Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

bands from the 1970s. The band was headed by

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

-born singer

Jayne County Wayne Rogers (born July 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), ...

and became known for their

campy Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Camp aesthetics disrupt many of modernism's notions of what art is and what can be classified as high art by inverting aes ...

, foul-mouthed

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

glam punk Glam punk is a term used retrospectively to describe a short-lived trend for bands which produced a form of proto-punk that incorporated elements of glam rock, initially in the early to mid-1970s. History Glam punk has been seen as a backlash to ...

inspired songs and image which was heavily influenced by

Jackie Curtis Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actress, writer, singer, and Warhol superstar. Early life and career Jackie Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder and Jenevive Uglialoro. She had one sibling, half-br ...

and the

Theatre of the Ridiculous Theatre of the Ridiculous is a theatrical genre that began in New York City in the 1960s.Bottoms, Stephen J. Chapter 11: "The Play-House of the Ridiculous: Beyond Absurdity". ''Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway M ...

Career

Jayne County, then known as Wayne County, originally began performing in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with a band called ''Queen Elizabeth''. This was followed by Wayne County and The Backstreet Boys as documented on

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

's ''DIY: Blank Generation'' compilation album with an early single: "Max's Kansas City 1976." Upon moving to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with Greg Van Cook, a member of the Backstreet Boys, she recruited a new drummer and bassist to form "The Electric Chairs"; a band comprising Van Cook (guitar),

Val Haller Val Haller (born Adrian Osborne) (1952 – 16 December 2012) was a British musician. Primarily a bass guitarist, he was also a vocalist, keyboardist, and composer. Haller played with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, The Flying Lizards, The L ...

(bass) and Chris Dust (drums).

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

had his first studio session with the group in 1976. None of County's albums were ever released in her native

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

except for three songs on the very early punk compilation ''Max's Kansas City''. Wayne County and the Electric Chairs were supported by

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

during their 1977 tour of Holland.Sutcliffe, Phil & Fielder, Hugh (1981). ''L'Historia Bandido''. London and New York: Proteus Books. . Pages 42 and 54. Dust, a Hungarian, was

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

following the band's return to the UK when the authorities found that his

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

had expired over a year before. He was replaced by John "JJ" Johnson, and the band recorded their first album ''The Electric Chairs''. In order to recreate the sound of the album live the band recruited Police guitarist,

Henry Padovani Henry (or Henri) Padovani (born 13 October 1952) is a French musician (from the Mediterranean French isle of Corsica), noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to Augus ...

on rhythm guitar. This new five-piece line-up toured extensively, but County ultimately fired Greg Van Cook due to his rampant

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

and replaced him with Eliot Michael, another former member of the Backstreet Boys. Producer

Martin Birch Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, W ...

exerted a great deal of creative control over the band's second album ''Storm the Gates of Heaven'' and Padovani later commented in his memoir that the album "wasn't bad but it wasn't the Chairs as we wanted it to be." The band's third album ''Things Your Mother Never Told You'' was produced by David Cunningham. After a few more tours, Wayne County & the Electric Chairs split in two, with Eliot Michael following County in his solo career. Padovani, Haller, and Johnson recorded a final single: "So Many Ways" as ''The Electric Chairs'' before management problems forced them to disband completely. County played "Lounge Lizard" in

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

's 1978 film ''

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

'', performing "Paranoia Paradise" with the Electric Chairs. This track appeared on the ''Jubilee'' soundtrack album released by Polydor UK in 1978. County is featured in the 2013 film ''

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

.'' The Wayne County and the Electric Chairs track "Out of Control" appears on the ''CBGB'' film soundtrack – released in the US by

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

. The much bootlegged 'live' appearance of Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1978 on the German TV show ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

'' was released as a DVD/CD double pack by

Repertoire Records Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen. See also * List of record labels File:Alvino ...

UK in December 2014. The concert took place while the band were touring their second album ''Storm the Gates of Heaven"''.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Electric Chairs'' (Safari, February 1978) * ''Storm the Gates of Heaven'' (also released as ''Man Enough to Be a Woman'') (Safari, August 1978) * ''Things Your Mother Never Told You'' (Safari, May 1979)

Compilations

* ''Best of Jayne/Wayne County and the Electric Chairs'' (Safari, 1982) * ''Rock 'n' Roll Cleopatra'' (RPM, 1993) * ''Let Your Backbone Slip! (RPM, 1995) * ''Safari Years Box ( Captain Trip, 2011) * ''The Safari Years - 4 CD Box Set (Captain Oi! 2020)''

Singles and EPs

* ''Max's Kansas City: New York New Wave'' EP (1975) * "

Fuck Off Fuck off may also refer to: * ''Fuck Off'', an art exhibition that ran alongside the Shanghai Biennial Festival in 2000 * "Fuck Off", a 1977 song by Wayne County & the Electric Chairs * "Fuck Off", the preliminary title of "Le Freak", a 1978 so ...

" / "On the Crest" (Sweet FA Records, Nov 1977) * "Thunder When She Walks" / "What You Got" (Illegal, 1977) * "Eddie & Sheena" / "Rock'n'Roll Cleopatra" (Safari, February 1978) * "Stuck on You" / "Paranoia Paradise" / " The Last Time" (Illegal, June 1978) * " I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" / "Fuck Off" (Safari, 1978) * ''Blatantly Offenzive'' E.P. (Safari, 1978) * "Trying to Get on the Radio" / "Evil Minded Mama" (Safari, August 1978) * "Berlin" / "Waiting for the Marines" (Safari, June 1979) * "So Many Ways" / "J'Attends Les Marines" (Illegal, 1979)

Bibliography

* ''Man Enough to Be a Woman'' ()

Filmography

* 1976 '' The Blank Generation''

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Ivan Kral Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

and Amos Poe

* 1977 ''

'' directed by Derek Jarman

* 1978 ''

The Punk Rock Movie ''The Punk Rock Movie'' (also known as ''The Punk Rock Movie from England'') is a British 1978 film that was assembled from Super 8 camera footage shot by Don Letts, the disc jockey at The Roxy club during the early days of the UK punk rock ...

'' directed by

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

* 1983 ''

The City of Lost Souls is a 2000 Japanese action film directed by Takashi Miike based on a novel by Hase Seishu. Plot The Brazilian-Japanese criminal Mario hijacks a helicopter and uses a machine gun to attack a prison bus and free his Chinese girlfriend Kei. They att ...

'' directed by

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, painter and one of the most famous gay rights activists in the German-speaking world. In ov ...

* 2013 ''

References

External links

Jayne County Official Site Drumpunk – John (JJ) Johnson official websiteDiscogs page