Exorcist

Yep its another of those features on the tiny bands like Exorcist that managed a few gigs, got their names into the music papers, made a demo then disappeared into the mists of time onto to be resuscitated by sites like Punk 77.

Graham Jenkins roadie of Exorcist recalls the band and being a punk in them far off days of yore.

“I was 15 (1975) when I saw the New York Dolls on the Old Grey Whistle Test and I thought they were fantastic. I also read about other New York Bands like Patti Smith and Television in the music press and thought they sounded very interesting. I was listening to Bowie, Roxy and Lou Reed and The Velvets at this time.

I started going to gigs in 1973. My first show was by a band called The Sharks. They had Chris Spedding on Guitar. Even then he wore pegged trousers and looked different to a lot of other musicians. I then started to frequent The Marquee. Names I saw that spring to mind are Upp, Jess Roden and the Pink Fairies. In 1975, I attended the first Who at Charlton F.C show. Lou Reed was on the bill and he looked fantastic. He was dressed like a punk two years early. I also attended the Roxy Music gig at Wembley and remember sitting near Suzi and Severin. They stuck out like diamonds in the rough.

Early punk shows I attended were –

The Jam – Poplar Civic Town Hall
Slaughter And The Dogs – Hope And Anchor.  Only about 5 people turned up but they were fantastic.
Eddie And The Hot Rods – Marquee. I personally think they were a very big influence on the scene at this time

From about July 77 I was out about three nights a week seeing bands.

I started to modify t-shirts and shirts to wear at the shows. Lawrence Corner in Euston was a great Army Surplus store where you could pick up great stuff I also bought t-shirts from a stall selling gay club wear on the Kings Road. I was still living with my parents at this time. My Father RIP did not take kindly to my sartorial style. The only trouble I ever had was towards the end of 1977 early 1978. This was mainly with the idiot skinheads that used to follow Sham 69 about

I started going to The Roxy in July 77. I think it was to see Slaughter And The Dogs and Violent. I loved it. It was very different from the other venues I attended. It felt exclusive and I felt I belonged from the word go. The next show was for X Ray Spex/Tubeway Army. Gary Numan was playing guitar and sounding very Bowie. He was selling t-shirts with Tubeway Army in glitter on them. I think this was followed by a Skrewdriver show. I also remember seeing The Nipple Erectors at some point. The audience was starting to change by this point. The Roxy was getting a more yobby assholes type of punter. I started to feel an underlying feeling of violence in the air that went beyond the music and dancing. I then started going to other clubs like The Rochester Castle, Vortex and Marquee. I remember seeing The Banshees at the Vortex and all four members of the Sex Pistols were in attendance along with Andy Mackay from Roxy. My Pal Gary Williams got a shirt signed by all four members of the band. I bet he wished he still had it.

A few friends of mine started a band called Exorcist and got an audition at the Roxy. I was offered the job of unpaid roadie and David Wilson as Manager/Gofer. I accepted. We used to cover Vicious by Lou Reed, I saw Her Standing There Beatles and the Pistols Pretty Vacant. A few of our self written songs were all about getting rid of the church and religion. One line from a song went…We’re pissing in the pulpit and puking in the pews…Nice Eh…..!!

We also played the Xmas party and it was a shambles. After the bands played on Xmas eve Kevin St John left the club for a couple of hours and we were all locked in. God knows what would have happened if there was a fire. We went back on Boxing day and the place was a mess. The loos were full of piss and shit and people were sleeping on the floor. It was like a junkies squat. We were so bored we played the worst songs on the jukebox to piss everyone off. These included Black Betty and The Carpenters.

Exorcist did record a demo that was sent to various record companies, but we had no joy. By this time Tony thought he was a superstar and we were all getting fed up and things were coming to a head. We played the Roxy one last time and the aggression in the band really showed and we got the best reception of the night.

By this time my tastes in music were changing and I was getting into the more avant garde stuff. Bands like Throbbing Gristle, etc. I started making tapes at home and when Sounds started to advertise Cassettes for trade and sale, myself and 2 pals started The Quids. We compiled 2 cassettes and either sold them for 65 pence of would trade with other bands for their product. I sold most of the tapes last year to a collector from Greece. It seems this sort of stuff now has a market with the Messthetics compilations etc. I kept the masters of the 2 Quids releases for myself. I am sorry to say I don’t have any photos or other items from this time. I really wish I took a cassette or camera out with me to preserve a few more memories. I still keep in touch with our manager David. We often reminisce about this time and we both look back on it with great affection. Punk was around at the time we were growing into adults and it still has an effect on my life as I reach the middle of middle age. Reading ‘The Roxy WC2′ book certainly took me back and seeing pictures of people like Tampax etc certainly got me reminiscing.”

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Graham Jenkins January 2009

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