Search - Sex Gang Children :: Demonstration

BEAUTIFUL-AND EVIL

johnny tupper | u.s.a. | 01/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"if you a fan of evil music, christian death,samhain,45 grave, you will like the ''sex gang children. all of there songs have a gloomy feel to them, and if you a fan of evil guitar, these guys are for you. i guess you could call this deathrock, but when these guys first started, they where more punk, i guess you can lable anything these days, but in short, if you feel like hearing some evil music you should check this out"

Odds and ends for a Sex Gang Children fan

Dean Dirge | 07/22/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Demonstration collects some oddities and rarities from the band's early days.



Tracks eight through twelve represent the work of Panic Button, singer Andi Sexgang's pre-Sex Gang Children band. Along with bassist Steve Morgan and guitarist Simon Werner from The Pack (a proto-Theatre of Hate) is Rob Stroud, future drummer for Sex Gang Children. Track twelve is noteworthy for being the first recording of Into the Abyss, a song that Sex Gang Children would turn into an underground classic. While Panic Button was a competent band, they lacked the sheer energy, spontaneity and originality of Sex Gang Children. The Panic Button tracks will mostly be of interest to SGC fans that want to research the band's pre-history.



Shortly after the original incarnation of Sex Gang Children recorded its only album, Song and Legend, drummer Nigel Preston replaced Rob Stroud. The resultant lineup recorded the memorable single, Mauritia Mayer, as well as tracks one through six on this compilation. These tracks sound like demos, but it's just as possible that Andi intended to treat them with the kind of studio trickery that makes songs like State of Mind such bizarre and almost psychedelic classics. In any case, the label that was courting them at the time did not sign the band, and these recordings fell into obscurity. Three of the songs were subsequently re-recorded for Andi's first solo album, Blind (which was later marketed as a Sex Gang Children album). I consider the genre-blending Blind to be something like a Sgt. Pepper's for the '80's, so some of these tracks are of historical interest to me. At the same time, the casual listener should be aware that these tracks are rough and raw.



This recording of Les Amants D'un Jour was an Andi Sexgang single, and the song was later re-recorded for Arco Valley. Drummer Kevin Matthews, guitarist Terry Macleay and bassist Cam Campbell would go on to play on Blind, and pianist Jason Robello would go on to play on Arco Valley. Unfortunately, the sound is distorted in places as if the master tape degraded at some point.



All in all, Demonstration is a collection of odds and ends that will be of historical value to any SGC fan. It will probably not, however, captivate the casual fan or newcomer. For a fairly comprehensive collection of work by the original lineup of Sex Gang Children, check out The Hungry Years. For a more comprehensive overview, purchase the album Song and Legend, Deiche (a collection of early hits, highlights and re-mixes), and Empyre and Fall (another collection of re-mixes). I also recommend these works by Andi: Blind, God on a Rope and Last of England."