Sexbeat arose out of London’s Batcave club, where Hamish McDonald (guitar, vocals) was one of the core DJs. They are remembered for their self titled song on the ‘Batcave: Young Limbs And Numb Hymns’ compilation. Initial reception to the song led to a record with ABC Records but the resulting ‘Pump/Sweat’ 12″ lost the essence of the band in production – an all too common occurrence as the 80s music climate began to shift. Though they managed some high profile gigs in England and the USA (CBGBs, Danceteria), after a tour with The Cramps, they ceased activity. A posthumous 7” single of ‘Sexbeat’ was released in 2024.
Related: Batcave, Young Limbs And Numb Hymns, CBGBs, London, Hamish McDonald, The Cramps
Two Thousand Maniacs is the 1964 follow up to Blood Feast by Herschell Gordon Lewis, ‘the godfather of gore’. One of the earliest examples of hicksploitation films, it was lauded by Lux Interior of The Cramps as an all-time great. It performed well in drive-in theaters despite being heavily cut down from Lewis’ abundant use of bright red blood, cannibalism, and torture with attention to detail and an over the top approach. This formula would establish itself as a classic in horror films to come, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and attracted the admiration of a new generation of filmmakers like John Waters.
Location: USA – Los Angeles, CA Active: 1979 – current
Hailing from Los Angeles California in 1979, founding members Rob “Graves” Ritter, Don Bolles, and Paul Cutler relocated from Phoenix, AZ (Cutler played in The Consumers, Ritter and Bolles in The Exterminators) added Dinah Cancer (formerly of Los Angeles’ Castration Squad) and emerged as one of that city’s first punk bands with a the dark, tongue in cheek aesthetic that is synonymous with what would become ‘deathrock’. After arriving in LA, Bolles initially played as drummer in LA’s keystone punk band The Germs and also participated in Nervous Gender, while Ritter played with The Bags and The Gun Club. 45 Grave eventually drew Paul Roeseller (formerly of The Screamers) into the fold. 45 Grave was a sort of nexus and galvanization point for those with a taste for more eclectic tastes than strictly hardcore punk, not to mention black dress and gothic humor. Bolles project Vox Pop was formed towards the end of his Germs career; Dinah Cancer would also be involved in Vox Pop which remained active during 45 Grave’s 1980s existence.
45 Grave’s full length album ‘Sleep In Safety’ is one of the earliest bricks in deathrock’s foundations. Along with their singles, they appeared on the Hell Comes To Your House compilation, firmly cemented next to it in the very same foundation (along with Christian Death) and the equally regarded Return of the Living Dead soundtrack (alongside legends like The Cramps and The Damned, with TSOL, The Flesheaters, Jet Black Berries and Roky Erickson – all of whom have been talked about on this site over the years). In 2004, Dinah Cancer reformed a new 45 Grave after fronting the heavy punk band Penis Flytrap (1997-2001), releasing ‘Pick Your Poison’ in 2012, and as of 2024 are still active.
Fusing elements of punk, blues, voodoo, horror comics and a western atmosphere, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Kid Congo Powers co-founded The Gun Club in Los Angeles in 1979 as Creeping Ritual until adopting the new name by early 1980. Their membership fluctuated on a regular basis around Pierce’s wild behavior, with Kid Congo joining The Cramps later that year. Their early lineups saw Terry Graham, Rob Ritter (45 Grave), both formerly of The Bags and Ward Dotson (Der Stab). Patricia Morrison, also a former Bag, would join in 1982.
After touring as support with Siouxsie and the Banshees and another headline tour with support band Sisters of Mercy, The Gun Club split up in 1985, leading Morrisson and Desi Desperate to form the band Fur Bible, while Pierce went on a solo career. They would reform in 1986 with Kid Congo Powers (then with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) back on guitar. Lineup changes continued to occur during their next few albums. Jeffrey Lee Pierce died March 31, 1996 of a brain hemorrhage, leaving behind a legacy that his peers and new generations of musicians continue to revere.
Related:45 Grave, The Cramps, Tex & The Horseheads, The Bags, Patricia Morrison
