Monday 3 March 2014

WAYNE/JAYNE COUNTY AND THE ELECTRIC CHAIRS 1976


Wayne County & The Electric Chairs kicked ass, especially live. While Wayne County's rock'n'roll performances date back to The Factory Days and associations with Andy Warhol and David Bowie with such bands as Queen Elizabeth followed by the Backstreet Boys (who released the immortal single "Max's Kansas City 1976), it was relocating to the UK and forming The Electric Chairs in 1977 that gained Wayne wide spread popularity on the UK Punk scene.

Here is a short bio from the Electric Chairs era taken from wikipedia:

In 1977, County moved to London, where the English punk scene was just emerging, and formed Wayne County & the Electric Chairs. County released the EP Electric Chairs 1977, plus a single on Illegal Records. This was followed by "Fuck Off", recorded as a single for Safari Records and supported with a European tour. While in London, County met Derek Jarman, who cast her as "Lounge Lizard" in the seminal punk film, Jubilee, which also starred Adam Ant, Toyah Willcox, Ian Charleson, Little Nell and Jordan. County and band are also featured in The Punk Rock Movie, by Don Letts, containing part of a 1977 performance at The Roxy club in London.
Shortly after this, Wayne County and The Electric Chairs recorded their first, self-titled album, as well as an EP, Blatantly Offensive, which contained "Fuck Off" and "Toilet Love." After touring they recorded Storm The Gates Of Heaven. The next album, released in 1979, was Things Your Mother Never Told You, which featured several songs based on County's experiences in Germany and it was produced by David Cunningham. After it was released, the band broke up and County, along with guitarist Eliot Michaels, returned to the U.S. It was at this time that she changed her stage name to "Jayne County" and began publicly identifying as a woman. The final release by County on Safari Records, Rock and Roll Resurrection (In Concert), was under this new name.

Below is a link to a fantastic performance that appeared on German TV in 1978:





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