CRIMINAL RECORD N1 -VENUS AND THE RAZORBLADES

VENUS AND THE RZOR BLADES -PUNK-A-RAMA/ PRESS CONFERENCE

PRESENTING THE FIRST OF THE 'CRIMINAL RECORD' SERIES.
A most fitting record to start off this chart.

(Re-printed from the vaults of the ZERO HOUR'S A4 paper zine No1.)

Put together by Californian radio DJ and new wave promoter/producer RODNEY BIG'UNBURGER on the 'BOMP' label in early 1977 after his success with THE RUNAWAYS, the group were assembled as a means of a quick cash in and surprisingly the band made it past their debut single to record another single and an album.
Their debut though is the one to remember, classically called 'PUNK-A-RAMA' the song is a slow builder, all pounding drums with a heavy rock riff that build as the lyrics take us through a musical history of the punk scene, the song reaches a crescendo where we are treated to a list of all the bands that had 'built the scene', dramatically listing bands of the stature of THE DOWN AND DIRTY WHORES and THE HOLLYWOOD STARS (oh, them!) along with the usual RAMONES, BLONDIE Etc. Then the singer growls about how "and in old London across the sea the HOT RODS and THE PISTOLS were in the streets".
Written as a 'call to arms' type song it fails in spectacular fashion, sounding instead like a piss take, the band sound like it was lifted from the ranks of the local blues rock crowd, competent but not really having much idea what it is doing. The battle cry of "this is punk-a-rama" only helps to push the song firmly into to the JILTED JOHN category.
The 'B' side is called 'press conference', it is basically a few minutes of the band in a pretend interview conducted by RODNEY BIGBURGER himself, it is a classic couple of minutes with the band trying their hardest to show us just how 'punk' they are, and in the interview they sing snippets of their follow up single ('dog food'/ 'i wanna be where the boys are'), example= "i wanna fight like the boys fight"- what poetry!
As a parting gift the listeners are presented with some pearls of west coast punk wisdom to take with us when the single finishes, in a 'FONZIE' like style VENUS, or is it a RAZOR BLADE? tells us to "keep it together, wear your leather -yeah!". pure class.