Search Results - The Rezillos

The band originally consisted of Eugene Reynolds (born Alan Forbes) vocals; Fay Fife (born Sheilagh Hynde) vocals; Jo Callis guitar; William Mysterious (born Alastair Donaldson), saxophone; Angel Patterson (born Alan Patterson), drums; Hi-Fi Harris guitar; Dr D.K. Smythe bass guitar and Gale Warning (Gail Jamieson) backing vocals. The Rezillos' early live repertoire included versions of songs originally recorded by the likes of the Sweet, Screaming Lord Sutch, Fleetwood Mac (in the guise of Earl Vince and the Valiants) and the Dave Clark Five. Bootleg recordings exist of this stage of the band's history.

This line-up released their first single "Can't Stand My Baby" on the indie record label, Sensible Records. This led to a major recording contract with Sire Records, home at that time to such other rising new wave acts as Talking Heads and The Ramones. The band also underwent a transformation, shedding both Hi-Fi Harris, Dr. D.K. Smythe, and two backing singers. William Mysterious then shifted to bassist for the band's debut album Can't Stand The Rezillos, widely regarded as a classic of both punk rock and New Wave. A second single "Flying Saucer Attack" / "My Baby Does Good Sculptures" grazed the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart, and contained different versions of the songs found on the album release. Like the first single, it is considered highly collectable.^{[citation needed]}

However, the quintet reached the Top 20 of the UK chart with their third single, "Top of the Pops" in 1978. By this time, William Mysterious had left the band to be replaced by another bass player Simon Templar (a pseudonym for Simon Bloomfield). The single version of "Top of the Pops" features him, whilst the album version was recorded with William Mysterious.