The Revillos – in session for John Peel – April 29, 1981 – broadcast May 13, 1981 – BBC Radio 1 –
The Revillos tonight. Formerly The Rezillos, but through a proviso that, to get out of their contract, Sire Records stipulated they couldn’t use the name Rezillos. And so The Revillos were born. From Sire came a deal with Virgin and a new incarnation of the band was born.
As a Punk/New Wave band from Scotland, The Rezillos got started in 1976 and were part of the flourishing Punk scene, although they didn’t subscribe to social commentary of many of their contemporaries, they chose instead to consider themselves a “New Wave Beat Group”, and take a less dead-on serious approach to their music. They chose to touch on 50’s rock, 60’s English Beat and Garage rock for their inspiration. And it’s interesting that, in addition to The Rezillos, The B-52’s, The Cramps and X took pretty much the same paths. Whether they influenced each other is a matter of speculation. Their debut album came out in 1978. Can’t Stand The Rezillos was considered a Punk masterpiece, however they split up four months after the release, citing friction within the band and wanting to get out of their contract with Sire.
And so The Revillos were born, but not after some personnel changes and shakeups in direction. And so this incarnation of they wound up having a longer and more successful run than their former band until their final breakup in 1996, when they went back to being called The Rezillos and soldiered along until 2012.
Currently not broken up but not reunited, The Rezillos are, as they put it, “in Cryogenic suspension until the right invite comes along”. The likelihood of their reuniting again seems remote, but as is always the case; “never say never”.
In the meantime, here’s a reminder of The Revillos as they were during their second, and last, session for John Peel in 1981.
