by NEW SOUNDS NEW STYLES - OCT 1981
The slimline version of the Shock charabanc is about is about to start careering again starring Tik, Tok, Carole and Barbie with mad professor Richard Burgess, in charge of the ring modulator and frequency whatsits. Sidekick Igor, in the shape of fellow Landscaper John Walters, is also pressing buttons at the right time.
The first fruits of an energetic songwritting stint involving the refreshed Shockers and the Burgess/Walters axis will see action streetwise, on October 1st. ´Dynamo Beat´, ´the first real Shock single´ in Tik´s words, is an obviously chartable offspring of Einstein-A-Go-Go meets Abba down the Locarno - memorable hooky chorus combined with seductively creeping synth lines. The The B-side, ´ Dream Games´, also appears to have been through the Burgess computer and come up Full Marks in the Feet Provocation Quotient.
Versatility in the keyword in the new Shock awareness, hence the desire to go for as broad a crossover as possible. An album is half-written, the songwritting liaison proving prolific and providing a vital escape from the confining bracket of being merely a mime/dance troupe. Shock are also planning a refreshingly new approach to reproducing their all-singing, all-dancing thing on stage. They will tour, but only in the old time music halls which scatter the country and provide the correct mix of theatrical plush tackiness.
Their show will be in two sections - the first part based around Voodoo and magic rituals, incorporating and updated English traditional musical feel, with added attractions such as snake chamers. An inteval spiced with Shock´s own selection of videos, slides and music willbe followed by the second half, comprising the more dance-orientated numbers and elements of the old show.
As others groupes begin to copy the old Shock format Tik and Co are determined to move on - thus the songwritting and theatrics - and are gathering a coerie of hairdressers, designers, and make-up artists around them. Virtual fifth member, Jane Kahn, will be provinding the correct sartorial touches both off stage and on.
Shock are not dead - after a short rest Shock are back stronger than ever with a game plan devised to take them into this once proud nation´s hearts !