Brit glam legends RACHEL STAMP have unveiled a ‘new’ video ahead of the reissue of their classic debut album.
‘Brand New Toy’ is taken from Hymns For Strange Children, originally released in the year 2000, and now set to see the light of day on vinyl for the first time ever through Easy Action Records.
“‘Brand New Toy’ is the archetypal Rachel Stamp rocker,” states singer/bassist David Ryder Prangley. “Part of the riff is a tri-tone, aka the ‘Devil’s interval’ which, back in medieval days, was said to drive whoever heard it crazy. I kind of stole the song title from the name of a friend’s band and the lyrics are pretty regular Stamp fare for the time – sex, insanity and Jesus Christ. The video is a new mash up of various live footage taken around 1998-2000. The gigs were always a riot, as you can see…”
Fully remastered, Hymns For Strange Children is set for release on 14 April and is available to pre-order on limited edition 12″ vinyl and expanded CD now.
The band have lined up a special album launch show on the release date at the O2 Islington Academy, London. Tickets are on sale here.
Ever since I started reviewing albums and live shows I decided to write one special article after New Year’s Eve, covering one band. On Nov 20th I got to see one of my favourite bands, Enuff Z Nuff, and I got to interview Chip Znuff. I took advantage of the situation and asked him about several things that I was personally curious about (as a fan) like the story behind “Jani Lane” singing “The Devil Of Shakespeare” or Donnie Vie’s in and out of the band dilemma. Right after the interview I knew this event was going to become “the one” for 2022. Not only I found out that Chip is the sweetest guy ever, he didn’t bitch about me asking personal questions, which is super cool…..but I got to know a bit more about their latest releases. I gotta be honest, when Donnie Vie left Enuff Z Nuff, I was one of too many wondering WTH, like I couldn’t picture the band without him. As Enuff Z Nuff kept releasing mind blowing albums I changed my point of view. That is, my viewpoint was drastically changed by Chip’s version of the band, which has it own vibe, even considering that Chip and Donnie still manage to have a relationship and they contributed on each other’s work, they can walk different roads. Being both of them awesome and prolific at the same time. I doubt their relationship will ever end, both of them are like brothers who at some point decided to go separate ways in life, like Chip said to me “it is like a marriage” Their show was mind blowing including classics like “Baby Loves You”, “Kiss The Clown”, “New Thing” and Fly High Michelle”, mixed with stunning Beatles / McCartney covers (from their amazing tribute album “Hardrock Nite”) like “Magical Mystery Tour”, “Eleonor Rigby” and “Live and Let Die” The band sounds tight as fuck, and one thing that it’s worth pointing out is that they do have fun, they enjoy themselves for sure. This new version of Enuff Z Nuff has already released a few albums, every one of the them is just like everything they ever released, catchy Power Pop / Hard Rock tunes with a meaning. I hope I’ll get to see them again promoting their beautiful and new “Finer Than Sin” album, sometime in 2023. The interview was originally posted on Uber Rock (U.K.) as part of their “Big Uber Rock Interviews” on December 4th 2022. /Juan Pablo Mazzola.
32 pages. A4 size. Colour cover. Fake fur heart on back cover for pre-orders. Ships January 2023.
‘Confessions…’ tells the story of what happened after Alison published the 38th and final issue her previous zine, Bubblegum Slut’, in 2011.
It’s a perzine about Zines, Drugs, and Forsaking Rock ‘n’ Roll, It’s split into three acts.
ACT ONE is about why Alison stopped writing, and what she did when she didn’t write zines. There’s a banishing spell, some Adult Pleasant Activities, and the first of two bingo games.
ACT TWO is about rediscovering zines and music. It’s about finding out that making stuff and telling stories is magical and healing. It features Delilah Bon, Of Herbs and Altars, Die Booth, and another bingo game.
ACT THREE is a surreal reviews section, which seeks to find out what happened while Alison was away. It features contributions from two former Bubblegum Slut writers, Sexy Dave and Bison, plus cameos from several artists who were regulars in the Bubblegum demos column, Images show front cover, contents page, and inside back cover.
Every item you see on the back cover symbolises something you’ll find in the zine. The key to the numbers will be printed inside.
Just in time before their show at HRH Sleaze festival, this 4 track EP celebrates the 30th anniversary of the band! “Soho Daze” actually takes us back to the times when the band started, when London was witnessing a glam revival mixed to 80s sleaze rock and when flamboyant rock’n’rollers used to hang out at The Marquee, The Fox, The Ship and Gossips. The song really sounds like it’s from the late 80s/early 90s, a kind of mix between The DOGS D’AMOUR and The THROBS! “Backstabber” was written around 2008 and rocks in a STIV BATORS way while “Walk Away” is a heavy rock song with some good STONES guitar riffs thrown in. Finally, the title track of the EP “Bad Timing & Silver Linings” brings back the “Beatutiful Losers” theme in style and makes you want to listen to more. Well done! /Laurent c.
Manchester again with ED BANGER & THE NOSEBLEEDS, a band that was formed in Wythenshawe in 1976! In 1977, the band featured future PRIMAL SCREAM drummer Toby Tomanov. Then, ED Banger left the band in 1979 and later joinded SLAUGHTER AND THE DOGS while Morrissey (The SMITHS) and Billy Duffy (The CULT) briefly passed through the ranks! ED BANGER & THE NOSEBLEEDS were reformed in 2013 by Ed (now Edweena Banger, and identifying as a trans woman) who also has a solo career. “Bite Back Rock N Roll” opens the album with a bang and sets the rock’n’roll mood for the whole album. It is as incisive as early ROSE TATTOO! Songs like “Nobody Tells Me”, “Freedom”, “Worlds Collide” or “Rolling Thunder” all have some raw ’77 punk energy mixed to glammy catchy hooks and melodies while “Can’t Stand The News” brings the NEW YORK DOLLS to mind. “Babylon” is more surprising since it has a jazzy/cabaret vibe and it actually is a nice interlude with saxophone and piano. Songs like “Walk Away” or “The Love Of The Night” will stay in your head for the day after listening to them while the atmosphere almost gets Brit pop with “One For The Road.”The band also gets back to the 50s rock’n’roll roots with “My Kinda Rocker” and offers us their own tribute to the STONES (“Rolling Stoned”) before taking us in the psychotic world of “Riding The Whirlwind.” The last song on the album, “Blinded” sounds more heavy rock’n’roll with a slight touch of DEAD BOYS thrown into it. Far from being a simple revival album, “Revolution X” is a great rock’n’roll record! /Laurent C.
As big fans of the L.A. clothing brand (it was hard not to be if you were into glam/sleaze rock’n’roll in the late 80s/early 90s!), we thought it would be interesting to share this interview of Drew Bernstein (Lip Service founder) by our favourite paper zine Bubblegum Slut. Thanks, Alison for letting us share it. Read more cool Bubblegum Slut archives at https://bubblegumzinearchive.blogspot.com/
Alison’s intro (August 15, 2022):
t the time this interview was published (2007 / Issue 28), Lip Service clothing’s founder and CEO, Drew Bernstein, aka ‘Lippy’, had no real need of doing press, much less UK fanzine press.
His L.A-based alt. fashion brand had been outfitting the likes of Axl Rose since 1985, and true to its strapline, ‘The Original Cult’, it boasted a global, cult-like following. Fans calling themselves ‘Lippy Addicts’ built extensive fan-sites, and traded Lip Service’s limited-edition, highly collectable punk/goth/fetishwear designs for considerable sums.
In a bid to discover what sort of scheme or sorcery I used to secure an interview with Lip Service’s CEO, I started digging through the old Bubblegum Sl💙t inbox. The shockingly mundane answer is that I fired off a long-shot email, and three days later Lippy wrote back, apologising for the ‘delay’ in replying, and saying ‘call me tomorrow’.
While a lot of the fashion content in the zine’s later issues never really worked (eventually, I want to do a series of posts about regular columns which failed, no matter how much I forced the format, and fashion looms large on the list), this feature is a rare exception, which I remember fondly.
There are a couple reasons for this.
Firstly, I was a MASSIVE fan of Lip Service’s designs. The attention to detail on this stuff was unmatched by any of the brand’s competitors.
Secondly, having the chance to chat with Lippy himself about the work that went into realising those details – be it sourcing padlocks for a fetish line, or finding the perfect white flocking technique to create ‘lines’ on the controversial ‘Coke Fiend’ collection – turned out to be a rare opportunity, not be repeated. On 18th August 2014, I was shocked to learn of Lippy’s death by apparent suicide, at the age of 51.
For a ton of bonus images related to this feature, check out Story Highlights on the Bubblegum Zine Archive Instagram.
Alors que la plupart des artistes pop cherchent à plaire au plus grand nombre sans jamais faire la moindre vague, Morrissey a toujours manié l’art de la provocation, de l’ambiguïté et du paradoxe avec brio réussissant ainsi au fil des années à attirer autant de fans que de détracteurs. Il existe même un club d’ “ex-fans”! Le titre du livre de Nicolas Sauvage semble alors pleinement justifié même si ces 600 et quelques pages s’attardent beaucoup moins sur les scandales et sur la vie personnelle du dandy vegan mancunien que sur son imposante carrière. Chaque album y est disséqué dans les moindres détails (un gros manque dans l’autobiographie parue en 2013!), les dates y sont précises, les différents line-ups étudiés à la loupe et les citations toujours bien choisies.
La fascination du personnage pour le glam rock y est aussi largement abordée, que ce soit en ce qui concerne la fameuse légende du fan club des NEW YORK DOLLS jusqu’à leur reformation (dont Morrissey est à l’origine), son amour de T-REX, BOWIE, SPARKS et du très sous-estimé JOBRIATH, mais aussi sa collaboration avec le regretté Mick Ronson.
L’auteur avoue : “Ecrire sur Morrissey est un exercice délicat. Plus qu’avec d’autres artistes, on s’autorise à être parfois sentencieux et à se montrer systématiquement exigeant. Cette exigence, c’est Morrissey lui-même qui l’a imposée par une règle fixée tacitement.” C’est cette exigence d’une précision chirurgicale qu’on ressent tout au long de cette lecture qui réussi tout de même à tempérer certains propos du chanteur sans forcément les excuser.
Fruit d’un travail de recherche impressionnant et d’une passion entretenue de longue date, cet ouvrage vous apprendra forcément quelquechose sur The SMITHS (mais bien entendu pas la date d’une hypothétique reformation !) ou sur la carrière solo de Steven Patrick Morrissey que vous soyez fan hardcore ou juste amateur de quelques albums. Ce livre vient également enfin combler un manque évident dans la littérature pop en France. /Laurent C.
France has never been the best place for glam rock’n’roll but there were a few jewel bands in the past. Some of you might think of The FRENCHIES in the 70s or bands like TEARS and TEASIN’ BABES in the early 90s but the best French glam band in the mid-80s was undoubtedly BAD LOSERS. Twisted Soul Records has just reissued the band’s album enriched with some great bonus material and a 4 song vinyl EP for Record Store Day on June 12th. Guitarist Mister T.Jones answered our questions…
Can you tell us a bit about the history of BAD LOSERS?
As far as I’m concerned, the story started in 1983 when I joined the band in Paris. BAD LOSERS was originally a garage rock punk band from Toulon (Var) that had explored most of their local scene.
Did you have a precise idea of how you wanted to sound and look from the start ?
It was clear to me as a guitar player that I wanted to play in the spirit of the bands that had influenced me such as The ROLLING STONES , T.REX,the NEW YORK DOLLS and all the band we used to listen to like TheGUN CLUB or The ONLY ONES. Since BAD LOSERS wanted to head in that direction, we quickly got along well. The way we looked developped as years went by just like our haircuts! (Laughs)
You recorded the album in London in 1985. How did that happen? How were the recording sessions ? Any anecdotes ?
We recorded the LP in August 1985, we had just signed a record deal with Parisian record label GMG. We wanted to record it with Peter Perett (The ONLY ONES) who had worked with bands we used to like such as WASTED YOUTH (with some future members of FLESH FOR LULU) but the record label decided to send us to Dave Goodman who was the live sound engineer of The SEX PISTOLS and who recorded their songs before “Nevermind The Bollocks”. Dave was great to us as a producer, always listening to what we had to say, from our arrangement ideas to the production ones. We wanted to have female backing vocals and sitar on one of the songs (“Evil Sacrifices”) and he played it himself. He even went and record traffic jams on Oxford Street (that can be heard as the intro of “On Main Street“.) We recorded 8 songs in 5 days (mix included.) The mastering was made at world famous Abbey Road Studios.
There was The DOGS D’AMOUR and HANOÏ ROCKS among others at that time in London. Did you ever think of relocating there just like HANOÏ did?
We met The DOGS D’AMOUR in Paris before the became a well-known band, we felt really close to the way they played rock’n’roll live as well as the way they looked, the glam image we also had here in France. We wanted to move to London but a few things hold us back in France. On the other hand we really thought of being the French glam band in London. In late 1986 they sent us Ian Grant who played with GUNSLINGERS. We were HANOÏ ROCKS fans because they were one of the rare European bands playing so tight and so loud at that time, their Marquee show is just timelessly killer!
(Copyrights Richard Gillet)
Were you feeling close to any other French bands?
We were friends with WILD CHILD and a few other bands we happened to play with like The JET BOYS but honestly we were the only band with such a glam image playing NEW YORK DOLLS kind of rock’n’roll in those days. Most French bands at that time were part of the “alternative punk” scene/movement.
Johnny Thunders and Stiv Bators were also in Paris in those days. We can hear Stiv sing “Honky Tonk Women” with you on the CD. Did you happen to share a stage more than once?
Unfortunately not! It was the only good occasion to share a stage together. I think I saw Johnny Thunders at least 10 times when he was in Paris whether it was for solo gigs or with Henri Paul Cosa Nostra or The HEARTBREAKERS. As far as Stiv is concerned, it was a great surprise to play with him! We were invited to play as Johnny Thunders’ backing band at the New Moon in Paris and once we got in, the promoter told us that Stiv Bators would also be there! During the first part of the night Johnny was playing with only BAD LOSERS’ rhythm section and his friend Henri Paul Tortosa while I had prepared cover song list that we used with Stiv for the second part of the night.
It was memorable and so unique to hear Stiv sing a ROLLING STONES song and even a HEARTBREAKERS song we knew by heart. You can listen to the “Honky Tonk Women” cover with Stiv on vocals on the “Southern Style” CD.
There was several line-up changes in the band. Wasn’t it too difficult to find people who could fit considering your style?
It was indeed very difficult to find a guitar player who could match with our tastes and needs. I found Jean-Paul (N’Diago Pop) who played on the album and who was a 60s/70s ROLLING STONES fan just like me and a really good guitar player when it comes to play Chuck Berry/famous bluesmen kind of guitar chords.
There were various reasons for these line-up changes and usually personal ones. Jean-Paul went and toured in England, Ian who then played with us had the right image for us and so did Phil. The other ones were either shooting stars in BAD LOSERS or just out of control! (Laughs)
A band like HANOÏ ROCKS kinda suffered from being caught in between several music styles, “too glam for punks”, “too punk for hard rockers”, etc. Did you feel the same thing with BAD LOSERS?
Totally! We were a rock’n’roll band before all and in the middle of the 80s, it was all about the “alternative punk scene singing in French (for most of them)” in France. BAD LOSERS had several sides, a punk rock side but also a lot of 70s influences. Alike the NEW YORK DOLLS or HANOÏ ROCKS, I don’t think we can use the word “hard rock” to describe us even though we could think about it nowadays mainly because of the way we looked.
“Southern Style” will be out on June 12h. This EP was also recorded in London. How come it wasn’t released back in the day?
These 4 original songs were supposed to be included on a second album that was never released. We shopped for record labels to get a better the deal so that the band could get bigger. Major labels were asking us to sing in French and we refused because our music style was purely Anglo-saxon. Then we had some line-up changes and desires for a different music for some of us. We got tired of it and the band broke up in 1988.
Both CD and vinyl EP are released by Twisted Soul Records. How did that happen?
We’ve had this project for a long time. We had to wait until the birth of the record label and their start as a professional company. We also had to dig for files like this 1985 “Waiting For The Man” (VELVET UNDERGROUND) cover which was a demo with Richard, a great guitarist from Toulon who unfortunately couldn’t stay in the band. Same thing with our MOTT THE HOOPLE cover “One Of The Boys” recorded live at the Gibus Club when we opened for The CHERRY BOMBZ (Nasty Suicide introduced the band onstage with us before we started playing) or the song with Stiv Bators.
How did the band break up? Was it a brutal stop or was it more a long-run thing?
It was more a long-run thing for several various reasons and a desire to do other things. Also because it was a bit hard to see our future as BAD LOSERS at the end of the 80s in France.
Do you think the band would have explored other music territories if you didn’t split? On the EP we can feel a will to try new things and sounds, a bit like The LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH or when The DAMNED released “Phantasmagoria”…
The style of these four unreleased songs is a bit different especially in their arrangements. We wanted to have a brass section and a boogie piano for the pure rock’n’roll “Southern Style”, but also some orchestral arrangements for the ballad “Girl In Uniform.” There’s also “Century Jane”, a 70s rock song and another song that can bring The LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH or The DAMNED (when they experimented with darker influences) to mind indeed.
After the band’s split you went and explored new musical horizons. Can you tell us about it?
At the end of BAD LOSERS I bought a Home Studio which was a very new thing in those days. Bass, drums, everything was in! (Laughs), then I wrote music for advertisements/commercials before forming an electronic music duo that allowed me to travel and play in many different countries. The band (MOOG SPECTRAL) still exists to this day. In the 00s, I got back to my guitar and started a band called The JONES. We played as a backing band for Chris Wilson (FLAMIN’ GROOVIES) or Willie “Loco” Alexander.
I’m also part of an electro-rock project with Holeg Spies, we have some releases out on a British record label and a song remixed by Youth (bassplayer in KILLING JOKE.) I also work on songs at home. They’ll be released this year…
Did you ever think about a BAD LOSERS live reunion?
Honestly it’s almost impossible to get the band back as it used to be in those days full of music, fun and rock’n’roll!!! But this Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/BadLosers) as well as the quality of this reissue with 4 unreleased songs, live material, a demo, a poster and beautiful words from Patrick Eudeline almost make me want to play some good old BAD LOSERS rock’n’roll riffs.
Veglam 