Model Mania
Model Mania were formed in late ’75 with Jim (Vocals), Rob (Guitar) and Andy (Drums). Martin Beech (Boco) later joined on Bass. Weeks after playing their first gig in 1977, they supported The Prefects at Rebecca’s night club in Birmingham and became friends. The Club DJ Wayne Myers also became their manager and as he also deejayed at Barbarellas in Birmingham, it meant a virtual residency at that club.
Over the next 6 months, they played The Roxy, Vortex etc supporting bands such as The Slits, Adverts and Stranglers and even touring with The Clash after Bernie Rhodes’s interest.
They also played Barbararella’s Punk festival on August 29th 1977, which was recorded by Phonogram. Sadly, no recordings survive. They agreed a local boy called Spizz could use their guitar for a solo spot when they finished, which he duly did without a song and made up on the spot and his legend was born.
Bad luck dogged them. Mid 1977, they got entangled in Ron Lee’s Revolution Records which was a subsidiary of his Pogo Records that fellow Brum band Suburban Studs were signed to. In 1977 Model Mania made their first demo – No Pride/ Shit (their classic song) and Glass that was supposed to come out on Pose Records in 1978 (named after a room in Barbarella’s).
It didn’t happen till 1979 they released No Pride Slow Suicide / Epic Cowboy on Boob Records. Soon after Boco left but they carried on and released one more single in 1982 on Boob Records, which strangely featured the excellent 1977 recording of Farm on the flipside.
Criminally underrated, and a crying shame more stuff wasn’t released, Punk77 has them sounding not unlike Subway Sect and with a real individual approach.
Main Model Mania photo courstesy of Martin Booth
TalkPunk
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