Spit Like This

Spit Like This is a United Kingdom glam rock group formed in London in 2002. The band is usually styled as SPiT LiKE THiS and sometimes abbreviated to SLT. It is a rock band that writes and performs its own material, and its sound is described across a wide range of rock and metal styles, including glam, punk, goth, heavy metal and horror-glam. The group remains active.

Formation and line-up

The band forms in 2002 around LORD ZiON and ViKKi SPiT, with Zion developing the idea for a new band from 2000 before Vikki joins. At the outset, the name SPiT LiKE THiS is used for the first time. The original line-up becomes a four-piece with drummer ViLE GiLEZ, guitarist Stevie Lee and rhythm guitarist/keyboard player Wank Sinatra. In 2005 Wank Sinatra leaves after allegations of theft and deception, and the band continues as a four-piece without a keyboard replacement. In 2006 Stevie Lee departs and is replaced by CYNDi ROTT, who first plays with the band later that year.

Style and live performances

Spit Like This is known for theatrical shows featuring severed mannequin heads, strobe lighting, smoke, whips, simulated oral sex, fake blood, guitar solos and audience sing-alongs. The band describes its approach as “glam punk rock” and cites a wide set of influences, including The Rocky Horror Show, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Adam Ant, T-Rex, Queen, The Cramps, Quentin Tarantino, 1970s B-movies, 1980s teen films, hard rock, heavy metal, gothic, glam, 1980s pop, burlesque and other varied cultural references. The group also uses the term “shock’n’roll” for its style. The Skullox logo becomes a recurring visual symbol, appearing in different forms across releases and merchandise and treated as a character-like emblem.

Early releases and label history

Zion and Vikki first run Vagabond Records, then change the company name to Megabucks Music before the release of the debut EP. The band also helps fund its activity through the t-shirt company Smell Your Mum and the smellyourmum.com website. The website is launched in 2002, and later becomes a wider hub for merchandise, fan activity and promotion. The band’s first release is the EP The Pop Shot! in 2002, followed by Anarchy For Two in 2003. The 2004 EP Dragged Kicking & Screaming becomes the first release to feature the Skullox logo in its later form. A promotional mini-album, Suck It And See, appears in 2004, followed by the EP Sleaze Sells...But Who's Buying? in 2005. Dragged Kicking & Screaming is then re-released with full national distribution.

Album and wider release activity

In 2006 the band issues Scary Tales: The Collection, a 21-track compilation covering its earlier material. Work on a debut studio album continues over several years, with recording taking place with producer Paul Tipler in 2007. The album is eventually titled We Won’t Hurt You (But We Won’t Go Away) and is released through Transcend Media Group under licence from Spit Like This Productions Ltd. Before the album, the band releases the download single Trick or Mistreat / Sweet Transvestite, and the album itself includes tracks such as “Sex, Drugs & Heavy Metal,” “Heart Thief,” “Trust Your Instincts,” “Young, Dumb & Full Of Fun,” “Dead Girl Walking,” “Down On You,” “Pussywhipped,” “Hunt You Down,” “Act Of God,” “Coming After You,” “Top Of The World,” “Sleaze Sells...But Who's Buying?” and “Trick Or Mistreat.” The version of “Sweet Transvestite” is a cover of the Rocky Horror Picture Show song.

Performances, media and activity

The band begins live performance in 2003 and builds a following through frequent shows in London and elsewhere in the UK. Support slots include dates with The Damned, Rachel Stamp, Crash Kelly, Wednesday 13, Fozzy, Breed 77, Blaze Bayley, Hardcore Superstar, Miss Conduct and Voodoo Six, among others. Festival appearances include Hard Rock Hell, where the band opens for Twisted Sister on the main stage in 2007, and later appearances at Regener8 Festival and the Cambridge Rock Festival. It also appears in print publications such as KERRANG!, Total Guitar, Powerplay, Organ, Devolution, Flash, Kaleidoscope, Skin Deep and Bizarre, and is mentioned on Coronation Street. A pilot TV show, Club Chaos, features the band but does not air.

Projects, trademarks and fan culture

Zion and Vikki register the SPiT LiKE THiS name and the Skullox as trademarks in 2004. They also create A.M.P. (Against Manufactured Pop), a petition campaign against manufactured pop acts, and run bringoutyourdead.co.uk, a tongue-in-cheek site offering celebrity funeral services within the UK. The band’s fan community grows around the Street SLuTz street-team network and a forum later named Obscene (But Not Heard). The mailing list, the NOiZLETTER, reaches a large circulation, and the forum gains more than 1,400 members.

Transport and other details

For touring, the band uses two notable vehicles: a 1984 Daimler DS420 hearse called The Boner, used from 2003 to 2007, and a blue Ford Transit minibus later renamed the Spazmobile or Spazmo. The Boner is eventually sold and later used in banger racing. The Spazmo remains in service as the band’s main transport.