Wayne County & The Electric Chairs

This was filmed in Dortmund in 1978 and it is actually astonishing just how fresh and powerful it sounds 35 years later. Wayne County gets all the attention with his slutty blonde persona and in those days he certainly was a kick-ass vocalist as well as being a remarkable sight in his blonde bouffant and shortie dress but the Electric Chairs were tight as a nut and given County’s time with Warhol, Max’s Kansas City and CBGBs he was able to attract a band who could play a lot more than three chord punk.

Musically this sits in a punk place but County gives the performance a whole different dimension with concentration on the relationship and sexual complexities of his/her life and with a few years as an actress under his belt he illuminates tracks like ‘Are You Man Enough To Be A Woman’ giving them real pathos. ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Night Time’ show the band’s rockier sides and ‘Bad In Bed’ shows the really bitchy side while the performance hits a surreal point as County dons policemen’s helmet and gun for ‘Mr Normal’, alluding to an experience of being arrested as a transvestite in New York.

All the classics are here – ‘Cream My Jeans’, the power of ‘Max’s Kansas City’ and, of course, ‘(If You Don’t Want To Fuck Me Baby) Fuck Off’ but ‘Rock & Roll Resurrection’ is one of the standout numbers and the most raw.

It was always easy to write off Wayne County as a one trick pony but really he/she was a true performer and this is a solid hour of brilliant punk by a unique performer.