With a CV that reads like an episode of The Twilight Zone; dress 60s, but be punk, perform on the show you claim to be against, have a hit single, but then split up, re-start the band but change the “Z” to a “V” just to confuse everyone, and then all but disappear, but still be touring 40 years later – it can only be The Rezillos.
Fay Fife – “Creativity is much more important than how good you are at it”
The Rezillos came together via Art College in Edinburgh in 1976, and were one of the first bands who proved that you didn’t have to spit and pogo around in order to be, well punk. Instead of the more obvious and London-centric Westway chic, they took their inspiration from 1950s Comic books and Science Fiction, the band name itself was adapted from the name of a club featured in a DC Comics publication.
With Fay decked out in 1960s clothing, she co-fronted the band with all the looks of a B-Movie stewardess on one of the earlier Apollo missions, ready to hand out the cheese and pineapple cubes or a lemon soaked paper napkin whenever required. Their sound was infused with the ghouls of Rock and Roll, crunchy fuzzed up chords mixed with twangy, reverb guitars, like a punk Duane Eddy. For such apparent anomalies, they were oddly in sync with bands like The Cramps and the B-52s who were forming in the US at around the same time.
Their first album “Can’t Stand the Rezillos” was released in July 1978, it made it to number 16 of the album charts, and the single “Top Of The Pops” zoomed into the Top Twenty earning the band an appearance on the very show that they were lampooning in the song, 4 months later the band split.
Also in the original Rezillos line-up was guitarist Jo Callis, who went onto join Sheffield’s Human League, earning a co-writing credit on “Don’t You Want Me”.