Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

group, which was formed in 1985. Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial

featuring big

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s and

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

es, as was the trend in the band's heyday of the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s.

Overview

The

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

is the brainchild of Mark Manning, a former

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

and art editor of the now defunct '' Flexipop!'' magazine. The magazine folded back in 1982, but the hedonistic lifestyle of the rock and pop stars who frequented the magazine's offices fueled his desire to experience the debauchery of life as a decadent

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

star. He joined another music publication called ''Metal Fury'' as a graphic designer, but assumed the alter ego 'Zodiac Mindwarp' at night. ''Zodiac Mindwarp'' was the namesake of a series of underground comics written and illustrated by

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. Influences His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the ...

. Zodiac soon left ''Metal Fury'' and formed the Love Reaction in 1985 with

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo the KLF, co-founder of the Orb and as the man who K Foundation Burn a Million Quid, burnt £1 million ...

(who later formed

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential ...

The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish people, Scottish musician Bill Drummond (alias Ki ...

and

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish people, Scottish musician Bill Drummond (alias Ki ...

) on guitar;

Kid Chaos Kid Chaos, also known as Haggis (born Stephen Harris) is a British rock bassist and guitarist who played in incarnations of hard rock bands Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, The Cult and The Four Horsemen as well as guesting with ''Appetite ...

(Stephen Harris) on bass; and Boom Boom Kaboomski on drums. The band was signed to the Food label of Phonogram Records, who soon issued their first recording, "Wild Child" with just Zodiac playing guitar and on vocals, Kid Chaos on bass and Jake Le Mesurier on drums. A demo version of "High Priest of Love" was included on the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' ''Vinyl Conflict 2'' free EP in September 1986. By the end of the year the lineup had changed again to accommodate the still-present figure of Cobalt Stargazer (Geoff Bird) and new drummer Slam Thunderhide (Stephen Landrum). That lineup contributed the studio track, "Drug Shoes," to the FOOD ''Imminent 2'' compilation. At various times, the band has also featured Evil Bastard (Robert Munro, who co-penned and sang on two

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

: "Hangover from Hell" and "Lager Woman from Hell"), Heavy Metal Bear (Alex Bradly), Trash D Garbage (Paul Bailey), Flash Bastard (Jan Cyrka), Suzi X (Richard Levy), Tex Diablo (Christopher Renshaw), and Robbie Vom (Rob Morris). Zodiac Mindwarp progressed rapidly from their first gig at

Dingwalls Dingwalls Dancehall (original name at time of opening) is a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden in London. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings which were put to new use in the 20th centur ...

in November 1985, to playing in front of a packed

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

in 1986, but this was followed by the departure of Kid Chaos, who joined

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

. Zodiac regrouped by assigning Trash D Garbage on bass and Flash Bastard (Jan Cyrka) on rhythm guitar. The expanded five-member outfit went on to record Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction's debut album in 1988, entitled ''

Tattooed Beat Messiah ''Tattooed Beat Messiah'' is the 1988 debut full-length studio release by Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction. Engineered by Femi Jiya and Mark Freegard. Mixed by Nigel Green. The album reached #132 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and #20 on the U ...

''. Other band members playing bass included: Suzi X, Tex Diablo and Kev Reverb; previous drummers included Robbie Vom and The Apocalypse. The act produced a UK Singles Chart Top 20 hit with their breakthrough record, "Prime Mover". Half of the band's 1989 follow-on tour for the album was cancelled after Manning was run-over outside the Leadmill venue in Sheffield. Manning established himself as an author, penning ''A Bible of Dreams'' (1994) and ''Bad Wisdom'' (1996; both with

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...

); plus ''Crucify Me Again'' (2000), ''Get Your Cock Out'' (2000), ''Fucked by Rock'' (2001), ''Collateral Damage'', and ''The Wild Highway'' (2005; again with Drummond). Manning is also a regular contributor to '' The Idler'' magazine. The band's name was taken from the

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

song "Dancing in the Dark"", from the lyrics:
"I'm sick of sitting around here trying to write this book
I need a love reaction
Come on now, baby, give me just one look."

Discography

Singles and EPs

Albums

* ''High Priest of Love'' (1986) * ''

'' (1988) – UK No. 20 (re-released in 1997 as ''The Best of Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction'') * ''

Hoodlum Thunder ''Hoodlum Thunder'' is a 1991 album and the second full-length studio album released by Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction. It was recorded at Lille Yard Studios in London, England. The album was supported by singles for "Elvis Died For You" ...

'' (1991) * ''Live at Reading'' (1993) * ''One More Knife'' (1994) * ''I Am Rock'' (2002) – (re-released in 2005 with four demo bonus tracks) * ''Weapons of Mass Destruction'' (live album) (2004) * ''Rock Savage'' (2005) * ''Pandora's Grisly Handbag'' (1986 live album and DVD) (2006) * '' We Are Volsung'' (2010)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zodiac Mindwarp 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom English hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1985 Vertigo Records artists