L-R: Fay Fife, Jo Callis, William Mysterious, Eugene Reynolds

Let it not be said that I don’t love me some Rezillos! A concert they played in Washington D.C. 15 years ago was a treasured gift of a gig. 22 Years after they ceased to exist, 80% of the original lineup were finally touring America and I was going to see them. While I had the “Almost COmplete Rezillos” CD that had been released nine years earlier, I also had a reasonably full Rezillos collection on vinyl, and the “almost complete” moniker to that Sire disc [however well meant] was almost laughable. The Rezillos had a penchant for making certain that any singles they released were not exactly replicated on album. Like many British acts of a certain vintage, they recorded separate takes for each format. Every track on single [save one, which we’ll get to later] is in a completely different take to the one on any album.

With my friend chasinvictoria coming into town for the trip to D.C., I made a CD-R of the non-LP versions from single. It was quick and dirty; not the full monty REVO disc I can sometimes make. It included:

Sensible Records | UK | 7″ | 1977 | Fab 1

The Rezillos: Can’t Stand My Baby  [1st issue] UK 7″ [1977]

1. Can’t Stand My Baby [version 1]
2. I Wanna Be Your Man

The A-side would refigure on their “Can’t Stand The Rezillos” album the next year, but this was the primordial version recorded in Edinburgh. The B-side was an amphetamine speedpunk version of the venerable Beatles-slash-Stones 60s classic.

Sensible Records | UK | 7″ | 1979 | Fab 1 [mk 2]

1. Can’t Stand My Baby [version 1]
2. [My Baby Does] Good Sculptures [alternate long version]

The debut single was reissued after the group broke up in 1979, but in spite of the cover and label art, the B-side was instead a long take of “[My Baby Does] Good Sculptures” with extended “introduce the band member” solos in the long middle eight thirty two. at four and a half minutes, it’s the “Bohemian Rhapsody” of Rezillos cuts!

Sire | UK | 7″ | 1977 | 6078 612

The Rezillos: [My Baby Does] Good Sculptures UK 7″ [1977]

1. [My Baby Does] Good Sculptures [single ver.]
2. Flying Saucer Attack [single ver.]

Sire Records signed the band and their second mooted Sensible single became their debut on Sire. It features earlier, Scottish recordings of two classics from their yet-to-be-recorded album.

Sire | UK | 7″ | 1978 | SIR 4001

The Rezillos: Top Of The Pops UK 7″ [1978]

1. Top Of The Pops [single ver.]
2. 20,000 Rezillos Under The Sea

Their next single was the one that did the trick and went top 20 in Swinging England, then prepped and receptive to the high energy New Wave sound of their brilliant, deeply cynical single “Top Of The Pops.” Naturally, it saw them invited onto the venerable UK pop institution. The non-LP B-side here was pretty wacky, so say the least.

Sire | UK | 7″ | 1978 | SIR 4008

The Rezillos: Destination Venus UK 7″ [1978]

1. Destination Venus
2. Mystery Action

Following their album release, the band holed up with Martin Rushent to record a new single, though strife over the expense of it [coupled with the amateurish cover photo] served to push the unstable band into outright breakup. It may have cost £5000 but let it not be said that Rushent didn’t do a great job on the single.

Sire | UK | 7″ | 1979 | SIR 4014

The Rezillos: Cold Wars UK 7″ [1979]

1. Cold Wars [live]
2. Flying Saucer Attack [live]
3. Twist + Shout [live]

The band did break up in 1978, and played a final gig in Glasgow that was recorded for the 2nd, posthumous album, “Mission Accomplished […But The Beat Goes On].” One single was released from it; the live version of “Cold Ward” which has the distinction of being the only Rezillos side identical to the album version. Let it not be said that The Rezillos didn’t want to offer their fans maximum value. Even so, the singles twin B-sides were gloriously non-LP tracks not included on the long player.

Philips | US | Bootleg 7″ | 1991 [?] | PH 6528 712

1. Rezillos: No [Peel Session]
2. Rezillos: It Gets Me [Peel Session]
3. Ramones: Babysitter [Peel Session]
4. Ramones: I Don’t Wanna be Learned [Peel]

Finally, the last disc compiled for this quick and dirty comp was a bootleg 7″ I had picked up at an early 90s trip to Wax ‘N Facts in Atlanta. It was a split Rezillos/Ramones 7″ with Peel Sessions on either side from both bands.

This added up to thirteen tracks from the band; another album worth of material. At the time, I was only starting out down the Monastic path, and had very crude tools/skills compared to what I now use, so the resulting comp was noisy and pop ridden. As I recall, it was a straight digitization with no cleanup. As such it stuck in my craw, and didn’t go away for 14 years. Clearly, something would have to be done about this.

Next: …<Insert 14 Year Gap Here>