Iron Virgin were a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band of the 1970s. Their early stage garb has been compared to ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'', with their later stage costumes similar to

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

uniforms, but with added iron

chastity belt A chastity belt is a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse or masturbation. Such belts were historically designed for women, ostensibly for the purpose of chastity, as an anti-rape device, or to dissuade women and thei ...

s.
The band formed in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, in 1972 where they were discovered by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

producer

Nick Tauber Nick Tauber is a British record producer best known for his work with Thin Lizzy, Toyah and Marillion in the 1970s and 1980s. Nick Tauber continues to manage, produce, and consult with acts/artists/and producers. In the late 1990s, Tauber was inv ...

and signed to the label's " progressive" offshoot, Deram. Their first single was " Jet", a cover from

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

's ''

Band on the Run ''Band on the Run'' is the third studio album by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released on 30 November 1973. It was McCartney's fifth album after leaving the Beatles in April 1970 and his final album on Apple ...

'' album. Recorded in December 1973, the song was released in February 1974. It was getting exposure until McCartney himself issued his version as a single, effectively smothering Iron Virgin's recording. Their second, and best known single was "Rebels Rule", from their 1974 album of the same name. It scored reasonable reviews and a variation called "Stand Up for Kenny Everett" was often played on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

by the DJ of the title. The song has been described as ''"A brilliantly bombastic ode to teenage anarchy; the single's commercial failure is one of the great mysteries of its era".'' "Rebels Rule" was influential on the all-girl

glam punk Glam punk is a music genre that began in the early to mid-1970s and incorporates elements of proto-punk and glam rock. The genre was pioneered by the New York Dolls, who influenced the formation of other New York City groups the Stilettos, the ...

band

The Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...

when they made their song " California Paradise" from their 1977 album

Queens of Noise ''Queens of Noise'' is the second studio album by the American rock music, rock band the Runaways, released on January 7, 1977, through Mercury Records. It is the last album to involve Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox as members of the band. It is ...

. Iron Virgin's music has been re-released on compilation CDs such as the 2003 album ''

Velvet Tinmine ''Velvet Tinmine'' is a compilation album consisting of 20 obscure, yet high quality, British pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more empha ...

'', part of the 'Junkshop' collection of discs released by RPM Records that focused on glam bands from the early 1970s whose output never, or barely, charted.

Members

* Stuart Harper –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Gordon Nicol –

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Lawrie Riva – Guitar * Marshall Bain –

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* John Lovatt –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

External links

* ''Allmusic''
''Scotch Productions''

"Rave Up Records"

''Billboard''
Deram Records artists Scottish rock music groups Scottish glam rock groups {{UK-band-stub

Members

See also

References

External links