The Gazmen – Rigormortis Rock
Vinyl Japan JRT9 [1996]
Western Star [2020]
Rigormortis Rock – Teenage Operation – Kid From Mars – Ace Of Heart
This ep initially came out in 1996. The Gazmen formed around the charismatic personality of Gary “Gaz” Day. Day is known for his collaboration with many influential bands, notably The Frantic Flintstones, The Sharks, The Nitros, The Caravans without forgetting his stint with popstar (and rockabilly aficionado) Morrissey, whose influence can be heard on the last track of this ep. The rest of the band was basically The Sharks with the addition of ex Born Bad and Morrissey’s guitarist, Alain Whyte. They played a traditional brand of psychobilly close to the Sharks (not very surprising) and the early Meteors, Day’s voice reminding the great Nigel Lewis, but with a fuller sound. The song Rigormortis Rock was first released by Alan Wilson (who wrote it ) under the moniker of The Space Cadets (not to be confused with Mouse’s band) around 1984 on the Nervous compilation Hell’s Bent on Rocking. Some of these songs were also part of the set when Gary was in the Sharks. One can hear early versions of Teenage Operation and Kid From Mars on the excellent compilation Rare Psychobilly from the Vaults.
In 2000, the American label Rock-It re-released it on cd.
The vinyl version became an object of collection with both Psychobillies and Morrissey’s fans looking for it.
Western Star has now reissued it on 10” colored vinyl, but don’t wait to buy one it’s a limited edition
Available here.
