Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packaged into numerous collections, and they remain one of the more well-known bands of the early

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

scene and have reformed for new albums and touring at various times since the early 1990s.

History

The original lineup was Andi Sex Gang (vocals, guitar), Dave Roberts (bass), Terry McLeay (guitar) and Rob Stroud (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Sex Gang Children", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, They were a dramatic band, relying on heavy bass, tribal drumming, sudden mood shifts, dramatic vocals and a cabaret sound (influencing the rise of the later dark cabaret scene). The band's first release was a cassette-only live album, ''Naked'', in 1982. The ''Beasts'' EP, their first vinyl release, followed the same year after they signed to the Illuminated label. The band's only studio album from their original period together, ''Song and Legend'', was released in 1983, reaching the top of the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rel ...

and spawning the single "Sebastiane". Stroud departed to form Aemoti Crii, to be replaced by former

Theatre of Hate Theatre of Hate are a British post-punk band formed in London, England, in 1980. Led by singer-songwriter Kirk Brandon (formerly of the Pack), the original group also consisted of bassist Stan Stammers (formerly of the Straps and the Epilepti ...

drummer

Nigel Preston Nigel Preston (4 April 1963, Birmingham, England – 1 April 1992) was an English drummer. He was a founding member of the Cult. He also played and recorded with Theatre of Hate, Sex Gang Children, the Baby Snakes, the Gun Club and DeLuca. H ...

, who played on the band's next single, " Mauritia Mayer", before himself being replaced by former

Death Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

drummer

Ray Mondo Raymond Taylor-Smith (birth date unknown, born in Sierra Leone) was a drummer for several notable British post-punk and gothic rock groups during the early 1980s. He is best known by his stage name, Ray Mondo. Ray Mondo first appeared on the Briti ...

. Roberts left in late 1983 to form Carcrash International, and the line-up settled to Andi, McLeay, Cam Campbell (bass) and Kevin Matthews (drums), a change forced by

's deportation to his native

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. Following McLeay's departure in 1984, the band was renamed Andi Sex Gang & the Quick Gas Gang for the 1985 ''Blind!'' album and tour (McLeay did not leave until after that album's recording, however; guitarist Lester Jones from Crisis (band), Crisis performed the live shows). The band split afterwards. Renewed interest in the band in the United States led to a reformation in 1991, including Roberts, and a new album, ''Medea'', in 1993. As a solo artist, Andi went on to make a number of well-received albums for various labels.

Name

Sex Gang Children were originally called The Panic Buttons. The name "Sex Gang Children" was taken by Malcolm McLaren from a

William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

novel as a possible name for the band that became

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band behind 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. They released their debut EP '' Your Cassette ...

(and is referenced in their song "Mile High Club") and was one of the names that

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

went through before choosing " Culture Club".Bright, Spencer (1995) ''Take It Like A Man: The Autobiography of Boy George with Spencer Bright,'' PAN, p. 182, SGC vocalist Andi tried to persuade George to use the name, but when Culture Club drummer Jon Moss passed on the idea, Andi decided that the name should not go to waste.

Discography

Chart placings shown are from the

.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books,

Studio albums

*''

Song and Legend ''Song and Legend'' is the debut studio album by English gothic rock band Sex Gang Children. It was released in 1983 by record label Illuminated. Content ''Trouser Press'' described Tony James' production as " motheringeverything ..in tons o ...

'' (1983, Illuminated Records) No. 1 *''Blind'' (1992 reissue,

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, D ...

) *''Medea'' (1993, Cleopatra Records) *''The Wrath of God'' (2000, Dressed to Kill) *''Bastard Art'' (2002, Burning Airlines) * '' Viva Vigilante!'' (2013, Pale Music)

Singles and EPs

*''Beasts'' (1982, Illuminated Records) No. 8 *" Into the Abyss" (1982, Illuminated Records) No. 7 *"Sebastiane" (1983, Illuminated Records) No. 19 *" Mauritia Mayer" (1983, Clay Records) No. 7 *"Dieche" (1984, Illuminated Records) (No. 15) *"The Quick Gas Gang" split with

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religi ...

(1992, Cleopatra Records) *"Salamun Child" (2009, Song & Legend) *"Hollywood Slim M G T Remix" (2014, self-released) *"Sebastiane" (2014, Song & Legend) *"Death Mask Mussolini" (2021)

Live albums

*''Naked'' (1982, self-released) No. 15 *''Sex Gang Children'' (1984, self-released) *''Ecstasy and Vendetta Over New York'' (1984,

ROIR ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...

) No. 20 *''Nightland (Performance USA 83)'' (1986, Arkham) *''Play with Children'' (1992, Cleopatra Records) *''Live in Paris '84'' (1996, Nigma Records) *''Live in Vienna'' (2011, Pink Noise) *''Live at the Batcave'' (2014, Liberation London)

Compilation albums

*''Beasts'' (1983, Illuminated Records) *''Re-enter the Abyss (The 1985 Remixes)'' (1985, Dojo Records) No. 22 *''The Hungry Years - The Best of Sex Gang Children'' (1991, Receiver Records) *''Dieche'' (1993, Cleopatra Records) *''Welcome to My World'' (1998, Receiver Records) *''Pop Up - The Rare and Unreleased World of Sex Gang'' (1999, Dressed to Kill) *''Shout & Scream: The Definitive Sex Gang Children'' (1997, Age of Panik) *''The Legends Collection: The Sex Gang Children Collection'' (2000, Dressed to Kill) *''The Dark Archives - Volume One'' (2000, Hollow Hills) *''Empyre and Fall'' (2000, Hollow Hills) *''Demonstration! '' (2000, Magicavern) *''Fall: The Complete Singles 1982-1992'' (2001, Burning Airlines) *''Execution & Elegance: The Anthology 1982-2002'' (2004,

Castle Music Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's productio ...

) *''Demonstration - Expanded Deluxe Edition'' (2008, Song & Legend) *''Electric Jezebel - Singles Collection A & B Sides 1982-83'' (2016, Liberation London) *''Fear, Silk, and Sex 1981 - 2013'' (2019,

)

Home videos

*''Live at Ocean'' (2002, MVD Visual)

References

External links

Official Sex Gang Children site
{{Authority control English gothic rock groups English post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups from London Cleopatra Records artists Cherry Red Records artists