Gaye Bykers On Acid

Gaye Bykers On Acid

Gaye Bykers On Acid are a Leicester, United Kingdom group active from 1984 to 1991. They work in grebo and neo-psychedelia, and their early association with punk and alternative rock places them within the broader British underground scene of the 1980s.

Formation and early line-up

The group forms in Leicestershire in late 1984, founded by Ian Reynolds, known as Robber, and Ian Hoxley, known as Mary. They are later joined by guitarist and art student Tony Horsfall and drummer Kevin Hyde. Their first live appearance takes place at the Princess Charlotte in Leicester in mid-1985.

Recordings and label history

Their first releases are the single Everything's Groovy Baby and the Nosedive Karma EP, both recorded in Leeds with Jon Langford of The Mekons and issued on InTape. They later sign to Virgin Records and release the albums Drill Your Own Hole and Stewed To The Gills. The vinyl edition of Drill Your Own Hole is pressed without a hole in the centre, so it has to be drilled before it can be played. The album spends one week at number 95 in the UK Albums Chart in November 1987.

Aliases and side projects

The band also performs under several alter ego names. As Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds, they play gigs in women’s clothing and support themselves, effectively booking and paying themselves twice. As the fictional East German thrash punk band Rektüm, they claim to have jumped over the Berlin Wall and record the LP Sakredanus and the EP Real Horror Show. They also use the name The Purple Fluid Exchange, or PFX, for their dance crossover material. At this point Rocket Ronnie joins as DJ, sample player and dance advisor.

Later releases and end of the group

Management problems and poor sales lead to their release from Virgin in 1989. They then put out Cancer Planet Mission on their own label, Naked Brain. Their last studio album, Pernicious Nonsense, appears in 1990 and is recorded with Jon Langford at Stone Room Studios and at Alaska St. Studios with house engineer Chelo Zambelli. After difficult tours in the United States and the UK, the group breaks up. One contributing factor is the bankruptcy of Rough Trade, which distributes their Naked Brain recordings and leaves them and other acts unpaid.

Compilations

After the breakup, Receiver releases the compilations From the Tomb of the Near Legendary… in 1992 and Gaye Bykers On Acid in 1993. A further bootleg compilation of Virgin studio demos, Everything's Groovy, is later sold to Cherry Red Records by their former manager Tracy Lamott.