marquee were my favourites if you wanted a close up intimate gig & the St Moritz was very popular for a late night although I preferred Gossips. There was also about half a dozen pubs around town we’d regularly drink in.
How did you feel when the glam scene got bigger in the late 80s? My first time in London was in 1990 and I remember there was still a good scene there especially with bands like The DOGS D’AMOUR and the QUIREBOYS that got signed. I remember I had read a great article about the underground glam scene in London in French magazine Hard Force and there was so many bands I was curious about featured in it.…
By 84 there was about a dozen core bands who regularly gigged around London with new bands being formed almost on a weekly basis. By now the American glam metal scene had become the pop music of the day & many UK bands hoped,the UK scene would become just as popular, but it never did. I think the demise of Hanoi Rocks kind of killed of any mainstream interest in the UK Glam scene. After Marionette split up in 86 I quit the UK for sunnier climes so I lost touch with what was going on in London.
I love the sentence in the book “An imaginary album defining glam metal should be called Too Much Too Long“. Could you explain?
It’s a take on the NY Dolls album. Too much too soon.
The Glam Metal scene in America was so over the top with everything it went on for too long until like punk rock, new bands were just replicating what had already been done & had nothing new to offer. Probably, after the peak of 87/88 Glam was just regurgitating itself until people got sick of too much of the same thing & wanted change. The private jets, the million dollar videos et al became too detached from real life & kind of went on for too long. Enter Grunge.
What do you think about band reunions? Is that something that ever crossed your mind?
I’d probably still be playing in a band for fun if I could but a serious back injury ended that idea. If the musicians enjoy playing together & people enjoy the gigs then I’m all for it. Some go on for too long, like singers who can no longer pitch a note due to failing vocal chords, then I think you should stop.
Has Marionette ever considered it? Well we did have a secret rehearsal back in the early 2000s while trying to play from memory but it never came to anything & now never will.
Buy Glam Punk London 1980’s (Amazon UK)
Buy Glam Punk London 1980’s (Amazon France)
Veglam 
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