Vice Squad
Vice Squad were formed in Bristol in 1979, from the remains of two local bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The four-piece group comprised 15 year old Beki Bondage on vocals (real name Rebecca, Louise Bond. The nickname ‘Bondage’ came from school), Dave Bateman on guitar, Mark Hambly on bass and Shane Baldwin on drums. Their music alternated between straight-ahead aggressive rock and punk with Beki’s more melodic singing. However it was her image that would become a potent publicity vehicle for them along with their music.
Beki in particular allowed the rock media to portray her as punk’s leading sex symbol, and she did pose topless on one occasion in Sounds. In addition, Beki was featured multiple times on the front cover of Sounds, as well as on the cover of Melody Maker. Other cover features include Punk Lives, Musicians Weekly, NME, Number One, Smash Hits and Kicks. She was perhaps the most popular punk pin-up of her time. However, to balance that out she would always where possible as a professed vegetarian speak out on the issue of meat eating.
Unable to secure a record deal during their early months of gigging, the band ended up forming their own Riot City label, through which they released their first single, ‘Last Rockers’, in December 1980 which went on to sell some 25,000 copies (Riot City went on the produce other bands, one of the better known being Chaos U.K.)
This was followed by the ‘Resurrection EP’, after which both the band and their label were signed by the EMI Zonophone division. The album ‘No Cause for Concern’ was subsequently released, receiving muted critical reviews but selling reasonably well, reaching no. 32 on the UK album charts. Seven months later, a second album, ‘Stand Strong, Stand Proud’ was in the shops (it reached no. 47).
However, except for a brief chart action (a week at no. 68) with their single ‘Out of Reach’ that was released between the two albums, the group’s Zonophone singles failed to build their commercial profile as EMI had planned, and relations between the band and the record company began to sour. Add to that poor management and unhappiness by the band of the attention Beki was getting and something had to give.
Beki subsequently left in 1983 to record the single ‘Crime and Passion’ for EMI with new musicians, going under the name Ligotage. When she failed to toe the EMI line, who wanted her glammed up and doing covers so they could break her chart wise, she was dropped and the band folded and she then spent a couple of years writing and even working with the robotic duo Tik & Tok before forming the Bombshells. In the meantime, Vice Squad recruited another female singer, Lia, and released their third album ‘Shot Away’, but it did miserably sales-wise and the band rapidly faded from view after that.
But the story doesn’t end there. Vice Squad are still going with Beki (the only member of the original band to have continued playing live, writing and recording) and long-time stalwart on guitar, Paul Rooney.
This article is heavily based on Barry Lazell’s Vice Squad entry in his book Punk! An A-Z
Official Vice Squad site
TalkPunk
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