Gaye Bykers On Acid

Leaders of Britain's fleeting grebo movement, Gaye Bykers on Acid helped narrow the divide separating rock from hip-hop during the mid-1980s. The Leicester, England outfit came together in 1986, its members projecting an image that merged Hell's Angels grunge with the psychedelic extremes of hippie counterculture. Flamboyant vocalist Mary Mary, born Ian Garfield Hoxley, fronted the band; the singer was rumored to have placed second in a regional Alternative Miss Universe event and often appeared onstage wearing dresses and platform shoes. Alongside co-founders bassist Robber (born Ian Reynolds), guitarist Tony (Anthony Horsfall), and drummer Kevin Hyde, the lineup later expanded to include DJ William Samuel Ronald Morrow, widely recognized as Rocket Ronnie.

The group introduced itself in 1986 via the EP Everythang's Groovy, produced by the Mekons' Jon Langford. Its 1987 follow-up, Nosedive Karma, marked a commercial and critical breakthrough by incorporating hip-hop and dance beats—an approach still uncommon in mid-'80s alternative rock—and the resulting coverage secured a Virgin recording contract. While preparing their first major-label album, the Bykers amused themselves and the press by inventing two alter egos: the New Zealand-based Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds and the Eastern European thrash-metal unit Rektum.

Drill Your Own Hole finally surfaced at the end of 1987; buyers of the vinyl edition had to create the center hole themselves because none had been machine-cut. Critical reaction proved uneven, prompting a swift departure from Virgin and a return to the band's own PFX imprint, which later doubled as an alias for its more dub-focused dance releases. Although momentum had faded, Gaye Bykers on Acid persisted, issuing Stewed to the Gills in 1989 and Cancer Planet Mission in 1990 on the self-run Naked Brain label, yet neither album generated significant attention. The group eventually disbanded, after which Hyde formed G.R.O.W.T.H., Tony entered Camp Collision, and Mary Mary joined Pigface.