Gene Loves Jezebel was formed in 1981 by the Aston twins, Michael and Jay Aston, with drummer James Chater, bassist Steve Radwell, and guitarist Ian Hudson, and was originally called Slavaryan. However, following the name change, Gene Loves Jezebel were essentially a duo with a never-ending revolving door of back up players. The Astons grew up in Cornelly, and Michael later in Porthcawl, in Wales, and they moved to London in 1981, where they revamped the line-up of the group by recruiting bassist Julianne Regan and drummer James Chater. They played several live shows around London and were soon signed by Situation Two, who released their debut single 'Shaving My Neck' in May 1982. Regan exited within a year to form All About Eve, and this left Ian Hudson briefly playing bass and Albie DeLuca as the guitar player, until Stephen Marshall joined. Their next single was 'Screaming For Emmalene', which was released in May 1983, followed by 'Bruises' in July, and then their debut album, 'Promise', which peaked at number 8 in the UK Indie Chart. In 1984 the group recorded a John Peel radio session for the BBC, and they toured the UK with fellow Welsh artist John Cale, as well as recording with him in New York. For their second album, 'Immigrant', Stephen Marshall was hired as bass guitar and John Murphy played drums, and it was released in mid-1985. However, at the start of a long American tour for 'Immigrant', founding member Hudson had a nervous breakdown and was replaced by former Chelsea and Generation X guitarist James Stevenson . During 1986, the group moved to Situation Two's parent company Beggar's Banquet Records, and distribution rights in the U.S. were given to Geffen Records. The subsequent promotion increased pop-chart success for the group, with the single 'Sweetest Thing' briefly hitting the top 75 in the U.K., and the album 'Discover' reached number 32 in the UK Albums Chart. At this time, the group also found heavy rotation on college and counterculture radio stations across America, and as the band slowly turned their attention to dance music, the singles 'Desire' and 'Heartache' charted on Los Angeles' new wave station, KROQ-FM. Later that year, former Spear of Destiny and Thompson Twins member Chris Bell became the band's fifth drummer, and Gene Loves Jezebel's fourth album, 'The House Of Dolls', was released in 1987, and yielded the singles '20 Killer Hurts' and 'The Motion Of Love', which was a top 50 hit in the UK. However, fighting between the brothers led to the band breaking up, and while Michael went solo, the rest of the band continued as Gene Loves Jezebel and recorded two albums without him, 1990's 'Kiss Of Life' and 1992's 'Heavenly Bodies'. The band's label Savage Records went bust shortly after the release of 'Heavenly Bodies', forcing the band to briefly split, but in 1993 the brothers reformed the band with a new lineup, with Francois Perez replacing James Stevenson, and drummer Robert Adam being retained. In 1995 they recorded two songs the compilation album, 'The Best Of', which was released in September 1995, and in 1997, the band embarked on the Pre-Raphaelite Brothers tour, in which Gene Loves Jezebel material and songs from the brothers' solo careers were be performed. After the Pre-Raphaelite Brothers tour, Jay refused to work with his brother unless Stevenson and Rizzo were brought back, and although Michael agreed, by the end of the tour a rift developed between the brothers, and Michael launched his own band, also called Gene Loves Jezebel, with musicians from the Pre-Raphaelite tour. Following a protracted legal battle over the name, Michael now leads the US version of the band, while Jay leads the UK version of the band, who released the 'Love Death Sorrow' album in 2023. I still have fond memories of the band from their early days, but lost track of them following their many bust-ups, and so this collection of non-album b-sides from their inception to their first split is a perfect addition to their first half dozen albums.
Track listing
Disc I - 1983-1984
01 Shaving My Neck (from the 'Shaving My Neck' EP 1983)
02 Sun And Insanity (from the 'Shaving My Neck' EP 1983)
03 Machismo (from the 'Shaving My Neck' EP 1983)
04 Glad To Be Alive (from the 'Shaving My Neck' EP 1983)
05 So Young (Heave Hard, Heave Ho) (b-side of 'Screaming (For Emmalene)' 1983)
06 No Voodoo Dollies (b-side of 'Screaming (For Emmalene)' 1983)
07 Punch Drunk (b-side of 'Bruises' 1983)
08 Brando (b-side of 'Bruises' 1983)
09 Influenza (Relapse) (single 1984)
10 Waking In The Park (b-side of 'Influenza (Relapse)')
Disc II - 1984-1986
01 Shame (Whole Heart Howl) (single 1984)
02 Thin Things (b-side of 'Shame (Whole Heart Howl' 1984)
03 Gorgeous (b-side of 'Shame (Whole Heart Howl' 1984)
04 One Someone (b-side of 'Cow' 1985)
05 Weep For Her (Cow) (b-side of 'Cow' 1985)
06 Psycho II (b-side of 'Sweetest Thing' 1986)
07 Sweetest Jezebel (b-side of 'Sweetest Thing' 1986)
08 Heartache Part II (b-side of 'Heartache' 1986)
09 Before Doubt (b-side of 'Heartache' 1986)
10 Deli Babies (b-side of 'Heartache' 1986)
Disc III - 1986-1993
01 Desire (Come And Get It) (single 1986)
02 Sapphire Scavenger (b-side of 'Desire (Come And Get It)')
03 A New Horizon (b-side of 'Desire (Come And Get It)')
04 A Fresh Slice (b-side of 'The Motion Of Love' 1987)
05 Bugg's Bruises (b-side of 'The Motion Of Love' 1987)
06 Vagabond (A New Adventure) (b-side of 'The Motion Of Love' 1987)
07 Someone On The 6th Floor (At The Jezebel Palace) (b-side of 'Gorgeous' 1987)
08 Last Year (b-side of 'Jealous' 1990)
09 While You Were Away (b-side of 'Jealous' 1990)
10 Life Without Love (b-side of 'Josephina' 1993)
11 Tomorrow's Colours (b-side of 'Josephina' 1993)
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