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This is one of those classic 70’s punk rock albums next to L.A.M.F., The Clash, Rocket to Russia, Never Mind The Bollocks… , so it’s pretty much A MUST, alright!
Here’s a brand new (and better) vinyl rip of original UK Safari records ’78 debut LP for Jayne/Wayne County and The Electric Chairs. Loads of kick ass transgender punk rock tunes as Bad In Bed, Hot Blood, Out Of Control, Eddie & Sheena, Max’s Kansas City, Take It, Rock & Roll Resurrection… say… Dig!!!
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“Georgia-born transsexual County was a (male) fixture on the budding New York club scene in the early ’70s, stretching the limits of vulgarity and outrage on stages alongside the New York Dolls. After writing and recording the theme song for the legendary venue Max’s Kansas City, County migrated to England, just as the London punk scene was getting underway. Having been commercially unappreciated at home, County found a sympathetic British label and recorded a series of albums, none of which were ever released Stateside.
High camp posturing and foul-mouthed (but not unfunny) lyrics form the basis of County’s work. Along with a skillful trio playing routine rock, The Electric Chairs finds County singing (with more enthusiasm than talent) touching ballads (“Eddie & Sheena,” a minor hit single recounting a love story between a teddy boy and a punk), catty putdowns (“Bad in Bed”) and trotting out the old narcissistic scene celebration of “Max’s Kansas City.” [Trouser Press ]
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“One of the most outstanding acts from the early days of punk was ‘Wayne County and the Electric Chairs’ (as they were known at the time). In amongst the break-neck rock n’ roll, buzzsaw guitars and in-yer-face attitude was one figure determined to make the most of the opportunity the new musical form provided.
Born Wayne Rogers in 1947, Jayne County defied every ‘rule’. The greatest aspect of the punk movement was the liberty it offered. Some applied that fashion, others to music. Jayne County had those bases covered. But County also applied it to gender identity. And unlike several others who cross-dressed as if it were a game, County wasn’t playing. It was very real. ‘I was the first completely full-blown, in-your-face queen to stand up on a rock n’ roll stage and say, ‘I am what I am, I don’t give a damn.’’ County would later say.”
Released in 1982 on various colors of vinyl, this collection is a definative statement on the first wave of punk and a good starting point to get into the filthy & trashy transgender rockin’ world of Jayne/Wayne County. This comp gathers tunes recorded for Safari records, from albums The Electric Chairs (1978), Storm the Gates of Heaven (1978) Things Your Mother Never Told You (1979), Rock ‘n’ Roll Resurrection (1980) and several singles. 15 trax + 1 bonus = 16 tracks of transgener rock’n’roll!
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This Surfadelic compilation is dedicated to 70’s & 80’s punk and new wave bands those who dared to cover some of their 60’s heroes like The Sonics, The Seeds, the Standells, The Wailers, The Kingsmen, The Music Machine, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Chocolate Watchband, The Shadows of Knight, The Doors…
As you know many 70’s punkers were fans of 60’s mod & garage rock bands. Boston garage punkers DMZ were one of the first to dig into 60’s punk legacy. Wayne County of The Electric Chairs is a big fan of sixties garage bands, Nuggets and stuff and made maybe the definitive version of The Electric Prunes ’67 classic “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night”. The Cramps create their whole style and career around the covers of 50’s & 60’s r-billy, trash and garage loosers. Some bands like UK The Inmates, a pub rockers which were not expected to dig US garage rock but did just that with cool cover of The Standells hit “Dirty Water”. You’re already familiar with Johnny Thunders & Patti Palladin silky cover of the Seeds “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine”. NY proto-punkers The Dictators covered “California Sun” well before their neighbors the Ramones. Bebe Buell [ya know Bebe?] sings “My Little Red Book” anyone cares? There’s an really cool cover of “I Never Loved Her” [originaly by The Starfires from Pebbles 8] by The Vogue, little known new wave group from Vienna. Todd Clark Group did a great job with Paul Revere & The Raiders hit “Hungry”. Also you can hear Hollywood Brats doin’ The Kinks’ “I Need You”, The Undertones cover of CWB classic “Let’s Talk About Girls”, Pagans with “Little Black Egg” etc. The most recent cover is from 1990. by my fav garage punkers The Devil Dogs doin’ great cover of The Shadows of Knight classic “I’m Gonna Make You Mine”. 26 trax of supercool garage-punk-new wave action Surfadelic style! Enjoy!
”Jimi played guitar with rock and roll cool.
You wanna dirty sound you’ve got to treat your guitar cruel.
Manic depresssion’s gonna take you higher.
If you wanna make hot love you’ve gotta stand next to your fire.
[”Rock & Roll Resurrection” 1978]”
Jayne County was the John Waters of rock music, crafting blatantly offensive and goofy music that delivered mean-spirited entertainment and a hilarious freak show. Bragging up her own importance on virtually every other song, some of County’s best music can be found on this compilation. “Storm the Gates of Heaven” is one of the most silly, offensive, angry, and campy songs to grace the punk movement, delivering a disdain for Christianity with tongue firmly in cheek and middle finger proudly raised. Elsewhere she chastises those who won’t take her home (“Fuck Off”), celebrates the twisted men who go through her life (“Mean Muthafuckin’ Man”), and sings a tribute to filthy bathroom affairs (“Toilet Love”). Vile, nasty, and hilarious, County is obviously not for everyone. In fact, as the years go by, the audience who would enjoy her routine seems to get narrower and narrower. But this is a document of an important performance artist; in the ’70s her live shows couldn’t be touched for sheer energy and entertainment. And these songs were the backbone of those shows; even if they weren’t always good, they at least had the charismatic snarl of County delivering their hideous message. For anyone curious about the New York punk scene, this is high-priority stuff even if it contains some of the least-important music of the period. County, like many punk musicians, has overcome her talents to become a personality, and that personality is strong enough to make this a recommended collection. [Bradley Torreano]
”Rock me Jesus, roll me lord. Wash me in the blood of rock and roll”
”Jim was the master of show and tell.
You wanna go to heaven you gotta raise some hell.
The crystal ship is sinking. The ocean waves are rough.
If you wanna get down you’ve got to learn to get it up.”
Ambitious, eclectic, and absolutely contagious, Let Your Backbone Slip is the successor to the dynamite Rock ‘N Roll Cleopatra, a compilation that trawls a back catalog that too many people overlook — but which most would certainly enjoy. Image and reputation notwithstanding, Jayne County’s songwriting and performance evince an understanding of pop at its purest, one long series of electrifying jolts that evoke memories of a golden era as readily as they pinpoint the purpose of the modern age. That the modern age was usually too busy contemplating other charms at the time is its own problem. Chronologically, Let Your Backbone Slip opens by rounding up material from the first two Electric Chairs albums that was omitted from the earlier set; the avoidance of the group’s third LP, the sensational Things Your Mother Never Told You, meanwhile, is at least partially remedied by the inclusion of three tracks from a 1979 BBC session. In truth, the performances are nowhere near as great as the originals — “Berlin” is too fast, “Waiting for the Marines” is too straight — but they’re a fine inclusion regardless. The heart of Let Your Backbone Slip, however, delves into County’s 1980s material, a period that received precious little attention at the time and allowed two excellent albums, Betty Grable’s Legs and Private Oyster, to pass by unnoticed. Six tracks from the latter include the anthemic “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?,” the Cossack-themed “I Fell in Love With a Russian Soldier,” and the exquisite ’60s girl group pastiche “The Lady Dye Twist” (chorus: “I want a wedding just like Lady Diana”), all three of which insist that County’s grasp of rock & trash/kitsch & roll is as tight as it ever was at the height of her earlier, New York-centric fame. County’s true appeal, however, exceeds whatever parameters that description might lay out. Great pop music should be sexy, fun, moving, and motivating. From the deifying “Max’s” to the cruel “Bad in Bed,” from the mocking “Mr Normal” to the moving “Love Lives on Lies,” Let Your Backbone Slip is all four — and then some. [Dave Thompson]
”Speed demon, Hell is for heroes, I’m told
Speed demon, Lake of fire and brimestone
World War I, World War II,
World War III, that’s me and you”
Collections of recordings from the first transsexual star of Punk rock which is definitively not for the faint of heart. Wayne started out doing impersonations of Cher, Dusty Springfield and Janis Joplin before finding his way with the Electric Chairs and spearheading the Punk movement of the mid-west. She shocked, she outraged, she pulled no punches. Her in-your-face attitude empowered her followers and helped usher the late ’70s Punk movement into the mainstream. These two comps feature 2 x 20 tracks from albums, singles and rare EP’s. Jayne/Wayne’s is one of the greatest unsung heroes of the early N.Y. punk scene. I’ve already posted his/hers entire catalogue but these are great best of collections, a MUST HAVE for punkers and other r’n’r’ faces. It’s a ”Transgender Rock ‘n Roll” alright! Dig!!!
”If you wanna rock and roll resurrection
you gotta have a rock and roll reformation.”
![Jayne County - Deviation [1995]_](https://surfadelic2.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/jayne-county-deviation-1995_.jpg)
This is ultimate retrospective for my alltime favorite shemale NY punk rocker. Legendary stuff like Eddie & Sheena, Bad In Bed, Max’s Kansas City, Rock & Roll Resurrection, F*** Off, Toilet Love, Speed Demon, Cry Of Angels, Mr. Normal, Trying To Get On The Radio, Wonder Woman, Midnight Pal and her later solo work are simply A MUST for all you punkers out there. If you dig CBGB sound, NY Dolls/Johnny Thunders/Ramones and stuff this is fer ya. “I wanna know – Are You Man Enough To Be A Woman ?” Dig!!!
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SURFADELIC 