Plasmatics
Encyclopedia
The Plasmatics were an American heavy metal
and punk
band formed by Yale University
art school graduate Rod Swenson with Wendy O. Williams
. The band was a controversial group known for wild live shows that broke countless taboos. In addition to chainsawing guitars, blowing up speaker cabinets and sledgehammering television sets, Williams and the Plasmatics blew up automobiles live on stage. Williams was arrested in Milwaukee by the Milwaukee police before being charged with public indecency
.
The Plasmatics' career spanned five studio albums, and multiple EPs. The band was composed of vocalist/front person Wendy O. Williams
and various other musicians rotated behind her over time. Aside from Wendy and manager Rod Swenson, Guitarist Wes Beech was the only other permanent member of the group. Guitarist Richie Stotts
was a co-founder of the band and a mainstay of the pre-breakup core group (1978–1983). After the breakup of the band following the release of Coup d'Etat, Richie was edited out of band videos and not referred to by name in a 2006 compilation DVD released by Plasmatics Media LLC (via plasmatics.com).
producing experimental counter-culture theater as well as video and shows with the likes of the then-little-known bands The Dead Boys, The Ramones
, Patti Smith
, and others. It was there that he met Wendy O. Williams
(her actual birth-given name, the O. standing for Orlean and her initials spelling "WOW") after Wendy happened upon a copy of Show Business Weekly
someone had discarded on the bus station floor. The issue lay open to a page with an ad in the casting calls section for Rod's theater show Captain Kink's Sex Fantasy Theater. She answered the ad and applied for a job.
Wendy and Rod began auditioning potential band members in 1977 and, in July 1978, the "Plasmatics" gave their first public performance at what would later become the rock shrine CBGB
on New York City
's Bowery. The earliest version of the band was a three piece put together with a strong emphasis on visuals. The band quickly realized they needed another guitarist to hold them together musically. Guitarist Wes Beech joined the group; he would become, after Wendy, the only permanent member of the group playing or touring behind or involved in the production of every Plasmatics and Wendy O. Williams record ever recorded.
From their initial gig at CBGB's, The Plasmatics quickly rose in the New York City Punk Underground scene of the time. From playing a single weekday night, they moved quickly to playing repeated stands of four nights straight with two sold-out shows each night. They had lines stretching around the block and brought more fans into CBGB's during this time than any other band in its history. The group quickly outgrew CBGB's, largely because there were no intermediate rock venues to play in New York City at that time. The band's stage show soon became notorious, with acts such as chainsawing guitars in half part of their performance. Jim Farber of Sounds
described the show: "Lead singer/ex-porn star/current weight lifter Wendy Orleans Williams (W.O.W. for short) spends most of the Plasmatics' show fondling her family size breasts, scratching her sweaty snatch and eating the drum kit, among other playful events".
Rod Swenson soon made a deal to book what was then a little known polka hall called Irving Plaza
from the Polish War Veterans who ran it at the time. The band repeatedly sold out the venue, with The Plasmatics helping to give Irving Plaza national recognition and launch it on the path to becoming an established rock venue in New York City. Having then caught the full attention of the most important people in the entertainment world of New York City, the Plasmatics headlined the Palladium Theater
on November 16, 1979, the first group in history to do so at full ticket prices and without a major label recording contract.
, venues in New Jersey
, and elsewhere in the Northeast. Chris Knowles of Classic Rock
magazine wrote: The Plasmatics "were the biggest live attraction in New York... and the media was on them like white on rice... It's one thing to play at subversiveness, but The Plasmatics, unlike other Punk bands... put their Punk philosophy into action." Many U.S. record labels were afraid to sign the band; The band was signed by Stiff Records
, a British
label, in March 1980, and appeared on the cover of Sounds in June that year. Artists and Repertoire (A&R
) from Stiff Records flew to New York City to see a show in person to determine if what they had been reading and hearing could possibly be real. The day after seeing the performance, Stiff put in an offer and a deal was inked within a month. A few months later, The Plasmatics began to record songs in New York City for what would become the album New Hope for the Wretched
.
In addition to songs like "Corruption" and "Living Dead", which were linked to TV smashing and automobile destruction, the song "Butcher Baby" featured a chainsaw sawing through a guitar in place of a guitar solo which also took place during their live shows. The Plasmatics visited the UK for a tour, which met with opposition from some quarters including the GLC
, particularly for their intention to blow up a car as part of their stage show and Williams' semi-nudity, and the GLC cancelled the band's show at the Hammersmith Odeon after fire inspectors decided the show would not meet safety requirements, although police had already arrived to disperse the gathering crowd before the decision had officially been taken. Stiff released "Butcher Baby" as a single where it reached #55 on the UK Singles Chart
.
Stiff America had scheduled a release and a US tour. To capitalize on the band's popularity, the US edition of the album came packaged with a poster for the cancelled Hammersmith Odeon show and an insert for the Plasmatics Secret Service, the official fan club. The album reached #55 on the UK Albums Chart
. The band was set to tour the West Coast for the first time after the London cancellation and get their momentum back. To kick off the tour, Wendy drove a Cadillac
towards a stage at a free concert on New York City's Pier 62 loaded with explosives, jumping out moments before the car would hit the stage, blowing up all the equipment. The permits needed for this were hard to get and only allowed for an estimated 5-6,000 people. The day of the performance, 10,000 showed up, jamming the downtown streets and lining the rooftops. Even though it cost virtually the entire advance for the US release of New Hope for the Wretched to do it, Wendy was quoted by a reporter from the Associated Press
as saying, "It was worth it because it showed that these are just things and... people shouldn't worship them," a point she'd repeat more than once.
The Plasmatics debut in Los Angeles was at the famed Whisky a Go Go
. The show was originally planned for only 2 nights, but was later expanded to 4 due to large sold-out crowds.
The ABC
show Fridays, which was looking to be a more cutting-edge version of Saturday Night Live
, booked Wendy and the Plasmatics to appear in late December to go live on national TV.
In January 1981, Wiliams' stage performance in Milwaukee led to her arrest on charges of indecency after she reportedly "simulated masturbation with a sledge hammer in front of an audience". After objecting to being searched she was thrown to the ground and reportedly kicked in the face (later requiring a dozen stitches), with manager Rod Swenson also beaten unconscious when he tried to intervene. Williams was charged with battery of a police officer, resisting arrest, and "conduct in violation of a Milwaukee city ordnance pertaining to establishments that sell liquor", with Swenson also charged, but both were later cleared of all charges. A subsequent performance at the Palm Club sold out, and passed without incident, although the venue was raided after the show by the vice squad, with more than 30 police officers in attendance in case of trouble. Williams was also arrested on obscenity charges in Cleveland, but she was again acquitted.
Given the recent turn of events, Rod proposed the name Beyond the Valley of 1984
and the tour, in 1981, became "The 1984 World Tour". In between touring drummers, Alice Cooper's
Neal Smith was brought in to do the drumming for the record, and the album, with its Orwellian
and apocalyptic theme and songs such as "Masterplan", "Pig is a Pig", and "Sex Junkie", was released a few months later. During recording for the album, The Plasmatics were booked on the Tom Snyder
late night TV show, where Tom Snyder introduced them as possibly 'the greatest punk rock band in the entire world."
The album cover for Beyond the Valley was photographed in the Arizona desert where Wendy appears on horseback with the band (without a drummer) as the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse".
The 1984 World Tour continued with the bold slogan "Down On Your Knees and Pledge Allegiance!".
's office asking that Dan have a meeting with Wendy and Rod. Hartman, who produced acts .38 Special
, James Brown
, and others, had been working on a session in LA when he picked up a copy of Beyond the Valley of 1984 and could not stop playing it. He felt it was "ground breaking". He said, "I knew I wanted to meet these people and do something with them." Dan came down to the Tribeca loft, met Wendy and Rod, and a month later he and Rod were working on the production of the Metal Priestess
mini-LP
. The band needed more product but another album was premature, partly because Capitol Records
was now making overtures for the next one. Bruce at Stiff was ready to release it and that summer Metal Priestess was recorded at Dan's private studio off his schoolhouse turned home and studio in Connecticut
and released early that fall. Metal Priestess saw the band move closer to heavy metal
, and also included new members Chris "Junior" Romanelli (replacing Jean Beauvoir) and Joey Reese.
The band made an appearance on SCTVs "Fishin' Musician" shortly after releasing Metal Priestess.
, Jimi Hendrix's old studio, in NY. The whole album was arranged, recorded and mixed within a week. Dieter Dierks
, who had just come off a number one album with the Scorpions
, also expressed interest in producing.
Coup d'Etat
was a breakthrough album that began to blend the punk and metal genres, something that would later be done time and time again by bands such as S.O.D.
, Anthrax
, and the Cro-Mags
by the end of the 1980s. Wendy also broke ground for her unique singing style. She pushed her vocals so hard she had to make trips into Cologne
, Germany
, where the album was being recorded, each day for treatments to avoid permanent damage to her vocal cords.
The Hartman demo was released 20 years later under the name Coup de Grace
. The rawer version of Coup d'Etat
, which took less than a tenth of the time and a fraction of the budget, is hailed by many fans as the true version of the album.
The video Rod produced and directed of "The Damned" featured Wendy driving a school bus through a wall of TVs, climbing onto the roof of a moving bus which had been loaded with explosives, and then singing from the roof and jumping off a few moments before the bus goes through a second wall of TVs and then blows sky high.
As touring began, it became clear that Capitol was beginning to turn away from the group in favor of groups such as Duran Duran
, who could generate ten times the sales with none of the political liability and fallout. Soon after the album was released, Capitol Records dropped The Plasmatics.
In 1982, KISS
asked for Wendy and the Plasmatics to appear as a special guest on their tour. KISS wanted the controversial street edge that Wendy would bring as part of their tour and for the Plasmatics it was a chance to play in front of different audiences in different markets than they would ordinarily play. By the end of the tour with KISS it was clear that, although the formal notice that Capitol would not pick up their option for a second album did not come in for six months, the relationship with Capitol was done. It had taken months and months for the deal to be done, months to record and release the album and now months to get out of the deal. Gene Simmons
approached Wendy and Rod about producing the next Wendy O. Williams album. So as to avoid any wasted time in legal issues with Capitol Records, it was decided not to use the Plasmatics name on the record at all and was simply called W.O.W.
, the initials for Wendy O. Williams. Gene Simmons felt it would give him the freedom he wanted to add more new players to the album.
Wes Beech remained to play rhythm and lead and T.C. Tolliver, the drummer on Coup d'Etat, remained to play on the new album. Gene Simmons
played bass under the pseudonym of "Reginald Van Helsing". The only other new player on the album was lead guitarist Michael Ray, brought in to solve the technical challenges that had been a problem for several albums and had come to a head with the more complex music of Coup D'Etat. Gene also pulled in the talents of Ace Frehley
, who had not played with KISS since leaving the band years before, Paul Stanley
, and then-current KISS drummer Eric Carr
did one song as guests. The record was released on Passport (international and U.S. distribution by JEM).
Review copies were sent out to the various media outlets. Malcolm Dome, a reviewer for KERRANG!
magazine, had picked the WOW album as his album of the year. Williams received a Grammy nomination for 'Best Female Rock Vocal' in 1985.
With Mohawks now starting to become common, Wendy decided to let her hair grow in, and the cover Rod shot for what would be called the "album of the year" in the pages of KERRANG! was the very opposite of the earlier covers; total simplicity.
Wes Beech took a sabbatical for personal reasons and would not tour with the band on the next tour. The band decided to return to being a 3-Piece. Wes came in as Associate Producer with Rod on the album and worked on writing, arranging and recording, but the recording would be Michael, TC, and Greg (who would go on to play with Alice Cooper
, Richie Blackmore and others and who had been brought in as the touring bassist for the WOW album). There was tremendous excitement in tackling the project a kind of minimalist, stripped down concept, or rite of purification. The songs, including the lyrics would be also be minimalistic or archetypal again giving Wendy a chance to take her vocals step further. The tempo of the WOW album had been slower than previous albums in an effort to open it up, but the new album Kommander of Kaos (a.k.a. KOK) was to bring back the speed and then some. Songs would be played at breakneck speeds, with screaming leads and vocals. The recording was done in Fairfield NJ at the giant Broccoli Rabe Recording complex which would be home to numerous Wendy O./Plasmatics Projects including three studio albums with what the group fondly called "The Fairfield Sound".
Maggots: The Record
was recorded in 1987 and set 25 years in the future where environmental abuse and the burning of fossil fuels have created a greenhouse effect leading to an end of the world scenario. Called by many the first "thrash metal opera", the central theme of the album is an end of the world scenario that follows from genetic engineering and global warming, something that was not at all part of the general public awareness of the time. A group of scientists trying to eliminate pollution in the rivers and oceans develop an RNA retro virus designed to eat it all up and then die once the pollution has been consumed. But global warming leading to the flooding of land areas instead puts the virus in contact with the "common maggot" leading to a mutated form of maggot that doubles in size with each generation looking for more and more things to consume. In the 'end of the world' finale cities are being destroyed and humans consumed by giant maggots a horrific metaphorical end to a world blind to human consumption and environmental destruction.
The album features various scenes of The White Family over the course of three days. The family is devoured while watching a TV game show. Valerie, the girlfriend of hot-shot television reporter Bruce is devoured by three massive maggots while lying in her boyfriend's bed. The final scene has Cindy White trying to fight off the attacking maggots and running out onto a fire escape where she sees the crowded streets below as the record shows the entire human population is headed for imminent annihilation. The album was on the WOW label; distributed by Profile Records
in the U.S. and overseas by GWR Records
, which had been started by Motörhead's longtime Manager Doug Smith
.
Wendy did a performance piece to inaugurate the album at NYC's Palladium
, which had been transformed from a proscenium theater into huge multi-level club where she sledgehammered and chainsawed to smithereens a facsimile all-American living room. "Maggots: The Tour" began a week later using the Plasmatics name for the first time in two albums with slogans such as "Those Now Eating Will Soon Be Eaten," "The Day of the Humans is Gone," and lyrics such as "soldiers for the DNA dissidents are put away, dragged off in the dead of night, disappear without a sight". Rear screen projectors ran film of human disasters, fascists and other historical horrors, environmental carnage and human rights violations on huge screens behind the band during all the songs from the Maggots album.
A review in Kerrang!
came out shortly thereafter: A 5 out of 5 Ks, "Quite simply a masterpiece... a work of genius." Wendy's vocals "reduces Celtic Frost's Tom G. Warrior's 'death grunts' to mere whimpers" it went on coupled with "a mixture of hedonistic operatic melodies..gut forged to some of the heaviest armadillo beats you're ever like to hear committed to vinyl."
collaboration, St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP and Motorhead's manager Doug Smith got in touch with Rod Swenson in the states and proposed a Wendy and Lemmy duet of the country classic "Stand By Your Man
". The B side would have two tracks, the Plasmatics "Masterplan" sung by Lemmy and Motorhead's "No Class
" sung by Williams. The A side would have Wendy and Lemmy do a duet of the title track of the EP.
Tracked at a Canadian recording studio, the Stand by Your Man
sessions proved to be tumultuous as guitarist Eddie Clarke (who was producing the tracks, but not playing on them) quit Motorhead in the middle of the project. Rod Swenson and Dan Hartman, who had finished demoing the Plasmatics Coup d'Etat album together, were called upon to finish the rough and raw project in the mix which they did at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Rod then shot the cover with Lemmy and Wendy on it and the raw crude project was put out by Bronze records.
A reviewer concluded "their sandpaper-throated duet on Tammy Wynette
's country standard "Stand By Your Man" has to be one of hard rock's greatest-ever middle fingers to the mainstream." The review goes on to say, "The Plasmatics, therefore, wreaked havoc on 'No Class' while Motörhead hammered out a leering take of 'Masterplan.'
Former bassists
Former drummers
Former personnel
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band formed by Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
art school graduate Rod Swenson with Wendy O. Williams
Wendy O. Williams
Wendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
. The band was a controversial group known for wild live shows that broke countless taboos. In addition to chainsawing guitars, blowing up speaker cabinets and sledgehammering television sets, Williams and the Plasmatics blew up automobiles live on stage. Williams was arrested in Milwaukee by the Milwaukee police before being charged with public indecency
Public indecency
Public indecency refers to conduct undertaken in a non-private or publicly-viewable location, which are deemed indecent in nature, such as indecent exposure and sexual intercourse or masturbation in public view. Such activity is often illegal...
.
The Plasmatics' career spanned five studio albums, and multiple EPs. The band was composed of vocalist/front person Wendy O. Williams
Wendy O. Williams
Wendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
and various other musicians rotated behind her over time. Aside from Wendy and manager Rod Swenson, Guitarist Wes Beech was the only other permanent member of the group. Guitarist Richie Stotts
Richie Stotts
Richard Eugene Stotts was the first guitarist and one of the founding members of the punk/metal group Plasmatics.In 1978, Richie was among the earliest musicians to sport a Mohawk,...
was a co-founder of the band and a mainstay of the pre-breakup core group (1978–1983). After the breakup of the band following the release of Coup d'Etat, Richie was edited out of band videos and not referred to by name in a 2006 compilation DVD released by Plasmatics Media LLC (via plasmatics.com).
Formation (1977-1979)
In 1977, Rod Swenson, who received his MFA in 1969 from Yale where he specialized in conceptual, performance, and neo-dadaist art, held the view that the measure of true or high art is how confrontational it is. He began a series of counter-culture projects which, by the mid-70s, found him in the heart of Times SquareTimes Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
producing experimental counter-culture theater as well as video and shows with the likes of the then-little-known bands The Dead Boys, The Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
, Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, and others. It was there that he met Wendy O. Williams
Wendy O. Williams
Wendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
(her actual birth-given name, the O. standing for Orlean and her initials spelling "WOW") after Wendy happened upon a copy of Show Business Weekly
Show Business Weekly
Show Business, also known as Show Business Weekly, is a performing arts trade magazine published by Manhattan-based publisher Show Business Inc. The magazine's editorial mission is to guide actors, singers and dancers toward success in their performing arts careers...
someone had discarded on the bus station floor. The issue lay open to a page with an ad in the casting calls section for Rod's theater show Captain Kink's Sex Fantasy Theater. She answered the ad and applied for a job.
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Bowery. The earliest version of the band was a three piece put together with a strong emphasis on visuals. The band quickly realized they needed another guitarist to hold them together musically. Guitarist Wes Beech joined the group; he would become, after Wendy, the only permanent member of the group playing or touring behind or involved in the production of every Plasmatics and Wendy O. Williams record ever recorded.
From their initial gig at CBGB's, The Plasmatics quickly rose in the New York City Punk Underground scene of the time. From playing a single weekday night, they moved quickly to playing repeated stands of four nights straight with two sold-out shows each night. They had lines stretching around the block and brought more fans into CBGB's during this time than any other band in its history. The group quickly outgrew CBGB's, largely because there were no intermediate rock venues to play in New York City at that time. The band's stage show soon became notorious, with acts such as chainsawing guitars in half part of their performance. Jim Farber of Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
described the show: "Lead singer/ex-porn star/current weight lifter Wendy Orleans Williams (W.O.W. for short) spends most of the Plasmatics' show fondling her family size breasts, scratching her sweaty snatch and eating the drum kit, among other playful events".
Rod Swenson soon made a deal to book what was then a little known polka hall called Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza is a 1,200-person ballroom-style music venue at 17 Irving Place and East 15th Street in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
from the Polish War Veterans who ran it at the time. The band repeatedly sold out the venue, with The Plasmatics helping to give Irving Plaza national recognition and launch it on the path to becoming an established rock venue in New York City. Having then caught the full attention of the most important people in the entertainment world of New York City, the Plasmatics headlined the Palladium Theater
Palladium (music venue)
The Palladium was a concert hall and later a nightclub in New York City. It was located on the south side of East 14th Street, between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue....
on November 16, 1979, the first group in history to do so at full ticket prices and without a major label recording contract.
New Hope for the Wretched Era (1980-1981)
The Plasmatics were soon selling out shows in Philadelphia, BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, venues in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and elsewhere in the Northeast. Chris Knowles of Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
magazine wrote: The Plasmatics "were the biggest live attraction in New York... and the media was on them like white on rice... It's one thing to play at subversiveness, but The Plasmatics, unlike other Punk bands... put their Punk philosophy into action." Many U.S. record labels were afraid to sign the band; The band was signed by Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
label, in March 1980, and appeared on the cover of Sounds in June that year. Artists and Repertoire (A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
) from Stiff Records flew to New York City to see a show in person to determine if what they had been reading and hearing could possibly be real. The day after seeing the performance, Stiff put in an offer and a deal was inked within a month. A few months later, The Plasmatics began to record songs in New York City for what would become the album New Hope for the Wretched
New Hope for the Wretched
New Hope for the Wretched is the debut album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics, fronted by Wendy O. Williams.Former Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller was the initial producer for the album. Miller had a heroin addiction from the day he arrived in New York and he was virtually useless to the...
.
GLC
GLC may refer to:* GLC * GLC * GLC * GLC , an American rapper signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D...
, particularly for their intention to blow up a car as part of their stage show and Williams' semi-nudity, and the GLC cancelled the band's show at the Hammersmith Odeon after fire inspectors decided the show would not meet safety requirements, although police had already arrived to disperse the gathering crowd before the decision had officially been taken. Stiff released "Butcher Baby" as a single where it reached #55 on the 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 ...
.
Stiff America had scheduled a release and a US tour. To capitalize on the band's popularity, the US edition of the album came packaged with a poster for the cancelled Hammersmith Odeon show and an insert for the Plasmatics Secret Service, the official fan club. The album reached #55 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The 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...
. The band was set to tour the West Coast for the first time after the London cancellation and get their momentum back. To kick off the tour, Wendy drove a Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
towards a stage at a free concert on New York City's Pier 62 loaded with explosives, jumping out moments before the car would hit the stage, blowing up all the equipment. The permits needed for this were hard to get and only allowed for an estimated 5-6,000 people. The day of the performance, 10,000 showed up, jamming the downtown streets and lining the rooftops. Even though it cost virtually the entire advance for the US release of New Hope for the Wretched to do it, Wendy was quoted by a reporter from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
as saying, "It was worth it because it showed that these are just things and... people shouldn't worship them," a point she'd repeat more than once.
The Plasmatics debut in Los Angeles was at the famed Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
. The show was originally planned for only 2 nights, but was later expanded to 4 due to large sold-out crowds.
The ABC
ABC Network
ABC Network may refer to any of the following:*American Broadcasting Company, a private television network in the United States.*Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, regional radio and television broadcaster in Japan....
show Fridays, which was looking to be a more cutting-edge version of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, booked Wendy and the Plasmatics to appear in late December to go live on national TV.
In January 1981, Wiliams' stage performance in Milwaukee led to her arrest on charges of indecency after she reportedly "simulated masturbation with a sledge hammer in front of an audience". After objecting to being searched she was thrown to the ground and reportedly kicked in the face (later requiring a dozen stitches), with manager Rod Swenson also beaten unconscious when he tried to intervene. Williams was charged with battery of a police officer, resisting arrest, and "conduct in violation of a Milwaukee city ordnance pertaining to establishments that sell liquor", with Swenson also charged, but both were later cleared of all charges. A subsequent performance at the Palm Club sold out, and passed without incident, although the venue was raided after the show by the vice squad, with more than 30 police officers in attendance in case of trouble. Williams was also arrested on obscenity charges in Cleveland, but she was again acquitted.
Beyond the Valley of 1984 Era (1981-1982)
A second album was long overdue but due to the ongoing legal battles and the Miller debacle with the first album, which was costly both in terms of time and money, it was agreed that this one had to be lean and mean. Bruce Kirkland at Stiff agreed to put up the funds as long as Rod produced and the album was done in less than 3 weeks at a quarter of the cost of the first.Given the recent turn of events, Rod proposed the name Beyond the Valley of 1984
Beyond the Valley of 1984
Beyond the Valley of 1984 is the second album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics.After the success of their first album and tour, the band began recording their follow-up album, Beyond the Valley of 1984...
and the tour, in 1981, became "The 1984 World Tour". In between touring drummers, Alice Cooper's
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
Neal Smith was brought in to do the drumming for the record, and the album, with its Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
and apocalyptic theme and songs such as "Masterplan", "Pig is a Pig", and "Sex Junkie", was released a few months later. During recording for the album, The Plasmatics were booked on the Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder
Thomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
late night TV show, where Tom Snyder introduced them as possibly 'the greatest punk rock band in the entire world."
The album cover for Beyond the Valley was photographed in the Arizona desert where Wendy appears on horseback with the band (without a drummer) as the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse".
The 1984 World Tour continued with the bold slogan "Down On Your Knees and Pledge Allegiance!".
Metal Priestess EP
During the last part of the tour Rod had been contacted by American singer, songwriter and record producer Dan HartmanDan Hartman
Daniel Earl "Dan" Hartman was an American singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for such songs as: "Free Ride", "I Can Dream About You", "Instant Replay", "Love Sensation", and "Relight My Fire", all of which had world-wide success.-Career:Born in Pennsylvania's capital, Harrisburg,...
's office asking that Dan have a meeting with Wendy and Rod. Hartman, who produced acts .38 Special
.38 Special
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...
, James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, and others, had been working on a session in LA when he picked up a copy of Beyond the Valley of 1984 and could not stop playing it. He felt it was "ground breaking". He said, "I knew I wanted to meet these people and do something with them." Dan came down to the Tribeca loft, met Wendy and Rod, and a month later he and Rod were working on the production of the Metal Priestess
Metal Priestess
Metal Priestess is the 1981 EP by punk-metal band The Plasmatics, fronted by Wendy O. Williams.Dan Hartman, who produced acts such as .38 Special and James Brown, among others, had been working on a session in LA when he picked up a copy of Beyond the Valley of 1984 and couldn't stop playing it. It...
mini-LP
Mini-LP
A Mini-LP or Mini-album is a short album, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered "full-length".-History:...
. The band needed more product but another album was premature, partly because Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
was now making overtures for the next one. Bruce at Stiff was ready to release it and that summer Metal Priestess was recorded at Dan's private studio off his schoolhouse turned home and studio in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and released early that fall. Metal Priestess saw the band move closer to heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, and also included new members Chris "Junior" Romanelli (replacing Jean Beauvoir) and Joey Reese.
The band made an appearance on SCTVs "Fishin' Musician" shortly after releasing Metal Priestess.
Coup d'Etat and the Electric Lady Land Sessions (1982-1983)
By the spring of 1982, a worldwide deal was inked with Capitol Records, and Dan Hartman offered to produce a demo of the album for Capitol with Rod at Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
, Jimi Hendrix's old studio, in NY. The whole album was arranged, recorded and mixed within a week. Dieter Dierks
Dieter Dierks
Dieter Dierks is a German record producer mostly known for his collaboration with the rock band Scorpions.- Youth :...
, who had just come off a number one album with the Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
, also expressed interest in producing.
Coup d'Etat (album)
Coup d'Etat is the third studio album released by punk/metal band The Plasmatics in 1982.In 1982, a deal was inked with Capitol Records and Dan Hartman offered to produce a demo of the album for Capitol with Rod at Electric Lady Studios, Jimi Hendrix's old studio, in NY...
was a breakthrough album that began to blend the punk and metal genres, something that would later be done time and time again by bands such as S.O.D.
Stormtroopers of Death
Stormtroopers of Death, better known as S.O.D., was a crossover thrash band formed in New York in 1985. They are commonly credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes called "crossover thrash." The song "March of the S.O.D.," from their 1985...
, Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, and the Cro-Mags
Cro-Mags
Cro-Mags are a hardcore punk turned crossover thrash band from New York City. The band, which had a strong cult following, released many records, their first two considered the most influential...
by the end of the 1980s. Wendy also broke ground for her unique singing style. She pushed her vocals so hard she had to make trips into Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where the album was being recorded, each day for treatments to avoid permanent damage to her vocal cords.
The Hartman demo was released 20 years later under the name Coup de Grace
Coup de Grace (The Plasmatics album)
Coup De Grace is a postmortem released by punk / metal band The Plasmatics in 2000. The album is the original demo of the album Coup d'Etat....
. The rawer version of Coup d'Etat
Coup d'Etat (album)
Coup d'Etat is the third studio album released by punk/metal band The Plasmatics in 1982.In 1982, a deal was inked with Capitol Records and Dan Hartman offered to produce a demo of the album for Capitol with Rod at Electric Lady Studios, Jimi Hendrix's old studio, in NY...
, which took less than a tenth of the time and a fraction of the budget, is hailed by many fans as the true version of the album.
The video Rod produced and directed of "The Damned" featured Wendy driving a school bus through a wall of TVs, climbing onto the roof of a moving bus which had been loaded with explosives, and then singing from the roof and jumping off a few moments before the bus goes through a second wall of TVs and then blows sky high.
As touring began, it became clear that Capitol was beginning to turn away from the group in favor of groups such as Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, who could generate ten times the sales with none of the political liability and fallout. Soon after the album was released, Capitol Records dropped The Plasmatics.
Plasmatics "break-up", Wendy O. Williams' solo career (1983-1986)
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
asked for Wendy and the Plasmatics to appear as a special guest on their tour. KISS wanted the controversial street edge that Wendy would bring as part of their tour and for the Plasmatics it was a chance to play in front of different audiences in different markets than they would ordinarily play. By the end of the tour with KISS it was clear that, although the formal notice that Capitol would not pick up their option for a second album did not come in for six months, the relationship with Capitol was done. It had taken months and months for the deal to be done, months to record and release the album and now months to get out of the deal. Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
approached Wendy and Rod about producing the next Wendy O. Williams album. So as to avoid any wasted time in legal issues with Capitol Records, it was decided not to use the Plasmatics name on the record at all and was simply called W.O.W.
W.O.W.
W.O.W. is the first solo studio album released by Wendy O. Williams in 1984 after her group, the Plasmatics, broke up .In 1982, KISS asked for Wendy and the Plasmatics to appear as a Special Guest on their tour...
, the initials for Wendy O. Williams. Gene Simmons felt it would give him the freedom he wanted to add more new players to the album.
Wes Beech remained to play rhythm and lead and T.C. Tolliver, the drummer on Coup d'Etat, remained to play on the new album. Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
played bass under the pseudonym of "Reginald Van Helsing". The only other new player on the album was lead guitarist Michael Ray, brought in to solve the technical challenges that had been a problem for several albums and had come to a head with the more complex music of Coup D'Etat. Gene also pulled in the talents of Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
, who had not played with KISS since leaving the band years before, Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
, and then-current KISS drummer Eric Carr
Eric Carr
Paul Charles Caravello , also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980...
did one song as guests. The record was released on Passport (international and U.S. distribution by JEM).
Review copies were sent out to the various media outlets. Malcolm Dome, a reviewer for KERRANG!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine, had picked the WOW album as his album of the year. Williams received a Grammy nomination for 'Best Female Rock Vocal' in 1985.
With Mohawks now starting to become common, Wendy decided to let her hair grow in, and the cover Rod shot for what would be called the "album of the year" in the pages of KERRANG! was the very opposite of the earlier covers; total simplicity.
Wes Beech took a sabbatical for personal reasons and would not tour with the band on the next tour. The band decided to return to being a 3-Piece. Wes came in as Associate Producer with Rod on the album and worked on writing, arranging and recording, but the recording would be Michael, TC, and Greg (who would go on to play with Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Richie Blackmore and others and who had been brought in as the touring bassist for the WOW album). There was tremendous excitement in tackling the project a kind of minimalist, stripped down concept, or rite of purification. The songs, including the lyrics would be also be minimalistic or archetypal again giving Wendy a chance to take her vocals step further. The tempo of the WOW album had been slower than previous albums in an effort to open it up, but the new album Kommander of Kaos (a.k.a. KOK) was to bring back the speed and then some. Songs would be played at breakneck speeds, with screaming leads and vocals. The recording was done in Fairfield NJ at the giant Broccoli Rabe Recording complex which would be home to numerous Wendy O./Plasmatics Projects including three studio albums with what the group fondly called "The Fairfield Sound".
Maggots: The Record Era (1987)
Wes had rejoined the band to both tour and play on the next album where the re-formed 4 piece band became a centerpiece for perhaps the most complex arrangements in the band's career. After the archetypal minimalism, both lyrically and musically of Komander, the new album, which would again carry the Plasmatics name, was again filled with complexity and returned to the social and political themes previously found most strongly in Coup but in 1984 before it: environmental decay and a world where excess and abuse led directly to a doomsday scenario.Maggots: The Record
Maggots: The Record
Maggots: The Record is the fourth and final studio album released by punk / metal band The Plasmatics in 1987. The album was released as a special "9th Anniversary Album". Despite being called a "Plasmatics" album, it is often regarded as another Wendy O...
was recorded in 1987 and set 25 years in the future where environmental abuse and the burning of fossil fuels have created a greenhouse effect leading to an end of the world scenario. Called by many the first "thrash metal opera", the central theme of the album is an end of the world scenario that follows from genetic engineering and global warming, something that was not at all part of the general public awareness of the time. A group of scientists trying to eliminate pollution in the rivers and oceans develop an RNA retro virus designed to eat it all up and then die once the pollution has been consumed. But global warming leading to the flooding of land areas instead puts the virus in contact with the "common maggot" leading to a mutated form of maggot that doubles in size with each generation looking for more and more things to consume. In the 'end of the world' finale cities are being destroyed and humans consumed by giant maggots a horrific metaphorical end to a world blind to human consumption and environmental destruction.
The album features various scenes of The White Family over the course of three days. The family is devoured while watching a TV game show. Valerie, the girlfriend of hot-shot television reporter Bruce is devoured by three massive maggots while lying in her boyfriend's bed. The final scene has Cindy White trying to fight off the attacking maggots and running out onto a fire escape where she sees the crowded streets below as the record shows the entire human population is headed for imminent annihilation. The album was on the WOW label; distributed by Profile Records
Profile Records
Profile Records was a record label that specialized in many types of urban-oriented music, such as hip hop, active until 1996..- History :In 1980, at 23 years old, after working briefly for MCA, Cory Robbins was looking to start a record label. He invited his songwriter friend Steve Plotnicki to be...
in the U.S. and overseas by GWR Records
GWR Records
GWR Records was a record label active in the UK from 1986 through to 1991.By 1984, Gerry Bron's Bronze Records were in financial difficulty leading to a hiatus in recording activity for Motörhead...
, which had been started by Motörhead's longtime Manager Doug Smith
Doug Smith
Doug Smith may refer to:*Doug Smith , former MLB baseball player*Doug Smith , English flat racing jockey*Doug Smith , American former basketball player...
.
Wendy did a performance piece to inaugurate the album at NYC's Palladium
Palladium (music venue)
The Palladium was a concert hall and later a nightclub in New York City. It was located on the south side of East 14th Street, between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue....
, which had been transformed from a proscenium theater into huge multi-level club where she sledgehammered and chainsawed to smithereens a facsimile all-American living room. "Maggots: The Tour" began a week later using the Plasmatics name for the first time in two albums with slogans such as "Those Now Eating Will Soon Be Eaten," "The Day of the Humans is Gone," and lyrics such as "soldiers for the DNA dissidents are put away, dragged off in the dead of night, disappear without a sight". Rear screen projectors ran film of human disasters, fascists and other historical horrors, environmental carnage and human rights violations on huge screens behind the band during all the songs from the Maggots album.
A review in Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
came out shortly thereafter: A 5 out of 5 Ks, "Quite simply a masterpiece... a work of genius." Wendy's vocals "reduces Celtic Frost's Tom G. Warrior's 'death grunts' to mere whimpers" it went on coupled with "a mixture of hedonistic operatic melodies..gut forged to some of the heaviest armadillo beats you're ever like to hear committed to vinyl."
Motörhead collaboration and the Stand by Your Man (EP)
In 1982, Lemmy of Motörhead was approached by his label to do a follow-up to his successful Motörhead/GirlschoolHeadgirl
Headgirl was a collaboration between Motörhead and Girlschool in 1980, the result being the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP, though the groups were credited as MotörheadGirlschool on the EP....
collaboration, St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP and Motorhead's manager Doug Smith got in touch with Rod Swenson in the states and proposed a Wendy and Lemmy duet of the country classic "Stand By Your Man
Stand By Your Man
"Stand by Your Man" is a song co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and originally recorded by Tammy Wynette, released as a single in September 1968 in the USA...
". The B side would have two tracks, the Plasmatics "Masterplan" sung by Lemmy and Motorhead's "No Class
No Class
"No Class" is a song by the heavy metal band Motörhead. It was released in 1979, in 7" vinyl pressings. The song first appeared on the 1979 album Overkill, and became one of the "cornerstones" of the classic 1981 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith...
" sung by Williams. The A side would have Wendy and Lemmy do a duet of the title track of the EP.
Tracked at a Canadian recording studio, the Stand by Your Man
Stand by Your Man (EP)
Stand by Your Man is a 7" EP by Lemmy of the British band Motörhead and Wendy O. Williams of the American punk rock band Plasmatics, recorded and released in 1982.-History:...
sessions proved to be tumultuous as guitarist Eddie Clarke (who was producing the tracks, but not playing on them) quit Motorhead in the middle of the project. Rod Swenson and Dan Hartman, who had finished demoing the Plasmatics Coup d'Etat album together, were called upon to finish the rough and raw project in the mix which they did at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Rod then shot the cover with Lemmy and Wendy on it and the raw crude project was put out by Bronze records.
A reviewer concluded "their sandpaper-throated duet on Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
's country standard "Stand By Your Man" has to be one of hard rock's greatest-ever middle fingers to the mainstream." The review goes on to say, "The Plasmatics, therefore, wreaked havoc on 'No Class' while Motörhead hammered out a leering take of 'Masterplan.'
Final members
- Wendy O. WilliamsWendy O. WilliamsWendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
- Vocals, sax, chainsaw, sledgehammer (1978–1988) - Wes Beech - Rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboards (1979–1988)
- Chris RomanelliChris RomanelliChris Romanelli was the bassist of the punk rock band Plasmatics from 1981 until 1983 and again in 1986 to 1987. He played on the Metal Priestess, Coup d'Etat and Maggots: The Record albums. After that, he had some brief stints with several other bands but largely faded from the music industry in...
- Bass, keyboards (1981–1984; 1987–1988) - Ray CallahanRay CallahanRay Callahan is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati from 1969 to 1972, compiling a record of 20–23.-Head coaching record:-External links:...
- Drums (1986–1987)
Former members
Former guitarists- Richie StottsRichie StottsRichard Eugene Stotts was the first guitarist and one of the founding members of the punk/metal group Plasmatics.In 1978, Richie was among the earliest musicians to sport a Mohawk,...
- Lead guitar (1978–1983) - Michael Ray - Lead guitar, rhythm guitar (1984–1987)
Former bassists
- Michael David - Bass (1978)
- Chosei FunaharaChosei FunaharaOsao Chosei Funahara is a musician and film director and producer. Born in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan, Chosei Funahara was educated in both America and Japan. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Nihon University College of Art's Cinema Department in Tokyo...
- Bass (1978–1980) - Jean BeauvoirJean BeauvoirJean Beauvoir is an American singer bassist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist.Beauvoir was born in Chicago to parents of Haitian background. He played drums as a child and switched to bass as a teenager. He was Gary U.S. Bonds's musical director at age 13; following this he sang in the doo wop...
- Bass, keyboards (1980–1981) - Greg Smith - Bass (1984–1986)
Former drummers
- Stuart Deutsch - Drums (1978–1980)
- Neal Smith - Drums [Studio only](1981)
- Tony Petri - Drums (1981)
- Joey Reese - Drums (1981)
- T.C. Tolliver - Drums (1982–1986)
- Michael Lugassy - Drums
Former personnel
- George Pierson - Tour/Sound Manager
- Jim Kramer - Booking Agent
- Pyro Pete - Live Pyrotechnics
Studio albums
| Title | Year | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The 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... |
|---|---|---|
| New Hope for the Wretched New Hope for the Wretched New Hope for the Wretched is the debut album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics, fronted by Wendy O. Williams.Former Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller was the initial producer for the album. Miller had a heroin addiction from the day he arrived in New York and he was virtually useless to the... |
1980 | 55 |
| Beyond the Valley of 1984 Beyond the Valley of 1984 Beyond the Valley of 1984 is the second album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics.After the success of their first album and tour, the band began recording their follow-up album, Beyond the Valley of 1984... |
1981 | |
| Metal Priestess Metal Priestess Metal Priestess is the 1981 EP by punk-metal band The Plasmatics, fronted by Wendy O. Williams.Dan Hartman, who produced acts such as .38 Special and James Brown, among others, had been working on a session in LA when he picked up a copy of Beyond the Valley of 1984 and couldn't stop playing it. It... (mini-LP) |
1981 | |
| Coup d'Etat Coup d'Etat (album) Coup d'Etat is the third studio album released by punk/metal band The Plasmatics in 1982.In 1982, a deal was inked with Capitol Records and Dan Hartman offered to produce a demo of the album for Capitol with Rod at Electric Lady Studios, Jimi Hendrix's old studio, in NY... |
1982 | |
| Maggots: The Record Maggots: The Record Maggots: The Record is the fourth and final studio album released by punk / metal band The Plasmatics in 1987. The album was released as a special "9th Anniversary Album". Despite being called a "Plasmatics" album, it is often regarded as another Wendy O... |
1987 | |
| Coup de Grace Coup de Grace (The Plasmatics album) Coup De Grace is a postmortem released by punk / metal band The Plasmatics in 2000. The album is the original demo of the album Coup d'Etat.... |
2000 | |
Compilations
| Album information |
|---|
| Fuck You!!! And Loving It: A Retrospective Fuck You!!! And Loving It: A Retrospective Fuck You!!! and Loving It: A Retrospective is the first and only greatest hits album released under Wendy O. Williams' name. While titled a Wendy O. Williams album, it also includes songs from Wendy O. Williams career with the Plasmatics... (Plasmatics and solo Wendy tracks)
|
| The Early Years
|
| Put Your Love in Me: Love Songs for the Apocalypse Put Your Love in Me: Love Songs for the Apocalypse Put Your Love in Me: Love Songs for the Apocalypse is the first greatest hits album released by punk / metal band The Plasmatics in 2002.... |
| Final Days: Anthems for the Apocalypse Final Days: Anthems for the Apocalypse Final Days: Anthems for the Apocalypse is the second greatest hits album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics, fronted by Wendy O. Williams, and the band's final release.The album was released through Gigasarus Records in 2002.-Track listing:... |
Extended play (EPs)
| Title | Format | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Meet the Plasmatics | 12" EP | 1979 |
| Butcher Baby EP | 12" EP | 1980 |
Singles
| Title | Format | Year | 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 ... |
|---|---|---|---|
"Butcher Baby"
|
7" | 1978 | |
| "Dream Lover Dream Lover "Dream Lover" is a song written and recorded by Bobby Darin on March 5, 1959. It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd. It is considered a soulful rock song. The song became a multi-million seller, reaching #2 in US charts and was #1 in UK for three weeks during... " |
7" | 1979 | |
| "Butcher Baby" |
7" | 1980 | 55 |
| "Monkey Suit" |
7" | 1980 | |
Video
| Title | Format | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Years of Revolutionary Rock and Roll | DVD | 2006 |