Formed: Walthamstow, Greater London, England, UK
Band Bio / Lineups / Discography
"One day soon or Soon an exciting New Wave quartet will explode out of nowhere like Walthamstow with high-energy music which is hard, smart, dynamic & tuneful, but until they do, you'll have to settle for The Wasps. What you are holding in your hands is more than a single. If we are lucky, it is debut."
Back cover of first single
This Walthamstow group was one of the many second wavers who never got around to recording an album. Instead, they left behind two singles, two songs on the Live At The Vortex - Volume One compilation, a couple of Peel Sessions, and some demo recordings.
The independently released Teenage Treats is swell hyperactive punk in classic '77 mode, a three-minute gem with enthusiasm to burn and references (on the B-Side 'She Made Magic') to The MC5 and Billy Idol ("Up and down to a Vortex band/peroxide charms from a debut man"). The A Side is about the joys of amphetamines and like the B-Side is tight, well-constructed, well-written and well sung. Though it doesn't break out of the second division punk mould, it's a terrific example of it. I can't stop playing the bugger, even after all these years.
Their two songs on Live At The Vortex - Volume One include the charmingly naive 'Can’t Wait Till ‘78' and a manic version of 'I'm Waiting For The Man’. The album itself was pretty poor, but Wasps were amongst the best on it. Little wonder 'Can't Wait For '78' was issued as a tie-in single.
After a long lay-off, vocalist Jessie Lynn-Dean returned with an entirely new lineup and a single for RCA, Rubber Cars , which (to me) sounds remarkably like Sparks, and is as lyrically clever as the Maels ever were (the song suggests ideas for reducing road fatalities, such as manufacturing cars made out of rubber).
Jesse: I would however like to say that I never actually sacked the other members of the band. The problem was that for reasons a bit too complicated to bore you with we suddenly found ourselves in a position where the band were torn apart by previous managers who re-surfaced as soon as we signed to RCA and I just wanted to carry on making music. By this time due to legal wrangles corporate greed and about three lorry loads of speed plus a tad of sexual and mental exhaustion I wasn't really at my absolute best and this affected my judgment somewhat and I made a few dubious decisions and basically screwed up. With hindsight I suppose it would be nice to pop back to 1978 and visit a few of those music execs with a chain-saw and a Jack Nicholson face mask but you know what ? I loved every minute of it..
Lynn-Dean also issued a solo single in October 1979, 'Do It' (Creole).
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Lineup 1 (February 1976 - August 1977):
Jesse Lynn-Dean - vocals
Del May (ex-Blockade) - guitar
Steve Wollaston (ex-Trance, ex-Blockade, ex-Remus Down Boulevard, ex-Lady June's Elysium) - bass
Johnny Rich (ex-Trance) - drums
Lineup 2 (July - August 1977):
Jesse Lynn-Dean - vocals
Del May - guitar
Gary Wellman - guitar
Steve Wollaston - bass
Johnny Rich - drums
Lineup 3 (August 1977 - 1978):
Jesse Lynn-Dean - vocals
Gary Wellman - guitar, vocals
Steve Wollaston (aka Steve Dominic) - bass
Johnny Rich - drums
Recorded: Teenage Treats, Live, 1st Peel session (February 1978) and Rubber Cars.
Lineup 4 (1979):
Jesse Lynn-Dean - vocals
Neil Fitch - guitar
Dave Owen - bass
Tiam Grant - drums
Recorded: 2nd Peel session (February 1979).
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DISCOGRAPHY
Singles & Albums
Teenage Treats (7", 1977)
Live (7", split with Mean Street, 1977)
Rubber Cars (7", 1979)
Extraneous Releases
Punkryonics (CD, 2003)
This Was Punk (LP, 2011)
Various Artists
Live At The Vortex - Volume One UK LP 1977 (NEMS): Can't Wait 'Til '78 / Waiting For My Man
Anarchy In The U.K. Volume One France CD 1990 (MPO): Teenage Treats / She Made Magic
1-2-3-4 Punk & New Wave 1976-1979 UK 5xCD 1999 (Universal): Can't Wait 'Til '78
Teenage Treats Vol. 4 UK LP 1999 (Xerox): Can't Wait For '78
Action Time Vision (A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979) UK 4xCD Box Set 2016 (Cherry Red): Teenage Treats
Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81 UK 3xCD Box Set 2018 (Cherry Red): Something To Tell You
1977: The Year Punk Broke UK 3xCD 2019 (Cherry Red): She Made Magic
Bad Teeth #4: U. K. & Irish Punk Bands V To Z: '77 - 82 US CDR ???? (Hyped To Death): Can't Wait Til '78 / Teenage Treats
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