Vampire Junkies Featuring Texas Terri - New E.P. Out Now

Vampire Junkies featuring Texas Terri are a London based Punk Rock & Roll band. The line-up consists of Texas Terri Laird (Texas Terri Bomb!, Scabies/James) on vocals, Kevin de Groot on guitars, Stephen Reddihough on bass and drummer Steve Pegrum from  The Machines. The band have quite a history of past associations and wanted to put together a new outfit that exemplified the best elements of the artists they loved, such as Iggy Pop, Stiv Bators, New York Dolls, The Ramones, Social Distortion, all combined with their own sound and style to play new, fresh and pure blitzkrieg Rock 'n' Roll.

Steve Pegrum approached Texas Terri at a Walter Lure (Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers) gig in London with the intention of joining forces, and the band set about recording the songs contained on their debut release. Texas Terri hails from Austin, Texas and has often been compared to the female Iggy Pop, Lux Interior, as well as Wendy O'Williams, Joan Jett and has Rock 'n' Roll running through her veins. She's worked with a variety of artists, and her 2004 Texas Terri Bomb album "Your Lips", was produced by Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon, Patti Smith etc.) and featured guests such as Wayne Kramer (MC5), Cherie Currie (The Runaways) and Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper). Most recently she played several shows in the UK and Europe with Rat Scabies and Brian James of The Damned. You can check out our Retro Man Blog report, including exclusive Paul Slattery photos, of a blistering show she performed with Scabies/James at Westbourne Park's Retro Bar here. Texas Terri has also appeared in several films including "Prey For Rock 'n' Roll" starring Gina Gershon and Drea de Matteo. 



Texas Terri by Giacomino Parkinson

The brand new self-titled E.P. is a snarling blast of down and dirty, street tough Rock & Roll. It features five storming original compositions with song titles including "With My Machines", "Mainline", "Rocket Red", "Denmark Street" and "Tokyo Rubber". The E.P. is released on Steve Pegrum's own Angels In Exile Records and can be ordered from there or the band's official web-site. It features an excellent booklet designed by Sophie Lo, who has previously designed some superb posters for our Retro Man gigs and for The Len Price 3 too. Of course we thoroughly recommend Sophie Lo's amazing Rock 'n' Roll designs - her posters, postcards, album cover and booklet artwork are well worth checking out. In fact, you can start off your Sophie Lo collection by getting hold of a copy of the latest issue of Vive Le Rock magazine as it comes with two free Sophie Lo posters of Adam Ant and Johnny Thunders.

Steve Pegrum is not only the boss of Angels In Exile Records, but he is also the drummer in The Machines, one of Southend's earliest Punk Rock groups, who played at the Roxy and Vortex. You can read more about The Machines history in our previous Retro Man feature here. Steve also runs the excellent web-site archive Southend Punk, as well as helping as a joint promoter for our Retro Man Blog/ Podrophenia/ Southend Punk special gigs for TV Smith at The Railway Hotel in Southend.

Here's a great Paul Slattery shot of Texas Terri at the Retro Bar with Scabies/James:

Texas Terri performing "Damned, Damned, Damned" with Scabies/James - Photo Paul Slattery

Retro Man Blog Photographer Paul Slattery with Texas Terri - Photo by M.

Here's the video to one of the tracks on the E.P. entitled, "Denmark Street".

At the moment there doesn't seem to be any live dates in the pipeline, but I certainly hope they can get some shows sorted out soon, as I am sure they would be an amazing live band.

With many thanks to Steve Pegrum and Paul Slattery.

The Ruts "A Tribute to Paul Fox" new fund-raising album - Plus a look back at The Ruts 2007 reunion concert

The Paul Fox Social Club have announced the November 16th release of "A Tribute to Paul Fox", the legendary guitarist with The Ruts, who sadly passed away due to cancer in 2007. The twenty four track compilation boasts some of the biggest names in Punk Rock, it's available from Foxy's web-site and hopefully at gigs by the featured Artists. The album features a mixture of previously released material along with exclusive live and studio recordings from Bands and Artists including Ruts DC, UK Subs, Chelsea, The Priscillas, TV Smith, Duncan Reid of The Boys, Texas Terri, Menace, The Phobics, The Urban Voodoo Machine and Laurel Aitken amongst others. The album was mastered by Chris Kimsey at Olympic Studios and the cover art has been designed by Gaye Advert. The idea behind this charity compilation came from the simple desire to help raise more funds and continued support for the Michael Sobell Hospice who made Paul's life more comfortable during his terminal illness. Profits will be added to those raised by The Paul Fox Social Club, which is an annual fund raising event for the Hospice. The Club was originally set up a few weeks after Paul passed away by family and friends to celebrate the life and career of one of the most energetic, versatile and influential guitarists of his generation. Every year since 2007, on or around October 21st, an annual gig is arranged to raise funds for the Hospice to say thank you for the palliative care received by Paul during the final months of his life.  

Paul Fox at The Ruts reunion 2007 - Photo by Steve Worrall

Michael Sobell Hospice is a specialist centre at Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex. The hospice is a 16 bed In-Patient Unit, Day Therapy Centre and Outreach Service as well as providing a wide range of complementary therapies. There is no charge for the care they provide but Michael Sobell Hospice relies heavily on charitable donations. It costs £6,000 a day to maintain their current levels of care, £2,500 of which is provided by fund raising. For more info please check out the Michael Sobell Hospice web-site or the Paul Fox "Foxy's" web-site. 

For me, The Ruts were always one of the best of the second wave of Punk Rock bands, and their appeal was mainly down to Paul Fox's guitar work. Their debut, "The Crack", was certainly one of the most diverse and exciting of all the Punk albums, and probably only America's Bad Brains could play such great reggae one minute and then such visceral aggressive rock the next. A hugely exciting future was so tragically cut short when vocalist Malcolm Owen died of a drug overdose in 1980 and the band decided to continue as Ruts D.C. playing mainly dub reggae. Unfortunately they never reached the heights of the original Ruts but the band, and Paul Fox in particular, remained hugely influential and popular. In 2007 it was announced that The Ruts, Paul Fox on guitars, bassist Segs and drummer Dave Ruffy would reform for the first time in 27 years, with Black Flag legend and huge Ruts fan, Henry Rollins taking over the vocal duties.

Henry Rollins - Photo by Steve Worrall

I remember there was a moment of euphoria when I first heard the news, the chance to hear those classic songs again, and as a big fan of Black Flag I thought that Rollins was the perfect choice to do justice to the legacy and memory of Malcolm Owen. The euphoria dissipated quickly when I found out that the reunion gig, to be held at the Islington Academy on July 16th 2007, was a benefit for the Ruts very own Paul Fox, who had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. It was terrible news but the gig was a huge success, a joyous yet highly emotional celebration. It must have been very daunting for Rollins to try and fill the Dr. Martens of Malcolm Owen, but he took to the task extremely well. Showing the perfect balance of respect for Malcolm, the band and the audience along with an impressive knowledge of the material and compassion for Paul. Yet you could feel the unbridled honour and joy of a fan's dream come true, the rare opportunity to actually perform with their heroes. A stellar line-up compered by John Robb, including the UK Subs, The Damned, Tom Robinson, TV Smith, Tenpole Tudor, Splodgenessabounds, John Otway and fittingly, Southall's Misty In Roots, all played short sets and paid tribute to Paul Fox and The Ruts. Then it was the moment we had all been waiting for and Rollins, Segs, Ruffy and a frail looking Fox took to the stage to an amazing reception and tore into "Something That I Said", closely followed by "Staring at The Rude Boys".

Henry Rollins - Photo by Steve Worrall

What a start, and what a sound! Paul Fox's guitar was a joy to behold and Segs and Ruffy locked into their Rhythm, propelling those two classic singles along at breakneck speed. Rollins' guttural voice was perfectly suited to the material, and with his shaved head and barely controlled aggression, he certainly looked the part too. He self effacingly asked the crowd to sing along to help him and the audience responded enthusiastically. Next up was the menacing intro to "S.U.S." with that ominous bass line building to the slashing chords of the chorus which then fades into reggae to allow Fox's superb guitar lines to shine. "West One (Shine On Me)" was always a very underrated single, and tonight it gets a well deserved play and it sounds amazing. Vocalist Molara joins the band to sing The Ruts own reggae classic "Jah War", and you get the surreal sight of Rollins skanking away in the background covering on backing vocals. "Babylon's Burning", one of the classic Punk Rock singles, and one of my favourite Top Of The Pops moments, sees the crowd going crazy and as the song fades they start up a football terrace style chant of "Foxy, Foxy"...Paul is visibly moved. The full on onslaught of "Society" gives way to the singalong "In A Rut", which sees all the bands who appeared invade the stage to join in on the chorus. It's a chaotic but fun ending which gradually dissolves to leave Rollins, Segs, Ruffy and Paul Fox to take a well deserved bow and lap up the applause. There are mixed emotions of course but to see Paul Fox's huge smile, despite the pain he must have been in, as he stood in front of the crowd, was hugely inspiring. So, please buy the new compilation album and get out all those great Ruts records, they are a wonderful legacy for us to celebrate the unique talents of both Malcolm Owen and Paul Fox. Here's a few more of my photographs of some of the great bands who appeared at the July 16th 2007 gig.

TV Smith with Tony Barber - Photo by Steve Worrall

Charlie Harper from the UK Subs - Photo by Steve Worrall

John Otway - Photo by Steve Worrall

Misty In Roots - Photo by Steve Worrall

The Damned - Photo by Steve Worrall

Scabies/James play "Damned, Damned, Damned" with Texas Terri at The Retro, Westbourne Park July 27th

Photo by Paul Slattery

I couldn't make it to the recent Scabies/James gig at the 100 Club, but I was in two minds anyway, maybe even a bit sceptical about it. How was it going to work? How were the drummer and guitarist going to pull this one off, not only with the absent, but still imposing presence of Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian looming over them, but with a girl singer taking the lead? Not only is "Damned, Damned, Damned" one of my all time favourite albums, but all those classic songs, with Vanian's somewhat Americanised drawl, they are all etched into my brain. So I was curious but not a little dubious too. However, after the 100 Club gig, I heard back from people that were there and it was all pretty much positive. Most of the reviews and comments were all glowing red hot and it did indeed seem that Scabies/James and Texas Terri had in fact pulled it off extremely well. 

Texas Terri by Paul Slattery

So I was really keen to see them play and made my way to the Retro in Westbourne Park, where an excellent set from The Priscillas warmed things up nicely. This was a special gig to celebrate Rat's birthday and also the 35th year of what was to be the first ever U.K. Punk Rock album, "Damned, Damned, Damned". The Damned were always ahead of the game, the first Punk single, first to tour in America and the first ever Punk album too. It's iconic custard pie splashed cover photo, heralded originally by those rather sinister adverts suggesting you should "Play It At Your Sister", The Damned's debut was a raw and chaotic statement of intent. That live, youthful energy was captured perfectly by producer Nick Lowe, and on first listen it felt almost as though the band were leaping out of the vinyl and bashing you around the head with their guitars and drumsticks. Back to the present, and I'm getting a breather outside the venue when I hear that familiar elastic bass riff to "Neat, Neat, Neat", I rush inside and make it down the front, a quick drum burst from Rat and then I'm almost blasted back outside again by the sheer power and volume of Brian James' guitar amp. 

Texas Terri is a vivid blur of bright red hair and tattoos, she's been compared to a female Iggy Pop and it's not hard to see why. Terri was previously in sleaze trash rock outfits The Killer Clowns and The Stiff Ones, and has just released an album under the name Texas Terri Bomb! brilliantly titled, "Your Lips...My Ass!". That album features a guest appearance by Wayne Kramer of The MC5, one of The Damned's big favourites. Tonight, although they do play all the songs from the album, it isn't in strict track-listing order, for example a brilliant "Born To Kill" is followed by a storming run through of "You Take My Money" from the follow up album "Music For Pleasure". Hearing that makes you wonder why that second album is so maligned as it is a really great song. Maybe it was the production or the dynamic of the band changing, what with the the band expanding to a five piece with the addition of Lu Edmonds as second guitarist, incidentally now playing in the revamped Public Image Limited. I do think it's an album that deserves a second chance. Texas Terri is really getting into her stride as an unrelenting blast of high octane tracks follow, including "So Messed Up", "See Her Tonight" and an immense "Fish", with Rat's drumming blowing the cobwebs away. After seeing Rat recently drumming for the Members, where you get to appreciate the true skills of a drummer not usually noted for his subtlety. But, tonight we get the full on assault of the Punk Rock Keith Moon, crashing round his kit. Not a bad songwriter either, as two Rat penned numbers follow, the brilliant single "Stretcher Case Baby" and the brutal, short sharp shock of "Stab Yor Back". 

Scabies & James - Photo by Paul Slattery

Terri leaps off the stage and makes her way to the back of the room where she balances on a partition and belts out her vocals. I thought having an American singer would be strange but she makes it work so well, and really injects her own personality into the songs. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I always felt Vanian was singing with a bit of an American twang on the album. Plus, Brian James was always steeped in that Stooges/MC5 influence and did go on to work with The Dead Boys' Stiv Bators in Lords Of The New Church. My slight cynicism was quite literally, blown away, maybe because I'm standing right in front of Brian's amp, it is loud, he turns up the volume. Rat later tells me that Brian's volume can cause a bit of consternation for some venue's sound engineers, I can understand why, my ears were not to recover for the whole weekend. It's great to hear those familiar riffs though, Brian is a hugely underrated guitarist, he has that unique angular way of playing chords, and I find myself playing air guitar along to "I Fall". I look around, sheepishly hoping nobody noticed, but it was just an involuntary reaction, and I guess I wasn't the only one!

Photo by Paul Slattery

So, a short but ultimately satisfying set draws to a close with "I Feel Alright (1970)", and a quick happy birthday singalong to Rat. The band kick off the encores with their crazed cover of "Help!" with more energy and power than most young bands can seem to muster. The Bass player Austin, who has worked with Brian before, handles his role really well, taking a bit of a back seat next to Terri, Rat and Brian, he nevertheless deserves a big shout as he played brilliantly too, keeping it locked in as Rat and Brian bash away respectively on the Stooges style free-form wig-out "Alone". "Sick of Being Sick" is a great choice and of course there can only be one closing number, yes it's "New Rose". I was converted, it was a really fresh take on the reunion/come back and play a classic album scenario, and I suppose if you are going to recreate something like this, you might as well do it with a totally different slant. Unless you can pull off the ultimate trick, as the Buzzcocks did recently, and get all the original members back on board, then what's the point of roping in some karaoke tribute band style lookalike/soundalike. Yeah just do it different and do it well, just like they did tonight. So, all in all it worked perfectly, a great idea and I wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't make this into an interesting little side-project band with maybe some new material to come in the future? Now, that really would be something!

All Photos above - Courtesy & Copyright Paul Slattery 2012

Photographer Paul Slattery with Texas Terri - Photo by M. Worrall (Copyright 2012)