world, and it was still a few years before grunge would take hold. Even the indie music charts were filled with dross – only The Wedding Present reached #1. It was on all accounts a terrible year for lovers of visceral rock ’n’ roll and garage-rock, but beneath the surface a counter-culture of sorts was emerging. If any bands were in line with Thee Hypnotics it was the similarly drug-laced drone bands Spacemen 3 and Loop that would have matched their ethos the most, but small town acts like The Beatpack (who played with Thee Hypnotics in Hastings) and Scottish bands The Thanes and The Offhooks were the ones that most adhered to their own rules. It was the very same “couldn’t care less” purism that Thee Hypnotics radiated. Yet for every ’60s garage band there were very few harder edged late ’60s bands and Thee Hypnotics were the best.
Mark Thompson told Freakbeat fanzine in ’89 that the cuts were originally recorded as demos in ’87 when they were getting gigs on the London circuit. By the time the tracks were eventually mixed down eight months later, the songs did not really represent what they were doing. Nevertheless, for a record released in ’87 it exudes snot-nosed garage-punk/rockerama.Jane Maben, a longstanding fan of the band recollects the impact Thee Hypnotics made on her as a teenager: “I first witnessed them at The Clarendon in ’88 with their first bassist. Up until this night I had happily gone along every Friday night to see the various ’60s
Jim of the beginning of their ascent to glory, “and Junior Manson Slags played, along with another eight bands. By the time we got on the PA was fucked and as a result we were shit! Oddly Beggars Banquet came over after and told us we had a deal. We were like, ‘After that? You should see us when we’re firing on all cylinders!’
“Langdon had basically been shopping us around,” he continues, “and quite a few people were interested. When we went ahead and did the deal I remember Rat seeming really let down. ‘Oh man,’ he said. ‘I was going to do this, this and this. You could have done better.’ Steve knew Rat was interested and perhaps kept him out of the picture thinking we’d be sold away by someone else.” The Situation Two subsidiary of Beggars Banquet was still a decent sized label for a young band (with bigger acts like The Cult) and it seemed possible that Thee Hypnotics may just make it. Although at that time it certainly was not on their minds.
“There was a general sense of bands doing stuff that was outside fashion, even by indie terms,” says Jim of the musical
Above: Stars & Stripes: Jim Jones circa 1989. Below: Will Pepper, Dingwalls 1989 Bottom: Ray Hanson
“By the time we got on the PA was fucked and as a result we were shit! Oddly Beggars Banquet came over after and told us we had a deal. We were like, ‘After that? You should see us when we’re firing on all cylinders!’
Rat Scabies had seen Thee Hypnotics play a number of times as support to both The Damned and its spin off ’60s garage parody Naz Nomad & The Nightmares, and was smitten by these young upstarts who reminded him of the groups he had followed in his formative years.( Later in the band’s career Scabies would deputise for them on drums when needed.)
First manager Steve Langdon (whom Ray describes as a hippy into Thai Chi who was obsessed by Hawkwind) drummed up interest from a number of labels. “It was an all-dayer [where we got signed],” says
styled garage bands that were around at the time, which were promoted by Mike Spenser. The Pebbles comps suddenly crumbled into dust for me... I wanted the hard stuff, not just rock but a heavier hybrid of the blues... The Hypnotics were my age.... at long last there was something for MY generation! They rucked up on stage to the sounds of The MC5 and slung Stars and Stripes flags over the speakers. They had me from THATmoment, even before they launched their glorious ear- violating assault! It was THE BEST performance I had ever witnessed.... they just had ‘IT’! All my favourites rolled into one.... MC5, Stooges, Blue Cheer, Stones.”
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climate they were now in. “These were bands that were pretty grungey. All through our career they tried to lump us in with certain things and “grebo” was the first. Bands like Pop Will Eat Itself and Crazyhead.” (Thee Hypnotics’ first major UK tour was in support to grebo kings Gaye Bikers On Acid.) “And then it went to the Spaceman 3 and Loop thing,” Jim continues “and then grunge. It was always, you’re this, this and this…. But Beggars Banquet did see something different as they had us and The Fuzztones.”
These early gigs around London made quite an impact on a number of other youngsters whose lifestyle choices were in way a part of the ’80s. “We would see some guy in crushed velvet flares with a big afro and Jim and I would look at each other and wink,” laughs Ray. “‘He looks like fucking Rob Tyner. He’s cool man.’ It was a one off to see people like that. They were special. Back then you instantly knew if a person was one of us from what they wore. You could tell.” As word of Thee Hypnotics spread they became one of the hot bands for people “in the know” to go and see. At venues like The Clarendon they would play to a full room of lank-haired, leather- jacketed teens.
Photo: Jane Maben
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