Happy Anniversary: The Rezillos, “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures”

38 years ago today, the Rezillos released their second single, “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures,” which wound up being their first single release on their new deal with Sire Records.

When people talk about punk rock, they tend to throw around names like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned, but the Rezillos were right there in the thick of things as well, offering up as much spirit in '76 as the best of them. The big difference was that they were offering up tracks which were far more unabashedly fun than most of the other bands of the era, daring to cover songs by the Dave Clark Five (“Glad All Over”) and Gerry and the Pacemakers (“I Like It”) in the midst of all the anarchy. Hell, even when the Rezillos seemed to concede to the punk rock scene by delivering a number called “Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite,” they were pulling a fast one: not only was it a cover, but the original version was recorded by Earl Vince and the Valiants, a pseudonym for one of the least punk bands of the mid-1970s: Fleetwood Mac…and, no, that's not a joke.

“(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures” may not have charted, but like “I Can't Stand My Baby” before it, it helped further pave the way for the Rezillos' breakthrough: their next single, “Top of the Tops,” finally got the band into the UK top 20.

Unfortunately, that #17 hit was as high as the Rezillos ever got in the singles chart, predominantly because the band imploded not terribly long after that. Part of it was because singer Fay Fife was battling with vocal cord issues in the midst of a major tour, resulting in a postponement of the remainder of the dates, but there were many other issues within the band, and on November 22, 1978, the Rezillos called it quits, although they did get back together to do a farewell gig on December 23, which was recorded and released in 1979 under the title Mission Accomplished…But the Beat Goes On. Believe it or not, the story actually gets more complicated from there, with three of the Rezillos - Jo Callis, Simon Templar, and Angel Paterson - starting a new band called the Revillos, which continued in one form or another until 1996, but in 2001, the Rezillos reunited for a New Year's Eve performance in Edinburgh, and although the lineup has fluctuated here and there, they've kept at it ever since.

Oh, and if you're a Rezillos fan, you'll want to brace yourself for this next bit: earlier this year, the band released Zero, their first new album in 38 years. If you want to hear how it sounds, you can check out the song “Tiny Boy from Outer Space” by clicking right here, but we'd be remiss if we didn't close things out with the band's classic performance of “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures” on The Old Grey Whistle Test, which gives you an idea of just what a colorful bunch of characters they were…and still are!

View video clip here.