TRANSVISION VAMP + YEE LOI – CHALK, BRIGHTON 28.10.26
Tonight I’m in Brighton at Chalk for a band reunion that I really didn’t see coming: Transvision Vamp who are on date 12 of 16 of their UK & Ireland tour. It’s their first since 1991, but they didn’t call in at Brighton back then, although they did play the Top Rank Suite (now PRYZM) twice: 19th October 1988 and 12th June 1989.
I must confess that I wasn’t particularly a fan of the band back in the day, but I didn’t see them then, and I’m curious to see how both the band and their music stand up in the 21st century.
I’m actually far more interested in seeing the support band Yee Loi, (which means “two girls” in Cantonese) about whom I’ve repeatedly heard great things. They’re a three piece from Merseyside comprising siblings Rose on guitar and occasional lead vocals, Matilda on drums and lead vocals, and Don Don on bass.
As soon as they cut into ‘Dad’s Money’ it becomes apparent that any hype is to be believed. They really are as good as everybody says! Matilda’s vocals are ace, and there are cool harmonies too. Rose has a Les Paul Double Cutaway and essays the first of many storming rock ‘n’ roll solos on it. She throws rock guitarist shapes too. She’s the real deal.
Current single ‘Down In The Bunker’ is dispatched early in the set. It’s a gothic tale based upon a family holiday in Italy and, amongst other things, involves the body of a dead uncle hidden in a basement. Dark? You betcha! ‘Poor Girl’ is dedicated to their immigrant grandparents (they’re half Vietnamese and half Irish) and the hard times that they endured when they first moved to Liverpool. The band’s musical heritage is emblazoned on the t-shirts that they wear, with the Ramones and Motorhead figuring prominently.
Yee Loi’s material is so good that they don’t need to bother with covers, but they do them anyway. First up is Elvis’s ‘Mystery Train’, which starts with a storming guitar intro from Rose. It’s possibly the best version of this song that I’ve heard. If Motorhead and Girlschool had released ‘Mystery Train’ as a joint single, this is what it would have sounded like. I hadn’t expected them to do ‘Ramblin’ Rose’ by The MC5, but they do a totally inflammable version, dedicated to “Brother Wayne Kramer”. They close with ‘Miraclist’, a single that is about to be released.
Yee Loi’s set has been utterly jaw-dropping, and I must say that I’m completely blown away. If they play like this every night, I can’t see them doing support tours for very much longer. Well done to Transvision Vamp for inviting them along. Yee Loi’s debut album ‘Flicks, Licks, Party Tricks’ is going to be released on 15th January on red vinyl and CD. I rather think that it’s going to be an essential purchase – Pre-order yours HERE.
Yee Loi:
Matilda Farrell – drums, lead vocals
Rose Farrell – guitar, occasional lead vocals
Don Don (Donnie) Farrell – bass
The stage is set for Transvision Vamp. Chalk is far busier than I was expecting. If it’s not sold out then it’s pretty close. I can’t help noticing how low Wendy James’ mic stand is. Is she really that small? It turns out that she is! Bless! Apart from Wendy the only remaining original member of the band is Dave Parsons on bass. In addition they have guitarist Alex Ward from Thurston Moore’s band, drummer Jim Sclavunos from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, together with guitarist Pip Stakem and keyboard player Matt Millership.
Kicking off with ‘Trash City’ it’s immediately apparent that Wendy’s voice is in fine fettle. It’s every bit as good as it was three-and-a-half decades ago. Second song in is their cover of Holly and the Italians’ ‘Tell That Girl To Shut Up’. A great cover of a fine song, which was a minor hit for Transvision Vamp. I was unaware that the band had started off in Brighton: in Sillwood Terrace (just south of Western Road) apparently. As the evening progresses it becomes clear that Wendy is quite the raconteur. She could easily do a ‘songs and stories’ kind of tour.
Tonight isn’t just about Transvision Vamp though. It’s possibly easy to forget that Wendy has also had a solo career. And so we get ‘Speedball’ from 2011’s ‘I Came Here To Blow Minds’. Well, you’re making a good fist of doing that tonight Wendy. Unfortunately the synth part on this is somewhat overpowering. It sounds like a dentist’s drill.
I was unaware that Transvision Vamp’s third album ‘Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble’ didn’t get a UK release. In hindsight that was clearly the cause of the band’s demise. We get ‘Pressure Time’ from it. The intro is not dissimilar to David Bowie’s ‘“Heroes”’, although it’s different enough. It’s pretty good. If it’s representative of the rest of the album then I’ve no idea why the record company had a problem with it. A more recent Wendy James solo song is ‘You’re A Dirtbomb, Lester’, inspired by the late legendary music journalist Lester Bangs. This is from the 2016 album ‘The Price Of The Ticket’. It’s a bit of a banger, if you’ll pardon the pun.
For most of tonight’s set the synth seems to be the lead instrument. The guitarists seem to mostly play rhythm apart from the odd lick. There aren’t really any solos to speak of. One of my bugbears about Transvision Vamp used to be that much of their music seemed to be very derivative. That’s not so apparent tonight. Mind you, since Transvision Vamp’s heyday we’ve had Oasis stealing riffs from here, there and everywhere, and nobody cared about that. However, the riff for ‘Born To Be Sold’ seems to be based upon The Who’s version of ‘Summertime Blues’, and debut single ‘Revolution Baby’ could possibly be the bastard offspring of a liaison between T Rex and a Marshall stack. This does feature a cool but short guitar solo though.
‘Pay The Ghosts’ from ‘Velveteen’ doesn’t sound like anything else and is an absolute banger! Best song of the set! Probably. ‘Landslide Of Love’ however sounds like Goffin & King’s ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ played by The Velvet Underground. There’s a hint of Kim Wilde’s ‘Kids In America’ in there too. Set closer ‘Baby I Don’t Care’ shamelessly steals the riff to ‘Wild Thing’. Still, talent borrows, genius steals, apparently.
The band leave the stage for just long enough for Wendy to change into a t-shirt bearing the slogan “No Wendy no party”, which the crowd sing back to her to the tune of The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’. She looks visibly moved. We’re rewarded with ‘The Impression of Normalcy’ from Wendy’s 2020 album ‘Queen High Straight’. I’ve never heard it before and it’s really good! ‘Bad Valentine’ manages to sound undeniably classicist without sounding like anything specific, and for the final encore we’re treated to the full nine-and-a-half minutes of the title track of ‘Velveteen’, which apparently hasn’t been played live before. It’s a proper epic without an ounce of self-indulgence.
Tonight has been an interesting gig. Opening with a glimpse at rock ‘n’ roll’s possible future, followed by a hefty slab of nostalgia. However, 3rd October 2028 will be the fortieth anniversary of Transvision Vamp’s first record being released. It will also be the release date of a new Transvision Vamp album. We wait with bated breath.
Transvision Vamp:
Wendy James – lead vocals
Dave Parsons – bass
Alex Ward – guitar, vocals
Jim Sclavunos – drums
Pip Stakem – guitar, vocals
Matt Millership – keys, vocals
Transvision Vamp setlist:
‘Trash City’ (from 1988 ‘Pop Art’ album)
‘Tell That Girl To Shut Up’ (Holly and the Italians cover) (from 1988 ‘Pop Art’ album)
‘I Want Your Love’ (from 1988 ‘Pop Art’ album)
‘Speedball’ (from 2011 Wendy James ‘I Came Here To Blow Minds’ album)
‘Sister Moon’ (from 1988 ‘Pop Art’ album)
‘Pressure Times’ (from 1991 ‘Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble’ album)
‘You’re A Dirtbomb, Lester’ (from 2016 Wendy James ‘The Price Of The Ticket’ album)
‘The Only One’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
‘If Looks Could Kill’ (from 1991 ‘Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble’ album)
‘Born To Be Sold’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
‘Down On You’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
‘Revolution Baby’ (from 1988 ‘Pop Art’ album)
‘Pay The Ghosts’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
‘Landslide Of Love’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
‘Baby I Don’t Care’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
(encore)
‘The Impression Of Normalcy’ (from 2020 Wendy James ‘Queen High Straight’ album)
‘Bad Valentine’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
‘Velveteen’ (from 1989 ‘Velveteen’ album)
Further reading about Transvision Vamp:
Transvision Vamp were formed in West London by Wendy James and Nick Christian Sayer, along with Dave Parsons and Tex Axile. They were signed to MCA Records by A&R legend Dave Ambrose and released their breakthrough debut album ‘Pop Art’ (UK No.4 album) in 1988, featuring hit singles such as ‘I Want Your Love’, ‘Tell That Girl To Shut Up’ and ‘Revolution Baby’. Second album ‘Velveteen’, which included the smash hit ‘Baby I Don’t Care’, was released the following year and the album reached No.1 in the UK Charts and 10 other countries around the world.
Their third and final album, ‘Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble’, was released in 1991 and was their biggest USA release, securing No.1 spots in all the indie and college charts. Ironically, the album was not made available domestically in the UK until years later. The band did two world tours that year, and Kurt Cobain famously attended many of the US shows, wearing TVV t-shirts and declaring himself a fan. Wendy cited this album as her favourite, specifically highlighting the song ‘If Looks Could Kill’.
In 1992, Transvision Vamp called time-out in San Francisco. During the span of Transvision Vamp, Wendy was made a cover star of many magazines worldwide, was photographed by everyone from David Bailey for Tatler Magazine, Jurgen Teller for The Face Magazine and i-D Magazine. She became known for her forthright TV appearances and became an international household name.
Further reading about Wendy James:
Following the dissolution of Transvision Vamp, Wendy James continued her musical journey as a solo artist, achieving further success. Over the years, she has released seven further solo albums (including a double album), all critically praised, cementing her bona fides in songwriting and music producing and featuring collaborations with the likes of Elvis Costello, James Williamson of Iggy & The Stooges, Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Group and James Sclavunos of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
