Zodiac Mindwarp
Encyclopedia
Overview
The band is the brainchild of Mark Manning, a graphic artistGraphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
and editor of London's Flexipop magazine. Deciding to experience the debauchery of life as a decadent rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
star, he assumed the alter ego, Zodiac Mindwarp, and formed the Love Reaction in the mid 1980s together with guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Cobalt Stargazer (real name Geoff Bird). At various times, the band has also featured Kid Chaos (real name Stephen Harris), Slam Thunderhide (real name Stephen Landrum), Evil Bastard (real name Robert Munro who co-penned and sang on three notable B-sides: Hangover from Hell, Holiday in Hell and Lager Woman from Hell), Trash D Garbage (real name Paul Bailey), Flash Bastard (real name Jan Cyrka
Jan Cyrka
Jan Cyrka is a British guitar player.In the early 80s Cyrka formed a band in London called The Broadway Metal Choir. The line-up featured himself on guitar, Kevin Riddles , Kevin Fitzpatrick and Andy Beirne...
), Suzy X, Tex Diablo (real name Christopher Renshaw), and Robbie Vom (real name Rob Morris).
Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
featuring big riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s and chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
es, as was the trend in the band’s heyday of the mid-to-late 80s and early 90s. The highly camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
are intended as self-parody, and can be seen as either humorous by those who "get the joke", or offensive by those who take them at face value, for their often lascivious
Lascivious
"Lascivious" is a word synonymous with lustful or lewd or unruly .- Legal usage :In American legal jargon, lascivious is a semi-technical term indicating immoral sexual thoughts or actions. It is often used in the legal description of criminal acts in which some sort of sexual activity is...
and misogynist
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
tone. Song titles like "Back Seat Education", "Feed My Frankenstein
Feed My Frankenstein
"Feed My Frankenstein" is a 1992 song by Alice Cooper on his 12th solo studio album Hey Stoopid. Its highest chart position as a single was #27 in the UK. The song was co-written with Zodiac Mindwarp: his band, Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, recorded their own version in the album Hoodlum...
", "High Heeled Heaven", and "Trash Madonna" illustrate Mindwarp's tongue-in-cheek approach. Lyrical content also exhibits a send up of cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
, often of Zodiac Mindwarp's self-proclaimed raging libido
Libido
Libido refers to a person's sex drive or desire for sexual activity. The desire for sex is an aspect of a person's sexuality, but varies enormously from one person to another, and it also varies depending on circumstances at a particular time. A person who has extremely frequent or a suddenly...
, with Mindwarp claiming the titles sex fuhrer, love dictator, and high priest of love. Songs such as "Holy Gasoline", "President of the United States of Love", "Messianic Reprise", and "Elvis Died for You" are similarly inclined. Although often overlooked, Mindwarp has written songs such as "Hoodlum Thunder", from the album of the same name, that offer a scathing take on the then-current political actions of western powers, particularly commenting on war and imperialism.
The act produced a UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
Top 20 hit with the breakthrough record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
"Prime Mover", a song that was inspired musically by Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
's 1977 track "Quark, Strangeness and Charm", itself heavily inspired by the German group NEU!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
They toured the US supporting Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
and Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
on dozens of dates in 1988. After a few gigs, they were moved up to the middle of the bill between Cooper and Guns N' Roses. Stargazer, Thunderhide and Bastard were also featured in the film "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II" performing with Slash and Axl Rose (from Guns N' Roses) and Cooper, in an encore from this tour featuring Cooper's hit "Under My Wheels". The Love Reaction's début album Tattooed Beat Messiah failed to sell well, resulting in them being dropped by their record label with outstanding debts, according to Zodiac himself.
Occasionally referred to as "biker rock", the band's style of hard rock is reflected in their outlandish attire, which tends to parody the post-apocalyptic Mad Max
Mad Max (franchise)
The Mad Max franchise refers to a series of futuristic films, taking place in the "Mad Max Universe", that tell a story of breakdown of society, murder, and vengeance. The first Mad Max was an Australian action film directed by George Miller and written by Miller and Byron Kennedy, released in 1979...
biker look. However, they have adopted a more common "street look" recently, circa their comeback, around 1999.
In recent years, Manning has established himself as an author, penning Bad Wisdom (1996, with Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
), Crucify Me Again (2000), Get Your Cock Out (2000), Fucked by Rock (2001), Collateral Damage, The Wild Highway (2005, again with Drummond). Manning is also a regular contributor to The Idler
The Idler (1993)
The Idler is a yearly British magazine devoted to its ethos of 'idling'. Founded in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the publication's intention is to return dignity to the art of loafing, to make idling into something to aspire towards rather than reject.The magazine combines the...
magazine.
Notable collaborations
- Mindwarp co-wrote the track "There's a Barbarian in the Back of My Car" on the Voice of the BeehiveVoice of the BeehiveVoice of the Beehive is an Anglo-American alternative pop rock band formed in London in 1986 by Californian sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland, daughters of The Four Preps singer, Bruce Belland.- Career :...
album Let It Bee. - He also co-wrote the track "Feed My Frankenstein" which appeared on the Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
album Hey StoopidHey StoopidHey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by heavy metal singer and shock rock-legend Alice Cooper. It was released on July 2, 1991 with guest appearances from Slash , Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars .After Cooper's smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper...
. Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction recorded their own version of the song which appeared on the album Hoodlum Thunder. - In 1992 Mindwarp appeared on the album 456456 (album)456 is a music album by electronic artists The Grid which was released in 1992.-Critical Reception:-Track listing:# "Face the Sun" – 6:45# "Ice Machine" – 3:45# "Crystal Clear" – 4:39# "Aquarium" – 6:07...
by The GridThe GridThe Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball , with guest contributions from other musicians...
, performing lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
on the track "Fire Engine Red". Love Reaction guitarist Cobalt Stargazer also appeared on the album, performing on the tracks "Face the Sun" and "Leave Your Body".
Singles and EPs
| Year | Title | UK Indie Chart UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered... Position |
UK Chart Position UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 1986 | "Wild Child EP" | #9 | – |
| Aug | 1986 | "High Priest of Love EP" | #1 | – |
| May | 1987 | "Prime Mover" | #18 | |
| Nov | 1987 | "Back Seat Education" | #49 | |
| Apr | 1988 | "Planet Girl" | #63 | |
| 1993 | "My Life Story EP" | – | ||
Albums
- Tattooed Beat Messiah (Mar 1988) – UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#20 (re-released in 1997 as The Best of Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction) - Hoodlum Thunder (1991)
- Live at Reading (1993)
- One More Knife (1994)
- I Am Rock (2002)
- Weapons of Mass Destruction (live album) (2004)
- Rock Savage (2005)
- Pandora's Grisly Handbag (1986 live album and DVD) (2006)
- We Are Volsung (2010)