The Rezillos
High-velocity Scottish punk with a technicolor sci-fi obsession. It is 1960s pop melodies smashed into 1970s speed and sarcasm. Perfect for a frantic energy boost.
High-velocity Scottish punk with a technicolor sci-fi obsession. It is 1960s pop melodies smashed into 1970s speed and sarcasm. Perfect for a frantic energy boost.
Imagine a 1960s beat group that accidentally stumbled into a time machine, got blasted with 1970s punk radiation, and emerged obsessed with flying saucers and comic books. The Rezillos trade the typical nihilism of their peers for a neon-soaked, hyper-kinetic joy. Their sound is a blur of jagged guitars, driving rhythms, and the unmistakable vocal interplay between Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds, whose voices clash and harmonize with theatrical flair.
What truly sets them apart is their refusal to be grim. While other bands were singing about no future, The Rezillos were singing about the future as imagined by 1950s cinema. They lean heavily into a 'B-movie' aesthetic, utilizing surf-rock guitar twang and girl-group vocal structures but delivering them at a breakneck punk tempo. It is music that feels like a Saturday morning cartoon directed by a garage rock obsessive.
Start with 'Can't Stand the Rezillos'. It is a perfect capsule of their brief, explosive initial run, featuring the biting industry satire of 'Top of the Pops' and their definitive, high-speed cover of 'Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight'. It is essential listening for anyone who wants their punk with a side of kitsch and a massive dose of adrenaline.
The Rezillos are a punk and new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1976. Although emerging at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos did not share the nihilism or social commentary of their contemporaries. Instead, the band took a more light-hearted approach in their songs; at the time, they preferred to describe themselves as "a new wave beat group". Their songs are heavily influenced by 1950s rock and roll, 1960s English beat music and garage rock, early 1970s glam rock, with recurring lyrical themes of science fiction and B movies; their influences mirrored those of US bands the Cramps and the B-52s, who were starting out at the same time. The Rezillos' biggest hit in their home country was the UK Top 20 single "Top of the Pops" in 1978, but they are best known outside the UK for their cover version of "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight", which was featured on the soundtrack to Jackass: The Movie in 2002. Since the Rezillos recorded it, the song has been covered by other punk bands, including Youth Brigade and Murphy's Law. Released in July 1978, the Rezillos' first studio album Can't Stand the Rezillos is considered a classic album of the first wave of British punk, but the group split up four months after its release, following internal arguments about their future direction. After the Rezillos split, the band's guitarist and principal songwriter, Jo Callis, briefly joined a couple of unsuccessful Edinburgh post-punk groups before being invited to join The Human League. He went on to co-write some of The Human League's best known songs during their most successful period, including their biggest worldwide hit, "Don't You Want Me". The Rezillos' vocalists, Eugene Reynolds and Fay Fife, formed the Revillos, a group with an ever-changing line-up that continued where the Rezillos left off. The Revillos split up in 1985, briefly reforming in 1994 for a tour of Japan, and again in 1996 for a UK tour. In 2001 the Rezillos reformed after being invited to play at Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations, and have continued to play live ever since, as well as releasing new singles occasionally.
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