Those, my friends, are titles of unquestionable royalty. The American Dream Girl gone nightmare.
Never really enjoyed metal in any of its many forms, but that Metal Priestess Wendy Orleans Williams knew how to do punk metal better than any of those hair band boys & if I'm gonna pick someone that can really "front" a band, its WOW. She & the Plasmatics rubbed America's nose in its own consumerist refuse.
On a steamy Wednesday night on July 26, 1978, the Plasmatics were unveiled at CBGBs in New York City's Bowery. It was like Wendy's coming out party: "She was a natural," Rod Swenson said, "She was pure performer. In that way, it became her vehicle because she exploded into it. She just became alive."
The backing musicians were a good foil for Wendy. Richie Stotts, a 6-foot-7 guitarist, was one of the first musicians to sport a Mohawk, taking inspiration from the Travis Bickle character in the movie Taxi Driver. In an effort to keep up with his consistently outrageous lead singer, he'd cross dress in nurse's uniforms, tutus, wedding dresses, or French maid outfits. Richie was a big fan of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so the theatrics definitely leaned toward gore. Michael David, the group's bass player, remembers: "Half the theatrics came from Rod via 42nd St Times Square or Russ Meyer movies, the other half came from Captain Sensible & movies like Freaks, or Friday 13th."
1979. Barely a year since the Plasmatics started, they'd become one of the biggest drawing bands in New York. They secured a gig headlining the 3,300 capacity Palladium, the first band in history to do so at full ticket prices & selling out the show even though the band didn't even have a major label recording contract.
The Palladium show took place on November 16, 1979. The Plasmatics blew up a Cadillac on stage.
The Plasmatics pushed the boundaries of their live shows to became more comedically violent & extreme. Wendy cut an indelible, charismatic figure, screaming insurrectionist lyrics with shredded clothes barely covering her body, chanting openly about sexual needs while demolishing stacks of televisions with sledgehammers. One song, "Butcher Baby", featured a chainsaw sawing through a guitar instead of a guitar solo.
Early 1980s, the Reagan era with its rampant materialism in full force & Wendy was symbolically destroying symbols of American mass culture, consumerism, or conformity. Here was a muscular, mohawked woman, gleefully destroying television sets & automobiles, the beloved symbols of American middle-class complacency, while simultaneously belting out some of the most confrontational songs in the history of rock. This wasn't just entertainment; this was warfare.
Record deal with Stiff.
Canceled show at London Hammersmith Odeon because of charges of anarchism.
New Hope for the Wretched.
To kick off the New Hope tour, Wendy wanted to drive a 1972 Cadillac onto an exploding stage on Pier 62 in New York. The car would be loaded with explosives. She would jump out moments before the car hit the stage, blowing up all the equipment. The required permits were hard to obtain. The permit only allowed for an estimated 5,000 - 6,000 people. The day of the performance, more than 10,000 showed up, jamming the downtown streets & lining the rooftops.
1981. Beyond the Valley of 1984 was released, followed by another tour. The 1984 World Tour bore the slogan, "Down on Your Knees & Pledge Allegiance!"
1982. A major record deal was signed, a worldwide contract with Capitol Records, that would bring Wendy's shrill political shriek to a larger audience. The resulting album, Coup d'Etat, was a breakthrough, blending punk & metal genres for the first time. Wendy's vocals were a powerful tour de force.
Rod Swenson directed a video for one of the album's songs, "The Damned" which featured Wendy driving a school bus through a wall of TVs, climbing onto the roof of the bus which had been loaded with explosives to sing, then jumping off a few moments before the bus goes through a second wall of TVs. The bus is then blown sky high.
But shortly after the Plasmatics record was released, Capitol had second thoughts: pretty boy new wave groups were appearing, their names giving away their intent. Did anyone believe that A Flock of Seagulls were ruthlessly trying to change the world? These newcomers could be relied on to sell records with none of the political liability or fallout.
Within weeks, Capitol Records dropped the Plasmatics.
There was no shortage of true believers to the Plasmatics cause. John Candy had the Plasmatics as guests at Gil Fisher's The Fishin' Musician's old fishing lodge.
Lemmy of Motörhead recorded a duet of the country classic "Stand by Your Man" with Wendy.
However, the image & message of the Plasmatics was their own undoing. Authorities everywhere came down hard & the rebellion was quelled. This band of misfits must end. There was no place in 1980s America for womyn like Wendy O. Williams. But who was Wendy?
The real Wendy: she spent much of her free time devoted to personal causes focusing on animal-protection, health, & environmental issues. She was a vegetarian who refused to wear makeup manufactured by companies that use animals for laboratory experimentation. She gave up drinking alcohol, quit smoking, & swore off all drugs, even aspirin. She turned to exercising: jogging, swimming regularly, & lifting weights.
The same month that she was on the cover of Kerrang! she was also on the cover of Vegetarian Times.
On Monday, April 6, 1998, she walked out of the back of her home in Storrs,Connecticut into the woods & shot herself in the head with a handgun. She was 48 years old. On a nearby rock, were broken nutshells. She fed the squirrels before turning the gun on herself.
No one could make this stuff up.
All I can say is W.O.W...
Side 1 -
Tight Black Pants
Monkey Suit
Living Dead
Test Tube Babies
Won't You
Concrete Shoes
Squirm (live)
Side 2 -
Want You Baby
Dreamlover
Sometimes I
Corruption
Butcher Baby
Incantation
Masterplan
Headbanger
Summer Nite
Nothing
Fast Food Service
Side 2 -
Hit Man (live Milan)
Living Dead
Sex Junkie
Plasma Jam (live Milan)
Pig is a Pig
SIDE ONE -
Lunacy
Doom Song
Sex Junkie
SIDE TWO -
Black Leather Monster
12 Noon
Masterplan
Side A -
Stand by Your Man
Side B -
No Class
Side 1 -
Put Your Love in Me
Stop
Rock N Roll
Lightning Breaks
No Class
Side 2 -
Mistress of Taboo
Country Fairs
Path of Glory
Just Like on TV
The Damned
Enjoy,
NØ
