Biography
On August 27, 1977, during an extended music festival at Birmingham’s Barbarella’s, the restless punk veteran Spizz delivered his first live appearance, improvising an entire set on a borrowed guitar. Two months later he returned with drummer Pete Petrol and presented the act as Spizz 77, the opening entry in a long sequence of subsequent renamings.
Now operating as Spizz Oil, the pair gained early attention in 1978 by supporting Siouxsie and the Banshees, an engagement that produced a John Peel session and, in turn, an invitation from Rough Trade to cut the EP 6000 Crazy. That release and its successor, Cold City 4, both reached the top of the U.K. indie chart; shortly afterward Spizz and Petrol went their separate ways. With bassist Jim Solar and keyboardist Mark Coalfield added, Spizzenergi formed in early 1979. Petrol rejoined on guitar for the Rough Trade tour, after which “Soldier, Soldier” was chosen Single of the Week by the NME and the follow-up, “Where’s Captain Kirk?,” received the same notice from Melody Maker while holding the U.K. indie summit for eight straight weeks in 1980.
Advance orders for the next single, “No Room”/“Spock’s Missing,” exceeded 50,000 copies, prompting the band—now styled Athletico Spizz ’80—to sign with A&M and issue its long-awaited debut album, Do a Runner. Despite repeated personnel shifts, a brief American tour took place before the group returned to Britain to record its second album, Spikey Dream Flowers, credited to the Spizzles. The rise of the new romantic movement, however, had transformed the musical landscape so thoroughly that the record failed commercially; after two further singles A&M dropped the act entirely. Reverting to the name Spizzenergi: 2, the musicians cut a pair of singles for Rough Trade—“Mega City: 3” and “Jungle Fever”—yet even with Petrol’s renewed participation the prospects continued to fade. By 1983 Spizz had largely withdrawn from music to concentrate on painting, surfacing only for a solitary solo performance presented as Spizzorwell. The following year he mounted an ambitious stage piece titled The Last Future Show that featured a six-piece female backing ensemble.
By 1985 the production had settled into a regular, cult-favored nightclub engagement, though recording contracts remained elusive. In 1986 Spizz joined members of Friends of Gavin for shows under the name Spizzsexual. After parting from that lineup in 1987 he cut a fresh version of “Where’s Captain Kirk?” and toured Germany, then released the single “Love Me Like a Rocket.” Spizzvision appeared in 1989; in 1990 Spizz and Petrol reunited once more, adopting a techno-oriented approach under the revived Spizz Oil banner. When Petrol moved to New Zealand, Spizz resumed the Spizzenergi identity, although a 1994 cover of John Lennon’s “Merry Xmas (War Is Over)” was issued as Spizzmas. The original Spizzenergi lineup reconvened in 1996 for Blackpool’s Holidays in the Sun punk festival, and in 1997 Spizz, Jim Solar, and Dave Scott entered the studio with producer Martyn Ware to record as Spizzenergi 2000. Throughout the 2000s Spizz and his colleagues continued performing under the Spizzenergi name, including a support appearance for the New York Dolls at London’s 100 Club in May 2009.
Now operating as Spizz Oil, the pair gained early attention in 1978 by supporting Siouxsie and the Banshees, an engagement that produced a John Peel session and, in turn, an invitation from Rough Trade to cut the EP 6000 Crazy. That release and its successor, Cold City 4, both reached the top of the U.K. indie chart; shortly afterward Spizz and Petrol went their separate ways. With bassist Jim Solar and keyboardist Mark Coalfield added, Spizzenergi formed in early 1979. Petrol rejoined on guitar for the Rough Trade tour, after which “Soldier, Soldier” was chosen Single of the Week by the NME and the follow-up, “Where’s Captain Kirk?,” received the same notice from Melody Maker while holding the U.K. indie summit for eight straight weeks in 1980.
Advance orders for the next single, “No Room”/“Spock’s Missing,” exceeded 50,000 copies, prompting the band—now styled Athletico Spizz ’80—to sign with A&M and issue its long-awaited debut album, Do a Runner. Despite repeated personnel shifts, a brief American tour took place before the group returned to Britain to record its second album, Spikey Dream Flowers, credited to the Spizzles. The rise of the new romantic movement, however, had transformed the musical landscape so thoroughly that the record failed commercially; after two further singles A&M dropped the act entirely. Reverting to the name Spizzenergi: 2, the musicians cut a pair of singles for Rough Trade—“Mega City: 3” and “Jungle Fever”—yet even with Petrol’s renewed participation the prospects continued to fade. By 1983 Spizz had largely withdrawn from music to concentrate on painting, surfacing only for a solitary solo performance presented as Spizzorwell. The following year he mounted an ambitious stage piece titled The Last Future Show that featured a six-piece female backing ensemble.
By 1985 the production had settled into a regular, cult-favored nightclub engagement, though recording contracts remained elusive. In 1986 Spizz joined members of Friends of Gavin for shows under the name Spizzsexual. After parting from that lineup in 1987 he cut a fresh version of “Where’s Captain Kirk?” and toured Germany, then released the single “Love Me Like a Rocket.” Spizzvision appeared in 1989; in 1990 Spizz and Petrol reunited once more, adopting a techno-oriented approach under the revived Spizz Oil banner. When Petrol moved to New Zealand, Spizz resumed the Spizzenergi identity, although a 1994 cover of John Lennon’s “Merry Xmas (War Is Over)” was issued as Spizzmas. The original Spizzenergi lineup reconvened in 1996 for Blackpool’s Holidays in the Sun punk festival, and in 1997 Spizz, Jim Solar, and Dave Scott entered the studio with producer Martyn Ware to record as Spizzenergi 2000. Throughout the 2000s Spizz and his colleagues continued performing under the Spizzenergi name, including a support appearance for the New York Dolls at London’s 100 Club in May 2009.
Albums
