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Taken from Sniffin' Rock, UK magazine/fanzine, issue 8, February 1989.
The issue came with a free single featuring Loop, G.B.O.A. & The Abs.
If Babylon's future had ever been projected on the big screen of History, It would have probably taken the absurd form of today's Rock'n Roll world. One of its worst sins could have been no less than the flamboyant Gaye Bykers on Acid. What better picture than a happy quartet of youthful lads rooming in the streets like a maelstrom of loud sex and colourful drugs? Live, the Gaye Bykers are a small scale representation of chaos and at the same time a witty pantomime of music's extravaganzas, compliments of Maggie's UK.
Mary (vocals), Tony (guitar), Rob (bass) and Kevin (drums) have been despatched two years ago to the ever challenged Parthenon of the industry as its new young gods at the speed of the press hypes. Though all was not that straightforward as the Bykers confessed that they accelerated the process by calling the media to tell them lots of appealing saucy stories. The truth is that the band simply formed out of boredom three years ago in Leicester where they quickly assumed that they should develop a certain attitude to make up for a silly name and for not holding the stage like little Hamlets. They then headed for the sky but are not quite there yet; as they sum it up, "we used to have lots of money but now we haven't!"
But there comes Bacchus (under the form of Virgin Rds) to lighten up the play and make of the whole a big party of large expenses with sufficient supplies of food and wine. The Bykers do not advertise themselves as particularly mature songwriters, they just grab whichever concoction takes their fancy; it can range frorn the use of 16 different pedals, a Roland T505, a Roland Boss 303 for a bassline and a sparkle of genius for a riff.
They beg, steal and borrow and admire Iggy Pop for his technique at golf. Sports among others are one of the things they really dig, they're also into cooking and intend to elevate themsteves from English cooking to more sophisticated ones...
The band's bedside text book is Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing", a spooky tale of a journalist and an angry Samoan acting as his lawyer out on a trip (in both meanings of the word) in Las Vegas in search of the American dream. As the story goes they get hold of an abominable amount of drugs, big flashy cars, booze and weird girls, consuming in excess in the biggest world of consumption. The Bykers' tour in the States left them with the small inconvenience of having to overconsume 3 chord songs hastily written on the spot as they were tired of promoting a year old set. Their search of the American Rock'n Roll dream hasn't been that fruitful, they haven't become hardcore aficionados and Mary's prick went all small when listening to LA's glam metal bands like LA Guns! Also to be mentioned as text books are comics, of which the influence is underlined in the combo's farcical humour which plays an important part in the image of the band. On the one hand they can't help laughing at themselves when in front of a mirror or when on stage but on the other hand as Mary strongly commented upon, comedy is a useful way to fight the dross and dirt of politics. "Gaye Bykers on Acid" as a name was a reaction against censorship, an issue about which they feel very strongly.
The Bykers are still very much learning about the ins and outs of the industry, banknotes and even songwriting if that proves to be necessary. Nevertheless their chances seem to lie more in the fact that they're a warm heartful band with a fanciful attitude that makes everyone go hysterical. "Let's go crazy" could be their motto, but shouldn't it be also ours?!
- KRASH KORD
Press
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