| Shock Treatment | |
| |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Birmingham, UK |
| Genre | New Wave, Punk, Rock |
| Years active | 1977-78 |
| Members | John Taylor David Twist Gareth Roy Highfield |
| Associated acts | Duran Duran Dada |
| Musicians | |
Shock Treatment was a British New Wave band formed in Birmingham in the late 1970s, that featured John Taylor.
History[]
John Taylor, David Twist, Gareth and Roy Highfield were on Punk-rock 101, and renamed their band Shock Treatment in 1977, from the Ramones song "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment".
This was John Taylor's first "real" band. Shock Treatment started writing songs simple, to the point and very much of the time such as "Freedom of Speech", "I Can't Help It" and "UK Today". Other songs included "Cover Girls" and "Striking Poses". These songs featured verses, choruses and guitar solos. The band also learned several covers including The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and The Who's "Substitute", a song The Sex Pistols had done.
The band needed a gig, so John Taylor spoke to his school committee. A few weeks later in June 1977, Shock Treatment played the school summer dance at Hockley Heath Rugby Club. Taylor wrote in his biography In the Pleasure Groove, that he had never experienced anything quite like the thrill of that evening. At the end of the night, there were two new facts that he knew for certain:
- Shock Treatment were awful.
- I couldn't wait to do it again.
Shock Treatment played a handful of gigs and even got a review in the local music fanzine Brumbeat. Shows included supporting TV Eye, a band from Birmingham fronted by Andy Wickett. The band also supported The Prefects during this period, before they morphed into the Assassins.
John and David Twist then met Mark Wilson, who asked them to join his band Dada.
Rebecca's:
David Twist spoke about their debut gig at the Rebecca's club in Birmingham on 8 August 1977. "We couldn't play a note...the guitarist (John Taylor - later of Duran Duran) simply made a 'bar' across all the strings with with his left hand and strummed till he, literally, bled. Gareth, our bass player, stood with his back to the crowd, Stu Sutcliffe style, to hide his lack of ability. My lack of ability as a rather camp 17 year old Johnny Rotten wannabe was all too apparent. We left the stage to stunned silence." (Dave Twist, Sleazegrinder Magazine)
Personnel[]
Shock Treatment are:
- David Twist - vocals
- John Taylor - guitar
- Gareth - bass
- Roy Highfield - drums
John Taylor:
John Taylor (born in Birmingham, UK on 20 June 1960) left the band Shock Treatment and became a founding member of Duran Duran in 1978.
David Twist:
David Twist (born in Moseley, Birmingham, UK on May 22nd, 1960) started musical life as the vocalist for Shock Treatment in 1977 supporting TV Eye. David also became a member of TV Eye for a short period. He later joined forces on drums with Stephen and Dave Kusworth to form Obviously Five Believers in 1979 and was seen by many local reviewers as the power in the band. The band ultimately changed their name to The Hawks and made a single and a demo album. At the end of the Hawks he joined The Scarecrows. Until recently he had teamed back up with Dave Kusworth as part of The Tenderhooks.
Known gigs[]
- [1977-06-??] Birmingham (UK), Hockley Heath Rugby Club
- [1977-08-22] Birmingham (UK), Rebecca's
- [1977-12-05] Birmingham (UK), Golden Eagle