Taime Downe (; born Gustave Molvik on September 29, 1964) is an American musician best known as the lead singer of the 1980s

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

band Faster Pussycat.

Career

In high school, Downe formed a band named The Bondage Boys, and going under the stage name Vaun Hammer, he released a song with this band titled "The Loser" on '' Northwest Metalfest'', a compilation featuring 10 Seattle-area bands.Northwest Metalfest Discogs
/ref> Sometime after this, he left Seattle for San Diego and then moved on to Los Angeles. Downe worked for

Retail Slut Retail Slut was a clothing store in Los Angeles, California that specialized in punk, goth, and underground fashions. Founded in 1983 by Helen O'Neill, the store heavily supported the underground scenes such as the S&M, drag and rave communi ...

in Hollywood and ran the stage lights at the Troubadour. Magnus Walker of Serious Clothing accidentally got his start when, walking into Retail Slut, Downe asked where he had got his pants. Although Walker had bought them in Hollywood for less than $10, he replied England, and Downe asked him to source 8 pairs at a price of $25 to sell in the store. In 1985, he formed the band Faster Pussycat. The five-member band released their debut album in 1987. Faster Pussycat were signed to

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

and sold over 500,000 copies of 1989's '' Wake Me When It's Over''. They toured with Y&T,

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, and others. Their next album '' Whipped!'', released in 1992, was less popular. The band broke up that year, with Downe's moving to Chicago to work with

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Fee ...

. Downe also sang backing vocals on

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's 1992 cover of the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

' "Psycho Therapy". Downe returned to Los Angeles shortly after and put together the

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...

band The Newlydeads for which he wrote and produced. Around 1998, he opened his own club, named The Pretty Ugly Club, with co-owner JD Terziu, and the club achieved the same level of success as The Cathouse, the club Downe had run with

Riki Rachtman David Andrew "Riki" Rachtman is an American television and radio personality. He is best known for his association with the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s hard rock and heavy metal scene, hosting MTV's ''Headbangers Ball'' from 1990 to the s ...

. Taime has also been the promoter of other clubs in Los Angeles, such as Thunder Pussy and Pretty Pussy. He also was the DJ at Metal Skool with Josh Richman as the MC. The Newlydeads released a remix CD titled '' Re-Bound'', and in 2001, released ''Dead End''. The same year, Downe reunited for a tour with original Faster Pussycat members Brent Muscat and Greg Steele joining him. The re-formed band opened for

Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

in 2002. In 2006, he released '' Dreams from a Dirt Nap'', a Newlydeads best-of album, in May, and the Faster Pussycat album '' The Power and the Glory Hole'' in July.

Personal life

Downe's fiancée Kimberly Burch died in March 2025 after falling from a

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References

External links

Official Newlydeads website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downe, Taime Faster Pussycat members The Newlydeads members 1964 births Living people American rock singers Musicians from Seattle Singers from Washington (state) Pigface members 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers