Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction - Tattooed Beat Messiah

Too knowing to be a genuine guilty pleasure, there is nonetheless much to recommend Tattooed Beat Messiah, by Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction. Fronted by Zodiac Mindwarp aka Mark Manning, a British music magazine art director, produced by David Balfe and Bill Drummond (soon to be of the KLF) Tattooed Beat Messiah is a credible attempt to outdo the hard rock sounds and out-there lyrics of the Cult's American breakthrough album Electric. In the early 80s, Zodiac set about to explode every hard-rock cliché he could find and created a band, ability to actually play not necessarily necessary. He got some guys together with names like Slam Thunderhide, Cobalt Stargazer, Kid Chaos, Trash D. Garbage, Flash Bastard and what he created was a cross between AC/DC, Deep Purple, The Cult and the Porky’s movies. The music this filthy bunch of loud-ass leather-clad faux bikers made had big fat simple riffs, sneering, snarling vocals and incomprehensible lyrics about sex, drugs, booze and going as long as possible without taking a bath. Zodiac takes lyricism to outer space, claiming to have fallen out of heaven, as well as being a "sex fuhrer", "Christ in shades" and a "funky alligator" all in just the first song, "Prime Mover" (and honestly, he's just getting started). Before flagging near the end of side two with a power ballad, the album is full of great guitar riffs, ridiculous and ridiculously catchy lyrics, and dumb fun. There is nothing else like it on this planet.

I now give you 10 Things You Need To Know about Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction

1.      Zodiac named the band after a lyric in Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark

2.      Guitarist Cobalt Stargazer used to be in Wham!

3.      Rob Zombie would be nothing without the Mindwarp.

4.      Bassist Kid Chaos quit after High Priest of Love joined the Cult and then formed The Four Horsemen in the U.S.

5.      The band covered Born to be Wild on Tattooed Beat Messiah because Zodiac thought they could do a better job than the Cult (on Electric)

6.      Zodiac wrote Feed My Frankenstein for Alice Cooper

7.      Before he was a dirty little rock star, Mark Manning was a magazine editor.

8.      Manning wrote a book called Bad Wisdom with Bill Drummond of The KLF. It’s really fucked up.

9.      Some people thought they were a real band and didn’t like them because they didn’t get the joke

10.   Those people were stupid.

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction - High Priest Of Love

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction's story starts in the year 1985: In a musical world of hairspray and spandex, two long-haired, leather-clad rockers were introduced to each other by their "exotic dancer" girlfriends. One, a graphic artist and poet, the other, a budding philosopher. They immediately dropped everything, joined forces and created the dirtiest, wildest band of all time. One year later, they signed to Polygram, released, the ground breaking "High Priest of Love" EP, and subsequently the "Tattooed Beat Messiah" album, containing the classic single "Prime Mover".

Overnight, they accidentally changed the look of all the rock bands of the time from the obligatory spandex, eye liner and tinsel, to rough biker jackets, engineer boots and goatees. Mötley Crüe declared them to be their favourite band and immediately restyled themselves for the "Girls, Girls, Girls" record.
Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction grew in notoriety, touring the world and America, co-headlining arenas and theatres with Guns N' Roses and found themselves at home playing festivals and baseball stadiums with Iron Maiden. After attending a Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction concert at the Hammersmith Odeon and giving it his seal of approval, Alice Cooper took to the studio and recorded the Zodiac Mindwarp tune "Feed My Frankenstein", which was later performed in the film "Wayne's World"... The critical acclaim of Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction did, however, cause some rare misfortune, when they lost their young naive bass player to the lures of The Cult. Zodiac Mindwarp covered Born to be Wild because he thought they could do a better job than The Cult (on Electric). The jury’s still out on that claim but the band soldiered on regardless. Sometime later, in Paris France, Slam Thunderhide, their drummer, decided to put down his sticks to become a go-go dancer in Vancouver. Outstanding!

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction - Wild Child 12”

A New Dawn Rises on a new week in blog-land, which means it’s time for some scuzz ‘n’ roll with Zodiac Mindwarp minus his usual cohorts. The trio was; Bass – Stefan (Stephen Harris), Drums – Jake Le Mesurier and Guitar, Vocals – Zodiac Mindwarp (Mark Manning). Some rockers know from a very young age that their calling in life is to ride in limos and play to arenas full of Bic-wielding fans. For Zodiac Mindwarp, it was a calling that occurred later in life. Working as a graphic artist and editor at the British publication Flexipop, Mark Manning assumed the alter ego Zodiac Mindwarp, and set out to experience the fabled "rock & roll lifestyle" first hand. Forming Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction in the mid-'80s, the singer has subsequently enlisted the aid of musicians with extremely colourful names over the years -- Cobalt Stargazer, Slam Thunderhide, Evil Bastard, Flash Bastard, and Trash D Garbage are but a few who have served in the Love Reaction ranks.