The Rezillos

Despite frequent ties to punk, the Rezillos distinguished themselves through a deliberately irreverent glam-rock presentation and a pronounced taste for the stylized imagery of 1960s girl groups, qualities that remained intact once the band later operated as the Revillos. Edinburgh, Scotland, served as the 1976 birthplace of the loosely organized ensemble, which revolved around vocalists Eugene Reynolds (born Alan Forbes) and Fay Fife (Sheila Hynde) and drew additional personnel including lead guitarist Luke Warm (Jo Callis), second guitarist Hi-Fi Harris (Mark Harris), bassist Dr. D.K. Smythe, drummer Angel Paterson (Alan Patterson), and backing vocalist Gale Warning.

Material drawn from Screaming Lord Sutch, the Dave Clark Five, and the Sweet populated the group’s earliest sets. Their 1977 debut single, “I Can’t Stand My Baby,” achieved unforeseen commercial traction that surprised the participants, who had viewed the project largely as casual amusement; the resulting contractual demands prompted the exits of Harris, Smythe, and Warning, after which bassist/saxophonist William Mysterious (born William Donaldson) joined on a permanent basis.

A contract with Sire Records yielded the ironically titled single “Top of the Pops,” which climbed into the U.K. Top 20. The quintet’s 1978 debut album, Can’t Stand the Rezillos, appeared soon afterward; Mysterious then departed in favor of Simon Templar, yet ongoing internal friction culminated in a farewell tour and dissolution by December 1978. Paterson, Warm, and Templar regrouped as Shake, while Reynolds and Fife, released from their contract on the condition that they abandon the Rezillos name, launched the Revillos.

Reconvened with Harris, former Pork Dukes drummer Rocky Rhythm, bassist Felix, and backing vocalists Babs and Cherie (collectively the Revettes), the new lineup issued the singles “Where’s the Boy for Me?” and “Motorbike Beat.” Harris exited in mid-1979 to pursue architecture and was succeeded by seventeen-year-old guitarist Kid Krupa in time for the 1980 album Rev Up. Subsequent personnel shifts—Felix yielding to Vince Spik and Babs replaced by singer Drax—preceded a move to the Superville label, which released the single “She’s Fallen in Love with a Monster Man” and the 1983 LP Attack!.

Two self-financed U.S. tours preceded the 1985 breakup; Reynolds subsequently formed Rockatomic and Planet Pop, while Fife joined Destroy All Men. The Revillos reassembled in 1994 for Japanese dates that produced the live album Live and on Fire in Japan and the Yeah Yeah EP. A 1996 rarities collection, From the Freezer, followed, along with selected U.K. performances. By 2001 the Rezillos had resumed activity, maintaining a steady schedule of U.K. and European concerts with a lineup comprising Fife, Reynolds, guitarist Jim Brady, bassist Chris Agnew, and drummer Angel Paterson. After singles in 2009 and 2011, the band completed its second studio album, Zero, in 2015.