THE BASTARDS by Sandro Sursock

ALL REVVED UP AND READY TO GO!

Story written by The Bastards band leader Sandro Sursock

THE BASTARDS (1977) L-R: Didier Dana (drums), Sandro Sursock (vocals), Marie-Pierre (vocals),
Ralph Perez (lead guitar), Benjamin Garcia (guitar). Missing in the picture is Jean-Francois Pivat (bass)

Rock: strength, guts, rebellion. Roll: change, playing cool, letting go. Take a stand -- face the crowd – unleash a roar! Then melt into the groove and feel the crowd’s response.

At first, the rock ‘n’ roll life seemed an unlikely one for me. I was born in Alexandria, Egypt, at the end of 1948 into a very wealthy aristocratic family of Lebanese, Greek and Italian origin. As a baby, I was almost killed by an insane nanny who hung me by the feet to make me puke up my mother’s milk. That woman’s torture of me lasted one month. I must have hated the world as I felt the fear and the terror she instilled in me. But it was that bitch who turned me into a rebel. I owe her!

As the socialist revolution shook Egypt, so our schoolyard became a battleground where European teenagers confronted their Arabic counterparts. This violence frightened me, but I got involved, somehow fascinated despite my fear. I was but eight years old.

The revolution and its violence obliterated my sedate family environment. I bought my first knife. Fear, excitement, and gang leaders occupied my mind, but the soundtrack was missing. My family was exiled to Switzerland. Here, suddenly, I was exposed to Gene Vincent, Elvis and Johnny Hallyday, all courtesy of a friend who had been expelled from school. 

Institut Le Rosey, a prestigious boarding school in Rolle (summer) and Gstaad (winter), Switzerland, was an international playground for rich kids where American cool cats ruled. They blasted the latest hit records on 45s and prowled in gangs humming “Louie Louie.” Some of them owned shiny yellow Telecasters or bright red Eko electric guitars. They bullied us kids until we fought back in desperation, and became one of them. Forget studies. Forget school. We wanted only to belong. We wanted to be cool as ice. 

After a knife fight in the woods one night, I joined “La Klique,” a gang of teenage playboys. Each night, we drank a small glass of Dubonnet, the spark that fuelled my eventual descent into alcoholism and drug addiction. But at the time, I had found my Higher Power. Cool was the rule, and it was 1964 -- OK! 

THE PINK BELLY (LE ROSEY – 1962)

"La Klique," a gang of teenage playboys.

When I checked into my gloomy four-bedded room at Le Rosey in September 1962, you wouldn’t have guessed it was suitable for the ‘rich and famous’ as they nicknamed that school.  I had little street credibility:  I had listened to Elvis and Gene Vincent and I carried a knife.  Suddenly, the door flung open and seven mean looking students barged in and looked at me with a smirk.  In half a second I was flat on my bed, they tore my shirt open and held me down as one of them produced a tennis racked that he applied against my belly, flesh protruding between the square holes of the stringing.  Another punk proceeded to viciously scrape the protruding flesh with a hard brush. 

I got initiated to the “Pink Belly”, laughing, they left me there with my belly purple and bloody.  I could hardly move for eight painful days.  The same gang came back every night to beat me and other new students up.  We lived in terror of “La Klique”.  That’s how they were called as we soon learned.  They were unstoppable and threatened more violence if we talked.  So it was the silence of the lambs.  The latest rock’n’roll singles from the States rocked their bedrooms and I couldn’t help but be surprised that they listened to the Ronettes, The Crystals and other girl bands.  Just like the New York Dolls would be doing ten years later.

I dreaded them but I was fascinated.  A month later, there was only one of them, Reza Vakili, a sadistic Iranian that still bothered to beat me up every evening.  While he dropped his dinner jacket, I tried talking him into teach me a few tricks as by now it would be pretty boring for him to flatten me in one go!  He liked the idea and a few days later, we became friends and he left me alone, concentrating his nastiness on my roommates.

As I got to listen to Cliff Richard, Bobby Darin or The Surfaris in their rooms, I noticed their walls were covered with pin-up girls wearing bikinis. They taught me how to use my fists, throw a knife and dress cool.  They taught me how to whistle and snap my fingers to the beat.  I wanted to belong, so they organized my first knife fight in the woods. I was to fight mad Jay Sicre who was also an aspiring member of “La Klique”. We could only aim at both arms and both legs!  After the first blood, Bill Ladd, their incredibly good-looking leader, (later kicked out for having gotten a village girl pregnant) interrupted the fight to my relief: I was the one bleeding and Jay and I both became full-fledged members.

Clothes were of paramount importance. Finding a pair of tight blue jeans was like looking for the Holy Grail in Switzerland. And the hiding place of the Grail looked remarkably like “Petit Jakob’s”, a cramped import shop. We’d walk in to be greeted by the owner of the shop, who sat with his deformed wife on a pile of clothes. Weird! White jeans, smart gilets, madras jackets, Beatle boots, Ray Ban sunglasses, marine caps, and dangling silver bracelets were hip.

An arrogant good-looking Brazilian cat, Miguel Correa, formed the first school band and gave it the arrogant name "So Much Us". How the Swedish babes fell for that guy, and how badly he treated them! Miguel, a self-taught and dazzling player, was a Hank Marvin (of the Shadows) fanatic. He remiked his Burns guitar, and fireworks flew out. So Much Us would play high school dances and balls; its original lineup featured Flavian “Kasa” Kasavubu (son of the then Congolese president) as lead singer. Crooning like his idol, the fat French pop star Richard Anthony, Kasa covered “J'irai Twister Le Blues” (“I’m Gonna Twist the Blues”) and “J'entends Siffler Le Train” (“I Hear The Whistle Of The Train”). Miguel would swing into guitar instrumentals by the Shadows. Drummers were a rare lot back then, so Miguel imported a Swiss friend from another school, the awesome André Tièche. André’s drumming skills would later evoke those of Charlie Watts and, like Watts, André became everybody's darling, as well as my best friend. Sweet tempered, he carried knives and guns, and he was fascinated by magic and westerns.

Later in the seventies, André played an essential role in my own bands, first Locomotive and then The Thunderbirds. In 1977, he formed Jack & The Rippers with Jean-Marie “Babine” Greiner and the Seilern brothers. And about that same time, we were shocked to read that he had been murdered while working for the Red Cross in Rhodesia by drug-war gangs. His last picture was featured on the front page of the Herald Tribune. I had introduced him to Keith Richards who still remembers him fondly.

Meanwhile, back to So Much Us. Their glory culminated when Miguel and Kasavubu were photographed by Life magazine for an article on our “school of the rich and famous.” But French-singing Kasa soon exasperated Miguel who, like all of us, had moved on and got into The Pretty Things, The Who, The Byrds, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Count Five, and The Shadows Of Knight. I had a crush on The Boots, a long haired German mod band.

My roommate at that time was a tough American bad boy with a lady-killer smile called Jim Houghton. He became Miguel's rhythm guitar player, and he quickly picked up those bar chords on The Kinks’ “All Day And All Of The Night.” As for myself, I was happy just to play “air guitar” along with the portable record player, dreaming that I would become Brian Jones. I even dated a girl who not only wore a Brian Jones haircut but also sported a pair of lips like Mick's!

After dinner, the ever-despotic Miguel would herd band members and aficionados into the study hall. “La Klique” members would crowd into the first row. On stage, we had only three small amps to power both guitars, the bass and the vocals, two microphones and a drum kit. Our enthusiasm did the rest!

SO MUCH US

During 1965 and 1966, revolution was in the air, a glorious, joyful sense of freedom for our generation. At this time, So Much Us became an all-American garage style band: besides Miguel, who played lead guitar and sang backing vocals, we had Jim Houghton on rhythm guitar, Tyni Vandersteel on bass, Kelvin Vanderlip on drums, and sexy Henri Hay took the lead vocals. We covered “Daddy Rolling Stone,” “I Can't Explain,” “I Feel a Whole Lot Better,” “I'm a Man,” “Suzie Q,” and so many other sixties’ youth anthems. Henri Hay also played tambourine, an essential attribute to the sixties sound. He wore striped Lovin’ Spoonful t-shirts, and he traveled through life like a beatnik. His best friend Tyni Vandersteel was tall and lanky, and Miguel had entrusted him with his Hofner “violin” bass à la Paul McCartney. Kelvin “Lips” Vanderlip, besides playing decent drums, happened to be a genius with electronics. With Tyni’s help, he built a radio transmitter with a one kilometer range. “Radio Rosey” would blast “Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing in the Shadow” while Henri Hay, D.J. Supremo, stood by to comment on the latest school gossip.

THE ROLLING STONES
LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA, PARIS - APRIL 18. 1965
INTRODUCED BY "LE PRESIDENT ROSKO”!

It’s spring 1965 up in Gstaad.  I’m 16 and an uneventful Easter vacations is looming ahead.  So I turn to my record player, my life saver and I blast “Little Red Rooster”, by the Rolling Stones, in the living room of our chalet, stopping my parent’s conversation dead. Brian Jones plays slide on his tear shape white Vox guitar on this number and I have never felt such a thrill on bottleneck guitar since.  He defies any competition to this day.  Brian was, and is still, my ultimate idol.  Nobody ever came close to his charisma.

Sandro Sursock (ca. 1966)

My Mother’s boyfriend and future second husband happened to be the late Prince Sadri Aga Khan, Uncle of the actual Ismaïli Man-God.  Previously, he had brought back the Joey Dee And The Starlighters live at the Peppermint Lounge album from the States and the first Beatles album from England.  He was hip to novelty music.  Hearing the Stones blaring out, he came over and asked who cut this incredible single.  When I told him that they were playing the Olympia in Paris in 10 days, he unhooked the phone and asked his secretary to book 6 tickets. 

Easter holidays changed aspect in a flash!  He got 5th row seats for us two, my two younger brothers, my Mother and my Father who followed like a zombie.  Outside, fans were on the verge of a riot.  The Olympia still had seats then; this is somehow foolhardy when you consider their mass destruction by teenagers in the early 60’s.  As I reached row number 5, I could feel the tension in the hall.  If someone would have lit the fuse … still, I couldn’t believe my eyes:  Françoise Hardy was sitting on my left.  British pop stars adored her looks and detached singing and she was considered ultra hip by the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Mick Jagger.  She seemed unperturbed by the shrieking screams of the young girls that felt exhilarating though eerie after a while. My Father fell asleep!  Le President Rosko appeared wearing Prince Valiant haircut cum sideburns, “Salut les Mamy-o’s et les Daddy-o’s”, shouted the famous radio D.J.  Who always started his shows with this ridiculous welcome.  Screams and whistles went out to the max.  “Groovy!!!” and now:  Evy!”  A midget doll from Germany ferociously hit the stage surrounded by equally gnomic Japanese musicians sporting long hair and shiny blue satin suits.  Nothing more modern looking has ever been invented!  They courageously opened the show with a tight set of tough rockers.  In those golden days, rock’n’roll shows featured as many as seven acts, some of them allowed only 20 minutes on stage.  It’s plenty enough!  Only ten years later, with punk bands, it again became obvious that hour long sets by “virtuoso” band members indulging in endless ‘solos’ were crap.

EVY opening for the Stones at the
Olympia April 18. 1965.
Copyright: Evy
http://www.evelynebelleepoque.com/

In the early 60’s, a combo would concentrate its energy and spit it out.  Bravo Evy!  Where are you today?  (editors note: Evy, a.k.a. Éveline Verrechia Lenton used to be a great French singer from Angers, that was produced by Ken Lean from Lausanne, Switzerland. Ken used to be the main producer at Barclay Records in Paris back then. Evy was using Les Aiglons from Lausanne, Switzerland to back her up on some occasions, however she's been using some touring Japanese group (most likely The Spiders) for backing band at her gig at the Olympia in Paris. Evy later on became world famous as a disco music singer with her band Belle Epoque during the 70s/80s. She's the sister of Vigon, the greatest French rnb/soul singer from the 60s! She wasn't a midget either, but rather just an ordinary, at some times even very good looking, and highly attractive French girl. There's some truly fantastic looking black and white shots of Evy from around the mid 60s for you to drool at on her following official website: http://www.evelynebelleepoque.com/) 

Some of these guys did not get by so easy and the curtain fell appropriately on this Belgian band massacring Buddy Holly, a rocker long forgotten by Stones fanatics.  The audience took no prisoners:  they loved you or they hated you.  The poor singer in red turtleneck got booed while all sorts of garbage were thrown at him till … curtains!  We were laughing madly!  Vince Taylor, also sporting Prince Valiant hairdo stepped in wearing black leather.  He howled to death in an epileptic fit, rolled on the ground with half closed eyes, clutching the mike with leather gloves, restoring a bit more respect from the angry crowd.  Behind him stood Mr. Tambourineman, the infamous Prince Stanislaus Klossowski De Rola who got busted with Brian Jones by the narcotic police in London.  Years later, this rock’n’roll alchemist would introduce me to Keith Richards and we are friends to this day.  He still dresses like the Marquis de Sade.  On drums, I witnessed the performance of the evening:  The super sonic Bobby Clarke who played wilder and faster than his own shadow.  I did not expect to see Vince on that night.  So many extravagant stories had created an evil aura around him … the devastation by his fans of the Palais des Sports, Brigitte Bardot, shackles and chains, stripteases, leather … now he seemed tortured, a wounded animal.  Soon he would crash and burn into madness and oblivion.  LSD finished him off.  Still tonight he got us screaming and wailing.  What a treat!   Rosko came back to announce Rocky Roberts And The Airedales of “T.Bird” fame.  Now T.Bird is still one of the top singles in my book, it’s soul that rocks at manic speed.  Now this is a professional nightclub black band that plays the Club 58 in Geneva or grand hotels in Beyrouth!  Well, believe me, I feared for the Rolling Stones.  Rocky Roberts is lean and tall and he wears huge Onassis shades and shiny blue toreador jackets.  He bends his body down to his heels when he limbos and dances so extravagantly, the Airedales sound so tight that the crowd goes apeshit for these guys.  Rosko himself is shaken.  Françoise Hardy seems in heaven.  Sadri, my future stepfather, goes berserk.  He gets up on his seat like the rest and shouts, “Fuck off, we want the Stones!”  to President Rosko.  On my left I can hear my Father snoring.  “Not bad these Rollie Rocks”, will he comment while waking up after the show.  Pandemonium hits the Olympia while the Stones stroll on, unperturbed, relaxed, casually dressed.

It was effortless.  They looked bored and they changed my life.  Mick Jagger hardly moved then.  He sang the blues with a plaintive, sad voice and shook his maracas distractively.  He oozed sex.  I became a metrosexual in one second:  I could make love to women and still release the woman in me.  It gave me a freedom that goes beyond sex.  I owe Mick a true spiritual experience, the kind that would alter the minds of a whole generation.  Later on during the 
seventies, Mick pulled my future wife, then age 15!  She didn’t resist but I still married her seven years later.  I hated Mick for blatantly doing this to me when I was Keith’s friend.  But I played with fire hanging out with the devil …

Back to the Olympia.  They opened with the riveting “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love”, by Solomon Burke.  At the time, their hit was, “It’s All Over Now”, by the Valentinos.  Keith Richards moved nervously, looking uncomfortable and his hair was not long enough yet to cover his elephant-size ears!  Boy was he ugly!  Mick pretended to speak French and called a shy Charlie Watts to introduce “Little Red Rooster”.  To think that I would lend the drummer my house in Pukhet – Thaïland 10 years later … He only once hit the beach:  he had bought the Bangkok Post and that’s how he got informed that his own house back in England had burnt down to ground with his legendary collection of suits!  There were no telephones in Pukhet back then ….

Bill Wyman looked uglier that Keith with his upright bass.  The picture-perfect undertaker, and then there was Brian.

Brian Jones had already his own fan club inside the Stones’ fan club.  They stood in awe right in front of him with, “We love you Brian” flags.  He seemed to be there just for them, smiling maliciously under his blond helmet.  As for looks, he was miles ahead of the others and everybody knew it, including himself.  The Stones were his band then, he taught them the whole game.  You could feel their resentment.  Later on he teamed up with his alter ego, young model-actress Anita Pallenberg who dressed him up as a Nazi S.S. crushing a doll under his boot.  Punk! … and all that during the summer of love!  As he was loosing his pole position in the band, he took drugs to oblivion, hating the new pop direction.  As the Jagger-Richards team of composers distanced themselves from the blues still he did beat them at their game, wearing the most outrageous costumes on and off stage, creating a pop persona only vaguely matched by Jimi Hendrix.  Brian embodied the decadent swinging London as I imagined it.  I loved every bit of exotic sounds that made the Stones so endearing because he could pick up a sitar, a harpsichord, a mellotron, a saxophone, a flute, tablas and play it on the spot.  Such mystery, such magic and such beauty under these Garbo hats … on that night he played harp and his legendary white tear-shaped Vox guitar.  Never ever will I forget Brian Jones:  he rules in my house where two of his posters are still hanging.

Meanwhile, I created a huge stir in Don Rosey, the school magazine, by writing “Réveillez-vous, les temps changent,” (“Wake up, the times they are a-changin’”) an article that mocked the square adult mentality and introduced the young readers to the mind-blowing properties of L.S.D. The headmaster was not amused. The teachers hated my guts, and I ended up leaving in 1967 before they could expel me: I wanted to grow my hair long and wear red old English army jackets!

During wintertime, Radio Le Rosey moved its headquarters to Gstaad – it was like living in a postcard, a fairyland dominated by a building reminiscent of Cinderella’s castle in Disneyland, the Palace Hotel. So Much Us would play the Montesano dance in the hotel’s glitzy Maxim's ballroom. The Montesano Girls’ School would offer us a fantastic hunting ground – the girls would scream in hysteria while So Much Us played “Set Me Free” by the Kinks at the “Hi-Fi Club,” another function room also situated in the Palace. It became our rock ‘n’ roll mecca since The Roadrunners, a sensational Liverpool band, played there on a regular basis. There were a lot of fights, drinking Dubonnet, flirting and smoking fags in the woods – it was paradise!

I once danced with my dream girl, rebel actress Natalie Wood who had married a local jetsetter. I stepped on her lovely toes! She laughed and tried hard to make me feel comfortable.

In the springtime, the whole school would move back to Rolle, a town between Lausanne and Geneva. Miguel, ever so hip, had met the coolest Swiss cat, Michel Rochaz, an authentic scene maker who had opened a club in the basement of the Chateau De Rolle – speaking of rock ‘n’ roll castles! My life as the rock ‘n’ roll aristocrat had found its foundation! Michel Rochaz would later shake Geneva, a city ever buried in its provincial Calvinism. He opened the Psychedelic Gold Bug Club in 1967 and the Bug Café in 1969. Right after a girls’ school ball, the band packed a truck driven by the older André Tièche and headed for the club in Rolle. They set it on fire. 

It’s also when, in the spring, 1966, my career as an air guitarist ended. Jim Houghton, my roommate and rhythm guitarist for So Much Us, had wagered he could walk on top of the school's roof. Alas, rain had made the tiles slippery, and he fell twenty meters. He was a lucky boy, though; he ended up in the hospital with only a broken arm and a few bruises. Such is the tough life, emulating James Dean!

After Jim’s accident, Miguel flew into my room with nary a warning, scratched the Yardbirds E.P. into silence, and stood there with a daring look in his eyes. He said: “Listen up, Sandro! I’m lending you my guitar, I'm going to show you the three basic chords of the blues, and you’re going to have to learn how to play them fair enough by tomorrow. I'll come and check your progress by tomorrow evening. And if you don't fucking get going, I'll bust your face.” He grinned and added: “This is your big chance. Don't blow it!”

I was excited at the idea of replacing my roommate as rhythm guitarist, but I soon realized that becoming Brian Jones meant that I had to practice. The next evening I could only mumble to Miguel that my fingers were hurting. Half a second later, he had slammed me against the wall with his left arm while he pounded my face and stomach with his right fist. There was blood everywhere! “I'll give you until tomorrow,” he warned before he left, slamming the door shut.

Sandro Sursock

Amazingly enough, the next evening I played those chords decently! He then proceeded to show me the minor chords, then barring chords, and at the end of two weeks I was rehearsing with So Much Us. I felt such a rush seeing my school friends watching me up there on that stage. With intense concentration, I played a white plastic body Eko, because I knew Miguel was watching me out of the corner of his eyes. But I could rock! I've never played a solo, but I own a swinging right hand, and that's all you need to play rhythm.

A month later, we got to play a wild house party, my first gig! The International School of Geneva opened for us, but they were outdated with their Shadows/Ventures repertoire. We proceeded to wipe them out: “You Really Got Me” – that was our opening number! I watched the girls' reaction -- they drooled, and they screamed with wild despair. Such a sexual high; we were a mod band, and we played fast and loud. Exhausted after the one hour set I crashed on a sofa.

A very proper girl wearing a long dress sat down next to me. We talked, we kissed, and after our second set, we made love. I lost my virginity in somebody else's living room. That's what I was promised if I hung out with Miguel. And it was a promise kept - cool is the rule!

Not that I played really hot. In those blessed times you just had to carry an electric guitar to get laid. But I was now part of a band and nothing could top that! Or could it? So I thought until I witnessed The Yardbirds at Club 58 in Geneva. Psychedelia was starting to rear its head, and Jeff Beck epitomized the change. What these guys called a “rave up,” were just three blues chords worked out in a manic frenzy with distortion, a fuzz box and deafening feedback. “I'm A Man,” “I'm Not Talking,” “The Train Kept A Rollin:” The Yardbirds were mean, and they took no prisoners. Miguel stood one meter away from Jeff Beck throughout the show, mouth hanging agape. We snuck backstage, but at the sight of Beck eating, with his long greasy hair hanging in the spaghetti sauce, we froze. He just lifted his eyes from his supper and stared at us so ferociously we gave the chit chat a miss!

And things kept getting wilder. Miguel got So Much Us a gig at the Club 58! Jim, my roommate, had fully recovered from his fall and took back his position as rhythm guitarist. But to show his gratitude, Miguel, now a full fledged pal of mine, had a special plan for me. Something crazy, something unusual: that is, a guest appearance on stage. It was agreed that I'd be sitting somewhere at a table far away from the stage, drinking with six girls. Towards the end of a successful show, band members started shouting: “Hey Sandro, we want you to sing ‘I'm A Man’!” Going along with the ruse, I was to decline the offer and pretend to hide, so Miguel would order the girls: “Get him back here, girls!” So the chicks would grab me, ignoring my protests, carry me, and literally throw me on stage. Meanwhile, the band had started blasting the Muddy Waters’ riff. I just had to come on: “All you pretty women - standing in line - I can make love to you women- in a hour's time!” The girls screamed while I proceeded to take off my shirt and throw it to them, and they would rip it to shreds. Then I unzipped my pants -- but that's as far as it went. Phew!

I seized this life with a vengeance from then on and never regretted it. Tyni left us early to attend college in the U.S, so Miguel taught me a few bass lines and So Much Us played one last party at the home of Junior Alvarez, the son of the chief of police under Trujillo, the Santo Domingo dictator! He had also invited along a beatnik folk singer who introduced us to smoking hashish.

I was so proud playing the Hofner violin bass. “Suzie Q” by Dale Hawkins has such a sexy bass line!

In 1967, I left Le Rosey and moved to Cannes where some of my friends had enrolled at the Institut Chateaubriand, a school directed by a renegade Rosey teacher for renegade students. We could grow our hair long, wear English red military jackets, Jim (Roger) McGuinn granny glasses, and read Boris Vian and Jack Kerouac. Miguel remained my friend when I visited Switzerland, but my U.S. mates would soon disappear in Vietnam service, or succumbed to drug addiction. The rest joined the “squares,” and communications were cut. To them, I was an eccentric (to put it politely) who refused to grow up. Oh well. “Rock 'n' roll, deliver me from the days of old,” sang Chuck Berry; “Hope I die before get old,” sang The Who.

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL ‘67

It seems all part of a 60 trip, but it’s all true.  I left Le Rosey, a paradise for the rich and famous, because the Headmaster kept sending me to the hairdresser.  I had a reputation for being a rebel and I even wrote articles in the school paper about sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll revolution.  I wanted to wear long hair and British red army jackets.  So when a bunch of misfits called me from Cannes asking me to enroll in a new school just created by a Rosey teacher that had been fired (just like themselves!) I effortlessly convinced my parents.

I was going to school wearing long hair and British red army jackets now.  I had access to marijuana and hashish but the opportunities were quite rare.  Jimi Hendrix issued “Hey Joe”, but I was hooked to Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” and “Mellow Yellow” albums.  Count Five and the Blues Magoos were our staple diet.  So were blond girls, booze and Anti-Minets (a new French fad that sucked.  Too clean for us attitudes!)

We hardly could spend much money at the time.  So some of us would disguise into a bunch of paparazzi with empty cameras (why spend money on film?) during the Cannes Film Festival.   That way, we would get aspiring starlets to strip for us, as it was fashionable then for them to grab the attention.  Nakedness was still a taboo.  That’s how I met Linda Veras, starring in Sexy Gang, a soft porn.  I got lucky!

Emperor Rosko interviewing Bond girl Claudine Auger in 1967. Copyright: Sandro Sursock

Emperor Rosko interviewing Bond girl Claudine Auger in 1967. Copyright: Sandro Sursock

Claudine Auger posing with Jean-Pierre Cassel in 1967. Copyright: Sandro Sursock

Emperor Rosko interviewing Claudine Auger in 1967. Copyright: Sandro Sursock

OPEN PAGES ON THE ROLLING STONES
A rare photo-packed 24 page magazine
from 1975 made by Sandro Sursock. 

I sometimes did carry films in my camera and I got to shoot the ever-present President, now upgraded Emperor Rosko, interviewing Claudine Auger of Thunderball T.B. fame.  But I struck gold on a Sunday afternoon just as we were about to resume school for the next week.  Sitting at the Hotel Majestic’s poolside were Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg.  She had come with Brian who had scored the music for the Volker Schloendorff movie “Mord Und Todschlag”.  She was starring in it and looked wildly sexy.  She moved like a panther wearing a white mega miniskirt, white transparent loose shirt, white Garbo hat over her Brian twin blonde helmet and lots a bracelets, exotic necklaces hanging everywhere even from her waist and ankles. Mesmerizing!  Keith was still a shy hood, black shirt hanging out of his black jeans.  He was on the verge of being transformed à la Brian Jones by Anita who would soon replace the latter by a less volatile Richards.  Indeed, they were about to leave for Morocco where Keith and Anita would later abandon a sick and tortured Brian Jones.  He would never recuperate from that ‘betrayal’, sinking further into a drugged stupor.

Keith accepted photos and I shot him cleaning his fingernails with a silver fork.  Playing on a small cassette machine next to him is ‘Mellow Yellow” by Donovan, one of the ultimate vignettes of London psychedelia. In 1974, I took a picture of him at home cleaning his gun!  To think that we all became close friends and practically lived together!

Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg hanging out at the Hotel Majestic in Cannes, France, 1967. Photos by Sandro Sursock, lifted from Sandro's very own '75 fanzine "Open Pages On The Rolling Stones." Photos copyright: Sandro Sursock.

Well, I smoked pot and drifted through the swingin’ sixties. In 1967, I became a disc jockey for two weeks in Gstaad. I would mix psychedelic tracks by The Seeds or Creem with rhythm ‘n’ blues hits such as “Hush” by Billy Joe Royal or “Sunny” by Bobby Hebb. The girls would dance The Jerk. I wore make-up and velvet ruffle shirts.

Miguel would play the same nightclub and aped Jimi Hendrix. He played fabulous guitar, playing numbers letter perfect with his teeth and behind his back, sporting his mother's Garbo hats and feather boas. He would get down on his knees while a terrifying feedback would electrify the audience. Soon we all became the hottest craze.

Sandro with his mother Catherine Sursock.

Sandro's stepfather Prince Sadri Aga Khan together
with President Richard Nixon.

In the early seventies, I met this tough Yugoslavian speedball named Tibor. He was a dope dealer who enjoyed getting high on his own supply! We became inseparable. I also connected with Babine, a fine bass player who dealt drugs too. They became my best friends, and so did L.S.D and cocaine. Both guys were in sharp contrast with the dull hippie type. They enjoyed life and a good laugh. They got me back on the acoustic guitar, and the three of us would jam all night, playing instrumental versions of speeded up Rolling Stones material.

I hadn’t improved much from Miguel’s instruction, so I concentrated on rhythm while the other two blazed their solos. Tibor had this mandolin gypsy-style technique that sometimes produced wonders. For all our stoned clumsiness, great moments would happen. We missed Brian Jones, and Keith Richards was our idol. We dressed like him, and the identification became so intense that the miraculous occurred: Keith materialized in our life! After Exile on Main Street was completed in Keith’s villa on the Côte d'Azur, The Stones had to move on. Once again, the narcotics police was after them. So Claude Nobs, creator of the Montreux Jazz Festival and Atlantic Records executive, offered them both a studio and a shelter in Switzerland.

One night, Stanislas “Stash” Klossowski, son of Balthus, the great painter, and the percussionist with Vince Taylor, woke me up at five in the morning. He had just met a girlfriend of mine in a club, and she had told him about me and my friends. We were the hip thing in Geneva: We had all the drugs! A week later, Stash invited me to his mother's house by Lake Leman, and around midnight, a dark blue Bentley pulled up beneath the trees. Keith and Anita Pallenberg crawled out, The Chiffons blaring through the speakers. They both looked hungry and dangerous. I later introduced them to Tibor and Babine so they could provide them with heroin to which they had been addicted for years. I also introduced André for logistics, since he appeared to be a well organized character. Their children, Marlon and Angie, followed and soon, my future wife, Charuvan, and the mini entourage around Keith and Anita were in place to provide drugs and comfort in innocent Switzerland.

Left: Sandro with Keith Richards. Right: Gstaad, Switzerland, 1973: Sandro strolling with Marlon, and Anita. Copyright: Sandro Sursock.

Keith filming Tibor, and Sandro

Sandro is receiving a Keith Richards look-a-like type of haircut from Anita!

I myself wanted to get back into creating a new band. Heroin way not my bag back then, and I soon witnessed my friend Tibor's disintegration. He lived in Keith's basement room with a girlfriend and shooting smack killed his love of life.

Clockwise from top left: 1) Anita, Sandro, & Tibor . 2) Sandro, Tibor, & Keith. 3)  Keith. 4) Marlon, Keith & Tibor.

Babine seemed more together, and so we started hanging out at the Midnight Rambler club, looking for musicians who would agree to play raw rock ‘n’ roll in these rotten ‘70s where jazz rock fusion was invading the hippy scene. 

We stood, gloomy, in dark corners of the club, waiting for a miracle to happen. One night these two guys talked to us. One looked like a blonde Viking, and I liked him. He was Pascal Gravante, a reformed junkie and a fabulous guitarist. He introduced his mate, a pale young freak who looked like Bill Wyman. He could hardly walk or talk, he was so strung out on pills and smack, but Pascal wanted to rescue him. He assured us that this guy, Didier Bonzon, was a great drummer, and that soon he would kick his drug habit! We pretended we believed him.

Keith at home cleaning his gun, while Anita shows her best side to the cameraman! The pic on the bottom left is picturing Anita together with Tibor. Copyright for all photos: Sandro Sursock

Pierre Blattner, owner of the Midnight Rambler had named the club after my suggestion. He always wanted me to be part of it, sensing that my friendship with the Stones would shake things up. And it did! I asked him if I could use the small stage as a rehearsal spot, and he wisely agreed. Flashy groupie-type chicks started hanging out, and we paraded there, sometimes with Keith, Anita and Mick Jagger, sporting snakeskin boots, leopard skin pants, make up, lipstick, glitter, platform shoes, and satin jackets. Oh yeah, and dark large, oval shape shades à la Jumpin' Jack Flash, and rings, turquoise bracelets, fake jewelry by Ken Lane and a lot of silver. We were loud, flashy, and arrogant.

We never spared the hippies, sending them vibrations of contempt. This was all in 1972. 

LOCOMOTIVE, live at the Midnight Rambler in Geneva, Switzerland.

We called the new band Locomotive. I was driven: I was the lead singer, Pascal Gravante and Christian Roy played guitar, Didier Bonzon the drums, Babine on bass, and André Tièche, the voodoo man, knocked the congas and shook the tambourine and maracas. Locomotive did not perform much, but we made both a rock ‘n’ roll and a fashion statement. After a few concerts at the Midnight Rambler and an appearance at some art happening, we quit. I enjoyed our power version of “The Train Kept A Rollin’” and early clumsy compositions, but Pascal's sound was too hard rock for me, and Didier never kept his promise to quit heroin. In fact, he once fell asleep on a cymbal during a memorable performance!

Locomotive at Plainpalais, Geneva, Switzerland (Sunday, April 21. 1974)

Locomotive  at Plainpalais, Geneva, Switzerland
(Sunday, April 21. 1974) L-R: Andre Tieche, Sandro
Sursock, and Didier Bozon

I lived in the old town, not far from the Midnight Rambler. Once my flat got raided by the cops, but I hid my hash and cocaine in the cellar. From the ground floor, I heard angelic voices singing harmonies with a guitar and a piano. I suspected it was two gays living under my window. One day, I noticed one of them reading a Melody Maker piece on Keith Richards, who was then in Jamaica. While sipping coffee, I asked to borrow the paper, and that's how I met John Seilern. His boyfriend turned out to be Franz Tassilo, his brother! He told me how excited he was when he peeped through the keyhole to watch Keith climbing up the stairs to my flat. I told him I enjoyed his daily harmonies and that we should form a band based on three voices. He shook hands on that one, and in early 1974, and The Thunderbirds, named after my car, were born. I was happy to put André Tièche back on drums. We hired his brother Yves who played magnificent rock ‘n’ roll rhythm guitar. John Seilern sang backing vocals and played a minimalist Farfisa organ. Franz Tassilo, alias Francis, was the best musician altogether. He played fabulous Chuck Berry- style lead, and harmonized vocals with John. Babine stuck to his Danelectro bass, and I sang lead vocals and strummed an acoustic guitar. We still rehearsed at the Midnight Rambler, and once again, we became the house band. People were exposed to us because there was nowhere else hip to go around Geneva.

The Thunderbirds live at the Midnight Rambler

Keith Richards (1974)
Copyright: Sandro Sursock

At this time, Keith lived in Villars where he rented a small chalet up in the mountains. He often came down to Geneva to shop with Anita and their son Marlon. He drove a 1954 yellow Dodge that André Tièche had advised him to buy. It went back up snowy roads on the mountain, packed with toys for the kids and drugs for the adults. The Thunderbirds rehearsed in the afternoon, so he'd come and hang out. I had a few spare guitars casually waiting. At some point, he would jump on one; plug it on and blitzkrieg on “Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller” or “Honky Tonk Woman.” He was amused that we attempted to play reggae, calypso, Gram Parsons country stuff, you name it. I wrote a song about him: “Lookout Gipsy.” Sometimes he would show up late, and we'd be on stage. He'd grab that Fender and join us, never louder than the rest, but tough looking, riffing with such ease and authority that band and audience would hit the roof. Seventh heaven!

Keith Richards filming his son Marlon in a photo taken by Sandro Sursock. Copyright: Sandro Sursock.

Keith Richards (1974) Copyright: Sandro Sursock

The Thunderbirds’ great asset was its naïve sense of friendship built around rock ‘n’ roll as a culture. We believed in the reality of it all, and we lived it and loved it. So why did it end? I started using heroin. And Keith said once that we didn't starve enough to want to make it. He was right. I got fed up having to shoulder responsibilities and most of the finances.

One-off gig as Pleasant Street (Maison Des Jeunes, Geneva, Sunday, May 4. 1975) Sandro looking like a punk version of Dylan in his wild outfit, and with bleached hair! 

One-off gig as Pleasant Street (Maison Des Jeunes, Geneva, Sunday, May 4. 1975)

One night, the phone rang. Anita was howling. Their latest baby, Tara, had choked on its vomit. Keith was on tour. At 5 o’clock in the morning, I rushed to the house and attempted a mouth-to-mouth when I smelt the deadly puke.

That was 1976 and I got my first taste of punk rock!

Sandro's wife Princess Charuvan
Sursock Rangsit

I had to take a hard look and admit I had become a junkie just like Keith, Tibor, Babine and the rest. My wife and I flew to Bangkok where I overdosed on sleeping pills while attempting to go cold turkey. I landed in the hospital, sharing a room with an 80 year old opium addict tattooed from head to toe. I recovered surprisingly fast while Charuvan would bring me American rock ‘n’ roll magazines available in Thailand for the troops stationed in Vietnam. That’s how I got to read Creem, Rock Scene, the great Lester Bangs: They raved about a new punk scene in New York. To them, the Rolling Stones were dinosaurs, and they identified with The Flaming Groovies, The Stooges, The New York Dolls, The Velvet Underground, and The MC5. Their names were legendary already: The Ramones, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Heartbreakers, Television, Wayne County & The Backstreet Boys. I forgot my heroin addiction, fueled by enthusiasm and a desire to be part of all it.

We flew to Vancouver where I saw David Bowie starring in the film The Man Who Fell To Earth. That same night, I asked Charuvan to cut my hair short. Then, going on to New York, I caught Suicide by chance. They were so outrageous and minimalist, it was as if they were playing in front of a crowd of zombies in some art gallery.

Leo Zouridis (he's the cat on the right) at Dr. Boogie.

Back in Geneva, I buddied up to the owners of a new underground record shop called Dr. Boogie. The owner, Leo Zouridis, sold those vinyl records with a sense of authority. For example, if you asked him for a band that he considered uncool, he’d make you feel like shit! But his face lit up when I mentioned The Flaming Groovies, and names of labels like Stiff and Chiswick Records. And at that time, my favorite record was “Blank Generation” by Richard Hell & The Voidoids. My other musical inspiration came from pub rock like that played fast by Eddie & The Hot Rods, and “Heart Of The City” by Nick Lowe. Later on, I got into “Anarchy In The U.K.” by The Sex Pistols and “Help” by The Dammed.

Leo also had drive and ambition. When the idea of putting together a band materialized, he quickly arranged the rehearsal place, the equipment, and the musicians. His friend Jean-François Piva (alias “B 52”) played bombastic bass guitar. Leo recruited Ralph Perez and Daniel Jean Renaud (“Dean Meat”) on guitars, and Christian Abdani on drums. All of these guys were good players with no attitude problems, except for Dean Meat who acted like a streetwise James Dean and played a Flying V – and too much so in the style of Hendrix for our taste at this moment in time. Still, he was a likable, flashy character. 

One night, we were hanging out in this glorified club, the Backstage, which was actually the first real punk hangout: an empty cellar and the owner’s bedroom! Serge Witzig, a hustler who displayed a tacky brand of charm, slept between broken beer bottles and cigarette butts with his big-boobed secretary-looking mistress Raymonde Carlier. She was into Bowie, and she worked as a disc jockey with the help of the first punks in town, Poubelle, Dégueulon, Ordure, Zaki and other luminaries. We saw Electric Callas, a band from Lyon, one night. They played a set in the style of The Stooges that ended in a burnout. Their guitarist, Johnny Fame, was Raymonde’s brother. Later on, that big-titted DJ would create the fanzine Les Lolos De Lola, and she would front The Mo-dettes, an all-girl outfit that went to the top of the British Charts with their version of “Paint It Black.”

One night, I got lucky. A hard rock band was blasting when I entered the Backstage. The guitarist, Patrick “Mama” Mahassen was extraordinary. Later on, Mama joined Krokus. But what floored me literally was a young sexy singer. Marie-Pierre had a powerful voice that never screamed pathetically like some heavy-metal singer. She had class, fragility, and emotion. After the show, I made a beeline for her, and we hit it off instantly. She too wanted to sing in a more radical band.

Leo named us The Slam. We had three lead singers, Marie-Pierre, Leo, and myself. We would take turns singing lead while the other two shouted background vocals. The rehearsals took place at La Praille, a former, dilapidated atomic shelter squatted by many bands. It was in such a wretched state, we had it all to ourselves. It was a rat hole that smelt like beer, piss, and cigarette butts. But it was home! And, yet, we still had to pay a rent!

The Slam inside the practice room in ca. early 1977.

Before Jean-François Piva took over on the bass, we had this guy, Pepito, filling in for two months. He was into transcendental meditation, as was I. I had picked it up as a source of relaxation and to keep from relapsing back into heroin use. Leo and one of the owners of Dr. Boogie, Gerald Frutschi, joined our meditation team. At first, we were pretty disciplined. We meditated before our daily rehearsals.

Two months later, we meditated with a lager in hand while blasting The Sex Pistols!

We got along fine. The idea was to play cutthroat rock ‘n’ roll as opposed to nonsensical hippy wanderings. We wore our hair back and wore leather jackets. We looked aggressive and arrogant. 

THE SLAM at the New Morning in Geneva, Switzerland.

Our first gig was at the New Morning, the hippies’ hangout, of all places! We made quite an impression. A lot of those “cool” scruffs were shell-shocked, but Alain Fahri, the owner, loved us. He especially he loved Marie-Pierre when she sang a gutsy rendition of Patti Smith’s “Gloria.” She floored everybody. I had written an anthem for the band called “You Ain’t Bad Enough” which slammed the hippies! Leo closed the set with a scorching “Slow Death” by The Flaming Groovies. We played fast and loud. The three singers took the lead one after the other which created an energy burst at each new song. It left us elated! We felt powerful and cocky.

Once we played for some festivities in the town center in Geneva. Marie-Pierre was shaking her ass, and the guys got horny. Leo’s girlfriend blew up: She climbed onstage and slapped Leo in the face before our audience! Talk about punks and losers! But that was Leo; he always got in a mess. For example, in the summer ’76, we booked ourselves into the Festival du Bois de la Bâtie, the mini, yearly Woodstock in Geneva. There were hippies everywhere, complete with joints, Afghani clothes, long smelly hair, intense feet and sandals! Then The Slam took the stage. We were nervous and rushed because the sound check was too slow and inefficient, and the crowd was too hostile. Leo blew up. He insulted the sound men. People started to boo and whistle. He told the hippies: “We’re not in Migros [Swiss supermarket chain], you buncha bums!”

We hadn’t yet played a note. We were wearing black leather and dark glasses. Leo continued to abuse one and all, and suddenly the sky went black as thousands of beer bottles came flying towards us onstage. They truly hated us! So I attempted to play a song: “I Can’t Stand Your Guts,” but Ralph and Jean-François dropped their guitars and fled backstage. Leo was furious and screamed: “Cowards, you’re fired!” More beer bottles rained down. Abdani abandoned the drum kit, so Leo fired him too. “You never liked me, anyway!” he shouted. I quit singing and ran for shelter with Marie-Pierre. Later on Leo, who by now had fired everybody, discovered that he himself had been fired from The Slam! What else? Our last concert had lasted 1 minute and 25 seconds: the epitome of punk! We never even finished the first song!

The next day, Ralph, Marie-Pierre and I held a powwow in some café. I told them that I was off to spend the summer in Thailand writing songs and that, come autumn, we’d be even more radical, and set up a new band. They agreed immediately.

Sandro Sursock (vocals,
The Slam) 1977

Meanwhile, in Thailand I stayed away from heroin. I wrote “Schizo Terrorist,” “Impossibilities,” “I Like To Play With Fire,” and a few others. I wanted the band to be really mean, so I dubbed it The Bastards.

Marie-Pierre / The Bastards, live at the
New Morning in Geneva on January 18.
1978 (Photo by Leonard Gold)

Back in Geneva, the scene had evolved. Now hanging out at the Midnight Rambler were young looking punks wearing black leather and safety pins. Poubelle (later a member of The Yodler Killers), Dégueulon, Ordure (later Discolokosst), Arnold (Teenage Girl From Auschwitz), and ten other bands were the nucleus of a brand new scene.

We partied and drank tons of beer.

The Bastards went straight into rehearsals. Marie-Pierre had cut her locks and looked amazing with short hair, heavy makeup and black lipstick. She sang and moved more wildly than ever and drove everybody berserk. John Seilern did a brief stint with us, but it never went past three rehearsals. He had a disastrous affair with Marie-Pierre, and bad vibes followed. Ralph hated him because he was very close to Marie-Pierre, and because Ralph was also a much better musician. So John left to form Jack and the Rippers with his brother Francis, André Tièche, and Babine. They had that English pop punk sound while we stuck to the New York beatnik influence.

Marie-Pierre (vocals) of The Bastards, live at the New Morning in Geneva on January 18. 1978 Photo by Leonard Gold. Copyright: Leonard Gold.

Ralph took over the management and kept things loud and fast. He replaced Abdani on drums with a younger, nervous cat, Didier Dana. On second guitar, Dean Meat had to go. He objected to Ralph’s ideas of minimalism, so he was replaced, again by a younger fellow, Benjamin Garcia, who swore by Dick Wagner and Lou Reed (*editors note: he swore by Steve Hunter, who used to play with Dick Wagner, and Lou Reed). Dean Meat (Daniel Jean Renaud) would later move to San Francisco, play gigs with The Flamin' Groovies, and create The Kingsnakes with their drummer, Danny Mihm, after he also slipped from the Scelerates, Leo’s new band. So Ralph, Benjamin, Didier, Jean-François, Marie-Pierre and myself got on with business. Relationships in the band were relaxed. When Poubelle and the punk contingent came to rehearsals, they wanted to organize a concert. We printed a black and white poster; my brother took the picture. We looked blank, bored and menacing.

Poster for the BASTARDS debut gig from 25. November 1977 at the Zofage.

The Punks had rented a cheap joint, Le Zofage, a room that belonged to the Zofingiens, a student fraternity. No Zofingiens showed up, but surprisingly, about sixty other people did. Some of them were students of mine because I taught French to Americans at the International School during daytime! That gig kept me away from heroin (for ten years).

Poubelle and the punk contingent Johnny Roland K. lamely sold a few beers, and when the glorified curtain opened up we lashed out with “Slow Death,” “Impossibilities,” “Schizo Terrorist,” and “Shaking Street” by The MC5, “Danger,” and “Gloria.” We mixed our songs with punk covers such as “You Make Me Cream In My Jeans” by Wayne County And The Backstreet Boys. We watched the audience’s opened-mouthed reaction. The sound attack, and the speed of our playing, and the interaction between Marie-Pierre and I (tough and sexy ) seemed to work! The musicians, led by Ralph, were tight and nervous. When I sang, Marie-Pierre went backstage to sip a beer and vice-versa. It kept us hot when we next stormed the stage!







The punks did the Pogo, banging into the rest of the bewildered audience who was confronted with this new dance for the first time. But the tension built up even faster when a biker gang, the Pharaohs, moved in and immediately started hitting people with billiard sticks. They had come to destroy punk!

At one point, I saw a student of mine, the only International School punk, being carried away on a stretcher with his skull cracked open! I stopped the concert and jumped at another Pharaoh who was about to kill somebody. He turned around, slammed my head against a concrete wall, and then I saw a fist the size of a baby’s face coming at me. He never completed the punch – a bloody miracle! I jumped back on stage and we kept on playing as if nothing had happened. One by one, the Pharaohs left the hall. We thought that the disruption was part of the excitement. We ended the evening gulping beers. Punks all the way and forever: The contingent was delighted and swore revenge against the Pharaohs. Indeed, that was the first of many episodes where the two tribes would collide.

Sandro Sursock: Like Johnny Rotten, I wore rockabilly jackets;
sometimes, I’d use a rhinestone bracelet that belonged to Johnny Thunders
as a necklace.

As punk became fashionable, it became more and more uniform in the looks; for example, many people wore the mohawk hairstyle. As for The Bastards, we didn’t care much about fashion. Like Johnny Rotten, I wore rockabilly jackets; sometimes, I’d use a rhinestone bracelet that belonged to Johnny Thunders as a necklace. Marie-Pierre wore a Thai police hat I had bought in Bangkok. I plastered ‘VOID’ on my skull. Punk uniforms came from England, and we looked more like New Jersey bums.

The Bastards, live at the New Morning in Geneva on January 18. 1978. Photo by Leonard Gold.

Great concerts would follow through 1978. We played the Midnight Rambler, and a journalist from the Tribune De Genève showed up. We shocked him when Charuvan, my future wife, a Thai with blonde hair, came walking in, dragging along behind her, on a leash, Dégueulon; he was on all fours and wearing a spiked dog collar! Next day, we were on the front cover with myself posed bare-chested! 

(editors note: The article from Tribune De Geneve that Sandro was mentioning above has already appeared on the 17th of December 1977 in the press)

At this same time, new bands appeared: Jack & The Rippers, Leo and his band The Scelerates, Poubelle and The Yodler Killers, Arnold and Dr. Mengele with Teenage Girls From Auschwitz, Discolokosst, Technycolor with Leo and Fred Lazer, The Kingsnakes with Dean Meat, and Mimi Aguet and Danny Mihm from The Flaming Groovies! A scene was born, and the hippies were never seen in town again. Good riddance! We had won the battle. It was good times.

The Bastards article by Philippe Souaille from Tribune De Geneve (issue from Saturday, December 17. 1977) got headlined with "Les Punks Genevois" in big letters on the frontpage.

The Bastards inside the practice room. From the "Tribune De Geneve" photo session (December 1977). Photo by Leonard Gold. Copyright: Leonard Gold.

THE YODLER KILLERS (1978) L-R: Alain Poubelle (vocals), Tony Dilligence (bass), Doctor Mengele (drums), and Fritz Clitocaster (guitar)

Fanzines appeared by Poubelle (Punk Genève), Leo (Super Pas Cool),(Genève Rock), Ramona from The Mo-dettes (Les Lolos De Lola) – such exciting and creative times!

December 31. 1977 in Thailand
with Blondie

I went back to Thailand for Christmas. Blondie hit Bangkok by chance. They had just completed their first L.P. and toured Asia on their way to Japan where they were already big. I briefly met Debbie Harry, the punk Marilyn Monroe, and fell madly in love. Back in Geneva, The Bastards interrupted a rehearsal, (missing the opening by Talking Heads) to attend an early Ramones gig at the Salle Des Fête Des Eaux-Vives! Total blitzkrieg! Only fifty enlightened, blessed souls attended the concert.

The old hippie guard had one last stint when they recorded a live LP at the New Morning. They asked us, too, to pose for the picture that would go on the cover, but then they didn’t include us. We were radically different from the bands used for the album, and we had behaved arrogantly before, during and after show time.

The crowd loved it though. 

The Bastards (Sunday, April 2. 1978) Live recording at the New Morning

The Bastards (Sunday, April 2. 1978) Live recording at the New Morning

THE BASTARDS (January 18. 1978) live at the New Morning in Geneva. L-R: Jean-Francois Pivat (bass), Sandro Sursock (vocals), and Marie-Pierre (vocals) Photo copyright: Leonard Gold.

I booked T.H.C. studios for a weekend, and we played six numbers live, three of them ending on up on The Bastards E.P. that only came out in 1979 after I had left the group to form The Rednecks. “Impossibilities” sung by Marie-Pierre is on the A-side, and its imperfections add to her volcanic performance. On the B-Side, I scream “Danger” and the both of us hurry-hurry-hurry on “Schizo Terrorist.” There were other tracks that were left off: “Loser,” “Apathy,” and “I Don’t Care.” All of the music and lyrics were written by yours truly and the two guitarists. So with these recordings, one can still hear The Bastards’ sound: raw, nervous, and taking no shit off anyone. That’s how it came down.

THE BASTARDS (1978): Marie-Pierre (vocals)

THE YODLER KILLERS (1978) L-R: Doctor Mengele (drums), Alain Poubelle (vocals), Tony Dilligence (bass), and Fritz Clitocaster (guitar)

In 1979, a punk kid, Zaki, financed the production of The Yodler Killers single. I gave him the masters to add The Bastards to his label. And because I had left the band (who had gone pop) nearly a year before this E.P. was released, it was a “posthumous” record for me.

Unreleased outtake from the Bastards '79 Zaki EP cover photo session! L-R: Sandro Sursock, Marie-Pierre

The Centre De Loisirs De Carouge was another regular battlefield between punks and the Pharaohs. We opened there for our guests from Zurich, Rudolph Dietrich’s Nasal Boys, and the chicks from Kleenex. We were a tough act to follow, believe me! I had a broken knee and used crutches on stage as I did my Gene Vincent bit. And I also used the crutches to hit a few insolent daredevils in the front row.

The Zurich bands seemed very tame in terms of sound, speed, sex and anger. They seemed to subscribe to a more “arty” concept, and that’s clever in terms of durability. We were fuck all!


Another highlight was opening for Robert Gordon, a rockabilly dope whose punk credibility was his debut as singer for The Tuff Darts in New York. But Link Wray was backing him on guitars and that was the big deal. Link was, and still is, looked upon as the arch rebel who had penned “Rumble” twenty years before. He descended upon us like one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! After the show, he accepted my invitation to have a late supper, and he was the ultimate gentleman with black shades, leather pants, and long killer coat. He said he enjoyed The Bastards concert.

When invited by the T.V. channel Suisse Romande to close a variety show with a live set after a short film on the punk movement, we lashed out. I spilled a beer can over my head during “Schizo Terrorist” while Marie-Pierre mesmerized everybody with “Gloria.” Intense! Backstage, we crossed paths with Renaud, the French pseudo-poet rocker wearing a leather jacket: We spat on him. A glorious moment!

Friendly punks"Antonio", and Roland Kräuchl between a BASTARDS gig

Our last gig took place in Meyrin, where all the abovementioned bands from Geneva got together to play a 45 minute set each. Such a great sense of achievement: We were all part of the same scene. 

Still rock ‘n’ roll was no family entertainment: Poubelle had to run for his life with Teddy Boys on his back who wanted to kill punks!

The Bastards (Sunday, April 2. 1978) Live recording at the New Morning for a various artists LP (produced by the New Morning) that was never made! The recordings seem to be long lost.

JACK & THE RIPPERS (Summer 1978, Festival Du Bois De La Batie) L-R: Babine Greiner (bass), Philip Turrian (drums), John Seilern (vocals), and Francis Seilern (guitar) Photo by Sandro Sursock. Copyright: Sandro Sursock

John Seilern (vocals) of JACK & THE RIPPERS live at the Backstage in Geneva, Switzerland, 1978. Copyright: Sandro Sursock

1977. Ah well, I didn’t go to heaven after all. I formed The Rednecks with Paul Zouridis from Banzai, Babine, and Francis Seilern from Jack & The Rippers. When his brother John came back from London, we called ourselves The Zero Heroes, and I rocked until 2002 with people who had started The Thunderbirds with me in 1972! We played with Iggy Pop on stage. We did studio work with David Bowie during the recording of the Never Let Me Down album and sang choruses on “Zeroes.” A song Bowie wrote about a band, perhaps? Perhaps – it was our band!?! 

(Sandro Sursock, song writter, lead singer, and band leader of The Bastards)

Everything about the split of The Bastards from Alain Poubelle's Punk Geneve #4 

The Bastards' Marie-Pierre on the frontcover of PUNK GENEVE #5 (1978)

The Bastards were going to open for Wayne County in Zurich, Switzerland back in summer of 1978, but this gig unfortunately got cancelled. From Ramona Carlier's 1978 fanzine LES LOLOS DE LOLA #2.

LOCOMOTIVE (1972 - 1974)
CONCERT LISTING:

• Midnight Rambler (did play a few concerts at the Midnight Rambler, no dates known)
• Sunday, April 21. 1974, Jazz Rock Festival at Salle Communale De Plainpalais, Geneva, Switzerland.

Babine also used to be a member of the rhythm and blues band Waterfall too!

Supporting Fu-Manchu as the Evil Friends on June 29. 1974 (Fete MJC, Geneva).

still in work

THE THUNDERBIRDS (1974 - 1975)
CONCERT LISTING:

• October 1974, Midnight Rambler. Lineup with Francis Seilern (lead guitar, vocals), John Seilern (piano, and vocals), Babine Greiner (bass), Sandro  Sursock (acoustic guitar, vocals), Andre Tieche (drums), Yves Tieche (rhythm guitar). They've played the following set:

1.) I Can't Dance
2.) Chains

3.) Next Door To  An Angel

4.) I'm So Tired

5.) Poison Ivy
6.) Ballad Of John And Yoko

7.) Honky-Tonk Woman

8.) Sweet Geneva

9.) Look Out Gipsy!

10.) Sure The One You Need

11.) Sweet Little Rock "N" Roller

12.) Seems Like A Long Time

13.) Look Alike

14.) Kitchen Song

15.) Knockin' On Heavens Door

• November 1974. Midnight Rambler. Same lineup and set list as above!

• November 22. 1974, Salle Simon Patino, Geneva. A Sweet Evening In Geneva concert with The Rolling Stones (a film exclusivity), Roger McGuinn (a multi vision show), and The Thunderbirds (live rock "n" roll). The exclusive Rolling Stones film material came from the collection of Sandro.

The poster used to be black and white only!

• Midnight Rambler. same lineup as above but with Peter Seilern (piano, vocals) guesting on a couple of tracks. 3 Seilern brothers on stage! 

• June 7. 1978, Midnight Rambler, Geneva. Concert in memory of the Jack And The Rippers  (and ex - Thunderbirds) drummer Andre "Moustache" Tieche, who got killed by the rebels while working for the red cross in Africa (all the other most peaceful red cross workers from inside the red cross car got shot by the rebels at the same time too!) The concert was opened by The Thunderbirds (with Paul Zouridis on drums) who had especially reformed for this one concert in memory of their drummer Andre "Moustache" Tieche, followed by The Bastards, Les Scelerates, and Jack & The Rippers.

still in work

THE SLAM (Late 1976 - July 1977)
CONCERT LISTING:


They were undoubtably the earliest Punk band from Geneva! That's for sure!

According to Sandro, The Slam were formed by Sandro and Leo in late 1976. 

Sandro was born on December 30. 1948, and after his marriage to Charuvan they've spent every x-mass / new years eve holidays over in Thailand. Maybe he already went to Thailand a couple of months before, during summer of 1976 (they probably have!), however some ancient family tree from inside an old Geneva Punk fanzine reads that The Slam were formed in February 1977. After questioning Sandro about the different info from the old 'zine, Sandro still assured me that The Slam were definitely already formed by around November 1976, and that the date from the old fanzine is not correct!

They've only played a few gigs in 1977. I've failed to track down any dates for my concert listing of The Slam. Sandro's scrapbooks contain a lot of great live photos of The Slam playing at the New Morning in Geneva (mostly taken at the same gig, I think), but there are no flyers, posters, press clippings, or anything else from around this period known to exist.

• 1977, New Morning,  Geneva, Switzerland (dates unknown)
• July 1977, Festival Du Bois De La Batie, in Geneva, Switzerland. A big yearly festival with many other bands.

still in work



THE BASTARDS (October 1977 - July 1978)
CONCERT LISTING:

One almost complete listing of concerts played by the classic first line up of The Bastards featuring Sandro Sursock as their band leader. Later Bastards concerts without Sandro are not listed, because they are not part of Sandro's story. Each and every Bastards concert was opened AND closed out with a rip roaring version the track Slow Death by the Flamin' Groovies. After the first three concerts I've stopped numbering the shows, since because I'm not sure if the listing is complete.

• The first Bastards concert was held on November 25. 1977 at the Zofage in Geneva. Their set list was including all the following songs:

1.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)
2.) You Make Me Cream In My Jeans (by Wayne County)

3.) I Can't Stand Your Guts (by Sandro Sursock)

4.) Sweet Feeling (by J.J. Callas / Sandro Sursock)

5.) Shakin' Street (by the MC5)

6.) Gloria (by Patti Smith)

7.) Riot In Cell Block No. 9 (by The Coasters)

8.) I Like To Play With Fire (by Sandro Sursock)

9.) I Don't Care (by Sandro Sursock)

10.) Blank Generation (by Richard Hell)

11.) God Save The Queen (by The Sex Pistols)

12.) Ripped Off (by Sandro Sursock)
13.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)

Poster for the BASTARDS debut gig from 25.
November 1977 at the Zofage.

Promo card

• The 2nd Bastards concert was held on December 7. 1977 at the Midnight Rambler (a.k.a. Club Discotheque) in Geneva, where they've played the same 13 songs over again:

1.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)
2.) You Make Me Cream In My Jeans (by Wayne County)

3.) I Can't Stand Your Guts (by Sandro Sursock)

4.) Sweet Feeling (by J.J. Callas / Sandro  Sursock)

5.) Shakin' Street (by the MC5)

6.) Gloria (by Patti Smith)

7.) Riot In Cell Block No. 9 (by The Coasters)

8.) I Like To Play With Fire (by Sandro Sursock)

9.) I Don't Care (by Sandro Sursock)

10.) The Blank Generation (by Richard Hell)

11.) God Save The Queen (by The Sex Pistols)

12.) Ripped Off (by Sandro Sursock)
13.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)

• The 3rd Bastards gig got played on Wednesday, January 18. 1978 at the New Morning in Geneva. Same set listing as above, but with Danger (written by Benjamin Garcia and Sandro Sursock) added for brand new song.

From Leo Zouridis's fanzine GENEVE ROCK 78 #OX 2 / February 1978.

From Leo Zouridis's fanzine GENEVE ROCK 70 #2c Edition (1978).
A very trashy and funny 'zine from early 1978 that came with a fake
1977 as year of publishing. It actually reviews the Bastards gig from
January 18. 1978 at the New Morning.

From Alain Poubelle's 1978 'zine PUNK GENEVE #1 

• January 22. 1978, The Bastards live at the New Morning in Geneva.

Promo card

• Wednesday, March 15. 1978, at the Midnight Rambler in Geneva, Switzerland. They've played the following 16 songs:

1.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)
2.) Loser (by Sandro Sursock)

3.) You Make Me Cream In My Jeans (by Wayne County)

4.) I Can't Stand Your Guts (by Sandro Sursock)
5.) Gloria (by Patti Smith)
6.) Shakin' Street (by the MC5)
7.) Ripped Off (by Sandro Sursock)
8.) Schizo Terrorist (by Sandro Sursock)

9.) Riot In Cell Block No. 9 (by The Coasters)

10.) I Like To Play With Fire (by Sandro Sursock)

11.) I Don't Care (by Sandro Sursock)

12.) Apathy (by Ralph Perez / Sandro Sursock)
13.) The Punk (by Cherry Vanilla)14.) God Save The Queen (by The Sex Pistols)

15.) Impossibilities (by Sandro Sursock)

16.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)

• March 19. 1978, at the Midnight Rambler in Geneva, Switzerland. They've played the following 17 songs:

From Punk Geneve issue #2 (1978) 

1.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)

2.) Danger (by Benjamin Garcia / Sandro Sursock)

3.) You Make Me Cream In My Jeans (by Wayne County)

4.) Loser (by Sandro Sursock)

5.) I Can't Stand Your Guts (by Sandro Sursock)

6.) Impossibilities (by Sandro Sursock)

7.) Shakin' Street (by the MC5)

8.) Gloria (by Patti Smith)

9.) Riot In Cell Block No. 9 (by The Coasters)

10.) I Like To Play With Fire (by Sandro Sursock)

11.) I Don't Care (by Sandro Sursock)

12.) Apathy (by Ralph Perez / Sandro Sursock)

13.) Ripped Off (by Sandro Sursock)

14.) God Save The Queen (by The Sex Pistols)

15.) The Punk (by Cherry Vanilla)

16.) Schizo Terrorist (by Sandro Sursock)

17.) Slow Death (by The Flamin' Groovies)

• March 29. 1978, at the Midnight Rambler, Same set listing as above!

• Sunday, April 2. 1978, at the New Morning in Geneva. This Bastards gig was recorded for some live at the New Morning various artists two LP set, but never released. The recordings unfortunately seem to be lost.

Most every Bastards gig has been advertised "Sur Les Bords" inside the Tribune De Geneve.

Live recording at the New Morning. From Leo's brother Paul Zouridis's 1978 fanzine GENEVE ROCK 78/4

Part 2 of the article about the live recordings at the New Morning. From Leo's brother Paul Zouridis's 1978 fanzine GENEVE ROCK 78/4

• Friday, April 14. 1978, live recording inside a crowded Swiss Tv studio in Martingny, Switzerland, for the national Swiss television TSR. Track listing:

1.) Danger

2.) Gloria

3.) Schizo Terrorist

4.) Slow Death (it got faded by the TV after around one minute)

Tv programm from Friday, April, 14. 1978.

• April 22. 1978, Centre De Loisirs, Carouge (Geneva) Concert with The Bastards, Kleenex, and The Nasal Boys. There exists two different posters from this gig.

From Tribune De Geneve (April 22. '78) Les Scellerates happened to play together with Teenage Girls From Auschwitz at the Cafe Du Grütli on the very same day!

Review from ROCK HACHE #2 (1978)

From monsieur Alain Poubelle's PUNK GENEVE #3 (1978)

• April 29. 1978, Salle Communale De Bernex, Bernex, Switzerland. Nuit Rock Geneve '78  Festival featuring Banzai,  The Bastards, Le Beau Lac De Bale, Jack and The Rippers, The Scelerates.

From ROCK HACHE #2 (1978)

From Poubelle's PUNK GENEVE #3 (1978)

Philippe Souaille had recommended the
upcomming event to the readers of
Tribune De Geneve! (April 1978)

No credits available, but this press clipping might hail from the Tribune De Geneve too!

• May 29. 1978, Salle Du Faubourg, Geneva. Concert with Link Wray / Robert Gordon, The Bastards, and Les Scelerates. There exists two posters from this highly memorable gig, both looking exactly the same - with the only exception that one of them has been printed in black and white, while the other version of the poster came in red and white. The red and white version of the poster seems to be the much rarer one of the two (few copies made!)

Concert review by Alain Poubelle from ROCK HACHE #2 (1978) 

• June 7. 1978, Midnight Rambler, Geneva. Concert in memory of the Jack And The Rippers  (and ex - Thunderbirds) drummer Andre "Moustache" Tieche, who got killed by the rebels while working for the red cross in Africa (all the other most peaceful red cross workers from inside the red cross car got shot by the rebels at the same time too!) The concert was opened by The Thunderbirds (with Paul Zouridis on drums) who had especially reformed for this one concert in memory of Andre Tieche only, followed by The Bastards, Les Scelerates, and Jack & The Rippers.

Mainly The Thunderbirds got billed on the promo card (flyer) from this Bastards gig. We've reproduced the card in it's approximate original size on our blog roll!

Andre Tieche Has Left
by Sandroz Sursock 
(from GENEVE ROCK 78 #5 (1978)

Press clipping from Tribune De Geneve (June 9. 1978), along with the proper Thunderbirds set list (out of one of Sandro's scrapbooks)

From ROCK HACHE #2 (Summer 1978)

still in work

THE REDNECKS
CONCERT LISTING:

still in work

THE ZERO HEROES
CONCERT LISTING:

They've played way too many gigs as The Zero Heroes for me to list on this blog.

INTERVIEW WITH SANDRO SURSOCK FROM SUPER PAS COOL #1 (March 1978)

Back in around February 1978 Sandro got interviewed by his old ex - bandmate Leo Zouridis for Leo's very own primitive (mostly handwritten) one shot fanzine SUPER PAS COOL! Leo used to be one of the main Punk fanzine editors from Geneva during the late '70s, along with Alain Poubelle of The Yodler Killers.

GENEVE ROCK used to be another one of Leo's fanzines. Leo has unfortunately died only around 2 years ago, just too bad, because his archive and knowledge used to be real huge. One hell of a great guy that never got honored properly for his work. Leo wasn't even interviewed by the maker (compiler) of the Swiss punk book Hot Love, a very big mistake, because Leo has done a million of important things, and his bands The Scellerates, and Technycolor will always stay amongst my absolute top favorite Swiss punk bands!
I've once went to interview Leo at his place in Geneva (back in the '90s), where I've also got a chance to listen to some the Scellerates unreleased tapes. They were all killer raw '70s Punk tracks a bit like The Guilty Razors, but sung in french! Those tracks were never released because of conflicts between some of the bandmembers. I've never heard any greater still unreleased Swiss Punk tracks!

Click to view full size!

Click to view full size!

Leo Zouridis raving about The Seeds, The Downliners Sect, Roky, The Shadows of Knight, MC5, and several other very cool 60s bands in his great 'zine SUPER PAS COOL! (=super un - cool in french) back in  February 1978!

Click to view full size!

THE BASTARDS
DISCOGRAPHY:

7" EP:

THE BASTARDS - Impossibilities / Danger / Schizo Terrorist (Zaki Records ZAK 2) 1979

All tracks recorded on May 13. 1978 at THC Studio in Bernex (Geneva, Switzerland).

It was released around one year after the first Bastards split in 1979.

Just 500 copies made, but they've sold poorely according to Sandro, who out of frustrustration, because the record sold so badly, seems to have littered around a hundred copies of them in some trashcan at the smelly rest rooms of an unknown Swiss highway restaurant towards the mid '80s!

LP:

THE BASTARDS - Schizo Terrorist (Feathered Apple ZAK 8) 2006, vinyl LP, with 2-sided poster!

All tracks recorded on May 13. 1978 at THC Studio in Bernex/Geneva, Switzerland, except for tracks #4 (Gloria) and #7 (Danger) from the live TV show, those two tracks were recorded on April 14. 1978.

Comes complete with a repro of the very first Bastards concert poster from 1977, along with detailed liner notes by The Bastards band leader Sandro Sursock on the back of the poster. 

This absolutely fabulous Swiss Punk LP is still available from Feathered Apple Records.

Track listing / Side 1: 

1.) Impossibilities (by Sandro Sursock) 
2.) Danger (by Benjamin Garcia / Sandro Sursock)
3.) Schizo Terrorist (by Sandro Sursock)
4.) Gloria (by Patti Smith)*

Track listing / Side 2:

5. I Can't Stand Your Guts (by Sandro Sursock)
6. I Don't Care (by Sandro Sursock)
7.) Danger (by Benjamin Garcia / Sandro Sursock)*
8.) Apathy (by Ralph Perez / Sandro Sursock)
9.) Loser (by Sandro Sursock)

CD:

THE BASTARDS / THE YODLER KILLERS - Schizo Terrorist (Feathered Apple ZAK 11) 2008, CD, with booklet

Includes two absolutely fantastic bonus tracks from The Bastards that were only discovered shortly before the making of this CD, along with three bonus tracks by The Yodler Killers (also from Geneva). The Yodler Killers got pictured on the back cover of the CD booklet, as well as on the inside back of the back cover card. 

Both bands were originally releasing their records on the Zaki label back in 1979. 

The CD contains the whole known recorded output by both bands. The Yodler Killers were reportedly recording some demos, and live tapes too, but according to the ex bandmembers those recordings unfortunately seem to be lost.

CD produced by Sandro Sursock, and Feathered Apple Records. Feathered  Apple Records have still got some copies of them left!

Track Listing

THE BASTARDS - Impossibilities
THE BASTARDS - Danger
THE BASTARDS - Schizo Terrorist
THE BASTARDS - I Can’t Stand Your Guts
THE BASTARDS - I Don’t Care
THE BASTARDS - Apathy
THE BASTARDS - Loser
THE BASTARDS - Danger
THE BASTARDS - Gloria
THE BASTARDS - Schizo Terrorist
THE BASTARDS - Slow Death (part)
YODLER KILLERS - Jacot Masturbette
YODLER KILLERS - Soussolrock
YODLER KILLERS - La Ravachole

CD:

THE REDNECKS - Blitzkrieg Bop Live 1978 (Feathered Apple ZAK 9) 2007, CD, with booklet

Contains a full radio broadcasting of The Rednecks opening for The Troggs on October 18. 1978, at Sale Du Faubourg, in Geneva, Switzerland.

It plays one real solid set of Heartbreakers / Ramones influenced Swiss Punk covers, along with a couple of cool rockabilly punk, and pub rock covers! Favorite tracks are including Blitzkrieg Bop, Let Go, Endless Sleep, Needles And Pins, Please  Don't Touch, Cop Cars, Pills, etc. This is highly essential for the 1977 Punk collectors!

LINE UP:

Francis Seilern - Guitar, Vocals (ex Jack & The Rippers)
Babine Greiner - Bass (ex Jack & The Rippers)
Sandro Sursock - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (ex The Bastards)
Paul Zouridis - Drums (ex Banzai)

CD produced by Sandro  Sursock, and Feathered Apple Records.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Blitzkrieg Bop (by originally done by The Ramones)

2. Let Go (by The Heartbreakers)

3. JuJu Man (by Dave Edmunds)

4. I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock and Roll (by Nick Lowe)

5. Please, Please, Please (by Ducks Deluxe)

6. Endless Sleep (by Jody Renolds)

7. Needles And Pins (by The Searchers)

8. Please Don’t Touch (by The Pirates)

9. Cop Cars (by The Boys)

10. Wild Wild Women (by Chris Spedding)

11. It's My own Business (by Chuck Berry)

12. Mistery Dance (by Elvis Costello)

13. Pills (by Bo Diddley)

14. Please Don’t Touch (by The Pirates)

15. JuJu Man (by Dave Edmunds)

16. Blitzkrieg Bop (by The Ramones)

17. Let Go (by The Heartbreakers)

RELATED GENEVA PUNK RELEASES:

Democassette:

JACK & THE RIPPERS - Same (Jack & The Rippers JFBP 7778) 1978

All tracks were recorded at TCP Studios (a.k.a. THC Studios), Bernex / Geneva, and produced by Jack & The Rippers.

The cassette tape itself has been "white," and came with white "JACK & THE RIPPERS Side 1" and "JACK & THE RIPPERS Side 2" - stickers on each side.

TRACK LISTING / SIDE 1:

1. I Feel Like A Tram (Seilern)
2. Don't Pretend (Seilern)
3. I Think It's Over (Seilern)
4. Endless Peace (Seilern)

TRACK LISTING / SIDE 2:

1, Safe & Secure (Seilern)
2. No Desire (Seilern)
3. Down (Seilern)
4. Loser (Seilern - Sursock)
5. Automobile (The Rings)

All tracks from this ultra rare demo only cassette got later on reissued, first up as a vinyl LP made by Loud Proud And Punk Records out of Germany in 1997, and finally in 2005 as another vinyl LP, but with a nice gatefold cover, on a split label made by Dirty Faces Records (Germany), and Zürich Chainsaw Masacre Records (Switzerland). The release made by Dirty Faces / Zürich Chainsaw Masacre would be the one to recommend!

Swiss Punk doesn't get any better than this!

The lineup of Jack & The Rippers was including no less but four ex - members of The Thunderbirds:

John Seilern - Vocals
Francis Seilern - Guitars, Vocals
Babine Greiner - Bass
Andre Tieche / Philip Turrian - Drums

45s/EPs:

JACK & THE RIPPERS - No Desire / I Feel Like A Tram (Another Swiss Label ASL-4) 1979

Recorded at THC Studios in Bernex (Geneva,  Switzerland) in 1978. 

The test - pressing was made on November 8. 1979, and the Another Swiss Label 45 only came out a few weeks later.

Swiss Punk records don't get any better than this! One of the BEST ones!

The lineup of Jack & The Rippers was including no less but four ex - members of The Thunderbirds:

John Seilern - Vocals
Francis Seilern - Guitars, Vocals
Babine Greiner - Bass
Andre Tieche / Philip Turrian - Drums

THE YODLER KILLERS - Jacot Masturbette / Soussolrock (Zaki Records ZAK 1) 1979, with insert

Recorded 1979 at THC Studios in Bernex/Geneva,  Switzerland) 

Only 500 copies made!

It was issued with a two sided card insert which seems to be missing from most copies! The rare original insert has been copied around by various collectors for other mostly foreign collectors over the years. Copies with the genuine original insert are very scarce! Not even all the copies were released with the Picture cover. Around 25 - 50 copies came sleeveless.

One of THE best, rarest, and most valuable Swiss Punk 45s there is!

There also exists one totally amazing Zaki Records promo poster of The Yodler Killers. Will try to upload it onto our blog roll later!

LINE UP:

Alain Poubelle - Vocals
Fritz Clitocaster - Guitar
Tony Dilligence - Bass
Doctor Mengele - Drums
Antonio Nastasi - Synthesizer (Guest musician on the B-Side only. He did not belong to the band)

TECHNYCOLOR - Bunker / Tot 77 (Another Swiss Label ASL - 3) 1979

Recorded at THC Studios in Bernex/Geneva,  Switzerland.

One of the very best Swiss Punk 2-siders ever made!

Ex The Slam, Scram, Dean Meat & Les Scellerates, The Scellerates, etc.

LINE UP:

Leo Zouridis (as Ford Rouge) - Vocals
Victor Chon - Guitar, Vocals
Ray Cif - Guitar
Yvest Eric - Bass
Fred Laser - Drums
Synthesiser on Bunker: Mike

LP's:

Various Artists: PALLADIUM ROCK

THE KINGSNAKES
Including Dean Meat a.k.a. Daniel Jean Renaud. There also exists a couple of records (including several bootlegs) by THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES featuring Daniel Jean  Renaud on guitar!


Edited by: Carey Fleiner (the black text from the main story), and Feathered Apple Records (all the editorial notes, as well as the purple text, and everything else!)
Thanks to: Sandro Sursock, Benjamin Garcia, Marie-Pierre, Ralph Perez, Leo Zouridis, Alain Poubelle, Paul Zouridis, Didier Dana, Jean-Francois Pivat, Carey, Rico, Mike, and Thomas.

Copyright 2006: Sandro Sursock, and Feathered Apple Records

Revised in April 2007 by Benjamin Garcia (*), as well as during July to August 2013 by Feathered Apple Records.

Site was built on the linernotes of THE BASTARDS "Schizo Terrorist" LP (Feathered Apple ZAK 8)
Copyright for all contents: Sandro Sursock, and Feathered Apple Records, P.O. Box 141, 4007 Basel, Switzerland.