/ A black leather jacket and a good pair of engineer boots: the essential wardrobe staples of a 1950s bad boy greaser. What more do you need? In the case of this rockabilly angel -- nothing. (Via Vintage Gay Men) /
From the Facebook events page:
Like the celebrants of some macabre feast, people are waiting ... waiting for the return of LOBOTOMY ROOM!
Yes, Lobotomy Room: a Mondo Trasho night of rockabilly, frantic Rhythm and Blues, tittyshaking sleazy instrumentals, punk, kitsch and exotica (weird shit, basically! Think John Waters soundtracks, or Songs The Cramps Taught Us), hosted by Graham Russell (Dr Sketchy London’s resident DJ). Expect desperate stabs from the jukebox jungle! Savage rhythms to make you writhe and rock!
Admission is free, the booze is cheap and the venue is a basement in Stoke Newington. Things kick off early – stick a safety pin through your nose and come straight from the office.
Lauren and I at the end of the night ... (note Sarah in the corner)
For the third-ever Lobotomy Room, I went for a low-key, intimate and small-scale vibe in the basement of Ryan’s Bar in Stoke Newington. OK, that’s a positive spin on confessing not many people showed up! The March 2013 Lobotomy Room at Paper Dress Vintage was a triumph, but Saturday nights there are booked solid until later in the summer (I’m doing the next Lobotomy Room there on Saturday 13 July 2013), so I thought I’d do a Lobotomy Room at Ryan’s Bar as an experiment in the meantime. Because of its prime location in Shoreditch, Paper Dress Vintage gets swarms of passing trade. Luring people to Stoke Newington proved trickier! I promoted the hell out of it (the ultra chi chi 1940s and 50s reproduction clothing emporium Vivien of Holloway kindly printed-up a mountain of beautiful glossy flyers -- with Lobotomy Room details on one side and Vivien of Holloway info on the reverse -- for me to distribute; Lobotomy Room was listed in Time Out online for the first time), and so did Ryan’s Bar. Ah, well – Lobotomy Room is still an unknown commodity for now. But the elite and loyal hardcore minority was there (who years from now will be able to brag they were at Lobotomy Room in its early undiscovered days!), plus there were some glamorous new faces (including some all the way from Manchester).
Anyway, as usual I eased into things with some otherworldly pagan / taboo mondo exotica (not playing a track by Yma Sumac just feels wrong) and then cranked-up my trashiest and most abrasive music LOUD. As the photos below show, things eventually descended into a drunken bacchanal. It was particularly gratifying to look up and see people moshing to “Punks Get Off the Grass” by John Waters’ character actress, Edith “Mama Edie” Massey. For me, "outsider actress" and senior citizen matriarch of punk Massey is virtually the patron saint of Lobotomy Room and everything I want it to represent.
Grainy / gritty black and white art shot courtesy of the talented Phil Clark. (No, I have no idea what the black speck on my adam's apple is)
Like I know what I'm doing ... It's like handing an iPhone to an ape (photo by Magda)
Mia (aka Mayan Ruin -- The Republic of Guatemala's finest export!) and Dan (aka The Dan-ster)
Sarah and Lauren
International sex kitten and "woman of mystery" Magda and Charlie
Sally and Paddy
Eric and Phil representing the bear community
Fun and stylish couple
Manchester's Finest: The Mancunian Girls
Rock Chicks Unite! Lauren, Sally and Magda
There's no stoppin' the cretins from hoppin'!
Chrlie, Magda and Christopher
Sweatin' to the oldies
Charlie (wearing my biker cap) and La Magda
Magda and I: I've known this crazy fräulein since the 1990s, when we both used to work for the same fetish company!
Lauren and Christopher, who're in a blues-punk duo together called Spanking Machine (they recently recorded their demo). They are grasping, tenacious young starlets on the ascent. Watch out!
"The Boys on Bikes Played Shame Games with ... The Mother Truckers!" Homoerotic! Christopher and I
There's plenty more photos from the night on flickr. (For the record, I loathe the ugly, jumbled and chaotic flickr re-design. What a mess!)
Follow me on tumblr! (Warning: Not Safe for Work!)
Quiet Village - Martin Denny
Tuma (Earthquake) - Yma Sumac
Mama's Place - Bing Day
Egg Man - Edith Massey
Moon Mist - The Out Islanders
Cafe Bohemian - The Enchanters
Monkey Bird - The Revels
Rigor Mortis - The Gravestone Four
La Bamba - Eartha Kitt
Slow Walk - Sil Austin
One Monkey Don't Stop No Show - Big Maybelle
Vesuvius - The Revels
Stranger in My Own Home Town - Elvis Presley (x-rated "blue" version)
Wiped-Out - The Escorts
I Can't Sleep - Tini Williams and The Skyliners
Strollin' After Dark - The Shades
Don' Wanna - Wanda Jackson
Beauty is Only Skin Deep - Robert Mitchum
Little Queenie - Bill Black Combo
Beat Generation - Mamie Van Doren
Are You Nervous? The Instrumentals
Bombora - The Original Surfaris
Save It - Mel Robbins
8-Ball - The Hustlers
Bacon Fat - Andre Williams
The Whip - The Frantics
Cooler Weather (Is A-Comin') - Eddie Weldon
Madness - The Rhythm Rockers
Sick and Tired - Lula Reed
I Love the Life I Live - Esquerita
Crawlin' - The Untouchables
No Good Lover - Mickey and Sylvia
Last Call for Whiskey - Choker Campbell
Beaver Shot - The Periscopes
Black Tarantula - Jody Reynolds
Safari - The El Capris
Drummin' Up A Storm - Sandy Nelson
Love Potion # 9 - Nancy Sit
Viens danser le twist - Johnny Hallyday
Little Miss Understood - Connie Stevens
Beat Girl - Adam Faith
Tonight You Belong to Me - Patience and Prudence
People Ain't No Good - The Cramps
Margaya - The Fender Four
Intoxica - The Centurions
Roll with Me Henry - Etta James
Uptown to Harlem - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Don't Be Cruel - Bill Black Combo
Whistle Bait - The Collins Kids
Fool I Am - Pat Ferguson
The Big Bounce - Shirley Caddell
Little Lil - Mel Dorsey
Rawhide - Link Wray
She Said - Hasil Adkins
Shortnin' Bread - The Ready Men
Muleskinner Blues - The Fendermen
Breathless - Aarlie Neaville
Heartbreak Hotel - Buddy Love
Jim Dandy - Sara Lee and The Spades
Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby - The Earls of Suave
Rip It Up - Elvis Presley
Heartbreakin' Special - Duke Larson
Willie Joe - The Mystery Trio
Bottle to the Baby - Charlie Feathers
She Wants to Mambo - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Chicken Grabber - The Nite Hawks
Esquerita and The Voola - Esquerita
The Girl Can't Help It - Little Richard
Woo-Hoo - The Rock-A-Teens
I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield - The 5,6,7,8s
That Makes It - Jayne Mansfield
Tall Cool One - The Wailers
Hanky Panky - Rita Chao and The Quests
Beat Party - Ritchie and The Squires
Rock Around the Clock - The Sex Pistols
Mean Mutha Fuckin' Man - Wayne County and The Electric Chairs
Teenage Lobotomy - The Ramones
C'mon Everybody - Sid Vicious
Breathless - X
You Give Me Worms - Turbonegro
Go Motherfucker Go - Nashville Pussy
Shopping Spree - The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black
Nothing Means Nothing Anymore - The Alley Cats
Khrushchev Twist - Melvin Gayle
Killer - Sparkle Moore
Rock'n'Roll Waltz - Ann-Margret
I Want Your Love - The Cruisers
Cry-Baby - The Honey Sisters
Human Fly - The Cramps
The Swag - Link Wray
What Do You Think I Am? Ike and Tina Turner
I Was Born to Cry - Dion
Gonna Type A Letter - Billy Fury
Somebody Put Something in My Drink - The Ramones
Contact - Brigitte Bardot
Elle est terrible - Johnny Hallyday
Somethin' Else - Sid Vicious
Dancing with Tears in My Eyes - X
Goin' Down that Road - Ersel Hickey
Cat Man - Gene Vincent
Handclapping Time - The Fabulous Raiders
Boots - Nero and The Gladiators
Bombie - Johnny Sharp and The Yellow Jackets
Punks Get Off the Grass - Edith Massey
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor - Johnny Horton
Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen
Comin' Home - The Delmonas
The Pussycat song - Connie Vannett
Sweet Little Pussycat - Andre Williams
Can Your Pussy Do the Dog? The Cramps
Devil in Disguise - Elvis Presley
Fools Rush In - Ricky Nelson
Let's Go Sexin' - James Intveld
Suey - Jayne Mansfield
Where did you get your biker cap?
ReplyDeleteMark Wilson
mark.wilson@mastek.com