From Velveteen To A Burst Bubble Of Babble

In March 1989 Transvision Vamp unleashed their new single ‘Baby I Don’t Care’, a thrashy trashy bubblegum- punk song that made an immediate impact on the British and Australian charts. I have to say the first time I heard the song I immediately thought that the guitar riff sounded suspiciously reminiscent of The Troggs’ classic ‘Wild Thing’, but I don’t ever recall a charge of plagiarism being levelled at the band, so consider my suspicion a misguided aural interpretation. Regardless, ‘Baby I Don’t Care’ proved to be the biggest hit of Transvision Vamp’s career, peaking at #3 in both the U.K. and Australia.

‘Baby I Don’t Care’ featured on the band’s sophomore album ‘Velveteen’ which was released in July ‘89 and debuted at #1 on the British album charts, soon after peaking at #2 in Australia. The follow up singles ‘The Only One’ (UK#15/OZ#34), ‘Landslide Of Love’ (UK#14/OZ#65) and ‘Born To Be Sold’ (UK#22/OZ#97) maintained a stellar run for Transvision Vamp throughout 1989, but the turn of the decade would signal a marked change of fortune for the band.

During 1990 Transvision Vamp returned to the recording studio to lay down tracks for album number three. They undertook to depart from the high energy pop-punk that had worked for them thus far, opting for what they called a more “swampy and mystical feel”, perhaps meaning moody - at least they were willing to take a chance on something new. Upon hearing the finished product, the suits at MCA were panicked into delaying the U.K. release of the album ‘Little Magnets Vs. The Bubble Of Babble’ indefinitely. As a result Transvision Vamp lost momentum on the charts and their profile quickly began to fade, even with constant sell out shows and the apparently still ubiquitous (though increasingly resented) Ms. James’ presence on the celebrity scene. The album was released elsewhere, but sank without a trace in the U.S., whilst it only managed to peak at #25 in Australia. Strangely, two of the album’s tracks were released as singles in Britain. ‘(I Just Wanna) B With U’ reached #30 in the U.K., and fared even better in Australia (#21), also providing Transvision Vamp with one of their only charting hits Stateside (#14 Modern Rock Tracks). During mid 1991 ‘If Looks Could Kill’ was the last single to chart for Transvision Vamp (UK#41/OZ#51).

The refusal of MCA to release ‘Little Magnets Vs. The Bubble Of Babble’ in Britain proved a fatal blow to the life of Transvision Vamp, the band splitting up following their final tour in late 1991. The only official Transvision Vamp release since was the 1998 compilation ‘Kiss Their Sons’.

Post Transvision Vamp, the band’s members have experienced mixed fortunes. Guitarist/songwriter Nick Sayer virtually retired from the music biz, said to be completely dismayed by Transvision Vamp’s swift fall from grace. Bassist Dave Parsons went on to join Gavin Rossdale, Nigel Pulsford and Robin Goodridge in the hugely successful alternative rock outfit Bush. Keyboardist/drummer Tex Axile (born Anthony Doughty) had already been somewhat of a punk/rock journeyman prior to his tenure with Transvision Vamp. Following the band’s demise Tex went on to play keyboards in a band called Max, who apparently recorded an album. He then embarked on a solo career, releasing his debut album ‘Diary Of A Genius’ in 1998, which was literally a one man project - Tex Axile wrote, produced, played all instruments, performed all vocals, and even did the cover artwork and photography. This was followed up by the 2000 album ‘Little Monsters’. His exploits have widened to include business interests, photography and documentary films.

During Transvision Vamp’s final tour, singer Wendy James had written a letter to Elvis Costello expressing her sense of frustration about the impasse with MCA over the stalled U.K. release of the band’s third album, and the unfolding downfall of the band. Upon arriving home from tour James found a demo tape of songs waiting for her, courtesy of Elvis Costello and his then wife Cate O’Riordan (ex-Pogues). The songs therein formed the basis of what would become Wendy James’ solo album ‘Now Ain’t The Time For Tears’. The album was released in 1993, funnily enough on MCA, and reached a respectable #43 on the U.K. charts. The advance single ‘The Nameless One’ debuted at #34 on the U.K. charts in early ‘93 but that was as high as it reached. The follow up ‘London’s Brilliant’ only managed a modest #62, whilst ‘Do You Know What I’m Saying’ missed the charts altogether.

Within 15 months of signing Wendy James as a solo act, MCA had parted ways with her. James signed with independent London based label One Little Indian Records. During 1995 she wrote and recorded tracks for a planned album with the working title ‘Lies In Chinatown’. Reportedly the album’s tracks displayed a more mature and substantive side to Wendy James the singer and songwriter. But again record label politics conspired against her and the album was never officially released. During 1997 James again attempted to relaunch her music career, but the material from those New York recording sessions are still in demo form. Three strikes and it seemed Wendy James had finally turned her back on the music industry for good, but in 2004 she put together the band Racine. Initially conceived as a front for another tilt at a solo career, Racine now features James with Henric Stahl, James Meynell and Ray Sullivan. They released their debut album ‘Racine No. 1’ in September 2006 and the follow up ‘Racine 2’ in March 2008. Wendy James and the lads have toured the U.K., Europe and the U.S. regularly over the last couple of years, and in August 2008 production began on their aptly titled third album ‘Racine 3’. The band’s style incorporates everything from urban dance grooves to reggae to synth-pop, and it seems Wendy James has moved well beyond the roots of her music career with Transvision Vamp.

If you'd like a more thorough insight into the truth behind the Wendy James/Transvision Vamp story, please take the time to visit 'DRYBABY' - the first and last word on the matter - you'll find a wealth of information here - http://drybaby1.blogspot.com/

Wendy James Vamps It Up Transvision Style

To say Transvision Vamp’s Wendy James played the role of pop vixen to perfection would be understating the fact. The essence of the British quartet lay in combining catchy pop rock melodies and riffs with a punk edge, but the X factor which took them from being just another struggling garage band to Top Of The Pops, was the presence of vocalist Wendy James.

Songwriter/guitarist Nick Christian Sayer had accumulated a collection of songs that he felt would make good records, but he needed a band, and most of all needed a charismatic and talented singer to bring those songs to life. Wendy James was a struggling would be vocalist who would make extra money by singing in clubs to backing tracks of artists like Patti Smith. As fate would have it Sayer was a patron at one such late night gig during November 1983, and saw in James the key to unlocking the potential in his songs. James was also a drama student at the time but put her studies aside to pursue pop stardom with Sayer.

The duo spent the next eighteen months piecing together a demo tape of six tracks: ‘We Travel’, ‘Space Junk’, ‘Sky High’, ‘I’ll Do Anything’, ‘Rocket To Me’ and ‘Satellite Boy’. You might think from that collection that Sayer also harboured ambitions to work for N.A.S.A., but the common theme actually reflected their original intent for the songs, which were to comprise a soundtrack to a sci-fi film they both wanted to make, tentatively titled ‘Saturn 5’. Their grand ambitions to revamp the music scene and their common love for the futuristic sci-fi scene, led them to call their proposed band Transvision Vamp.

They relocated to London and over the next two years continued to pursue their ambitions to realise a ground breaking, earth shattering pop-rock act. Through a meeting with then Pink Floyd manager Steve O’Rourke, Sayer and James were introduced to recording engineer/producer Duncan Bridgeman - who would later be a key player in their career. One thing led to another which led to another, and by late 1986 Dave Ambrose of MCA gave his seal of approval to the duo’s demo work and signed them to a record deal. On December 8th 1986 Transvision Vamp moved a giant step from being a concept to reality with a record contract in place.

Sayer and James began the recording process in earnest, but obviously needed some other musicians to complete the Transvision Vamp sound. Bass player Dave Parsons and keyboardist/drummer Tex Axile completed the band’s first rollcall. They recorded their debut album ‘Pop Art’ during 1987, and captured the surging energy of their pop-punk sound perfectly. The first single released was actually ‘Revolution Baby’ in August of ‘87, but the marketing machine wasn’t quite in place and the song fizzled out at #77 on the U.K. charts. In April of ‘88 ‘Tell That Girl To Shut Up’ (originally recorded by Holly and the Italians) hit the stores and soon hit the charts, peaking at #45 in Britain (OZ#52). The song would be released in the U.S. later in the year and crawl to #88, but the U.S. didn’t cave to the allure of Wendy James and Transvision Vamp, and ‘Tell That Girl To Shut Up’ remained the band’s only Hot 100 hit Stateside.

Everything changed for Transvision Vamp with the release of their next single ‘I Want Your Love’. The song showcased Wendy James’ brooding and breathless vocals, but it would be her image that would act as a major catalyst in catapulting the band to the summit of the pop scene. Acting every bit the platinum blonde screen siren, James pouted and preened to the camera throughout the promo clip for ‘I Want Your Love’. Backed by a menacing group of pseudo punk rockers, James became the antithesis of all things prim and proper that had dominated the U.K. pop scene in the preceding year or so. Acts like Rick Astley and even the then girl next door Kylie Minogue, were polar opposites to Wendy James and Tranvision Vamp - she was the new Debbie Harry and they were the new Blondie, or maybe The Clash with Debbie Harry out front. The critics and fans lapped it up, sending ‘I Want Your Love’ hurtling to #5 on the U.K. charts in mid ‘88, and to #7 in Australia soon after (where the track spent a walloping 30 weeks on the charts). The album ‘Pop Art’ rode the crest of the Wendy James popularity wave, breaking to #4 in Britain and #15 in Australia (where again Transvision Vamp spent a marathon 54 weeks on the charts - US#115). It’s worth noting that for their live shows during this period, Transvision Vamp performed as a quintet, with drummer Pol Burton coming into the fray, allowing Tex Axile to focus on keyboard duties.

The single ‘Revolution Baby’ was naturally re-released and second time around fared a lot better (UK#30/OZ#22), whilst another single ‘Sister Moon’ (UK#41/OZ#91) also kept the chart presence going. All the while the media savvy Wendy James’ profile in the press continued to overshadow the rest of the band.

If you'd like a more thorough insight into the truth behind the Wendy James/Transvision Vamp story, please take the time to visit 'DRYBABY' - the first and last word on the matter - you'll find a wealth of information here - http://drybaby1.blogspot.com/