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 If
the Heavy Metal Outlaws (hereafter referred to as HMO) hadn't existed,
probably no one could have invented them. What do you call a band that
features a cowboy booted former skinhead icon yelling about oral sex
over rap drum beats, tired metal licks and samples of the Geto Boys and
The Cockney Rejects? A mistake? A brilliant piss-take? A pathetic attempt
at some sort of ungodly crossover? All of the above? None?
The quasi mysterious HMO were actually the demented brain child of "Millwall"
Roi Pearce, a fierce, indefatigable presence whose most lasting claim to
musical glory was fronting the legendary--and that term comes without
hyperbole in this case—Last Resort. The Last Resort were one of the first
and best Oi bands of all time, and their saga can be found elsewhere in
cyberspace. One of those bands that both defined and transcended their
genre of choice, their lone LP from the original line-up, "Skinhead
Anthems" is to street rock what the first Clash LP is to punk, or Black
Flag's "Damaged" is to hardcore.
Caught up in mis-management, controversy and plain old bad luck, the Last
Resort didn't last long and folded after only a few years of gigs, and one
album. There was a brief career under the new moniker "The Warriors" which
didn't take. Vocalist Roi did a spell as the lead vocalist for compatriots
The 4-Skins before disappearing from the fray for awhile.
In 1989 Roi was back with a decidedly low-key new pub outfit called The
Resort that traded on rockified versions of old Last Resort tunes with
some originals, and a few 4-Skins covers. Their record "1989" brilliantly
captured the mood of changing times and aging boot-boys. I loved it at the
time and still do now, although a lot of my peers didn't. One skinhead
girl I knew said it reminded her of the music Rob Lowe honked out in "St.
Elmo's Fire". Ouch!
Which brings us to
HMO, Roi's project that came after The Resort fizzled away. HMO consisted
of Roi, naturally, plus guitarist Steve Whale of The Business. (Again,
much has been written elsewhere about The Business, a band who have put
out both classics and pathetic crap and a lot in between ). The other
co-conspirators of the Outlaws were : Keith Hillyer on guitar, Mark
Edwards on another guitar, Mick Melville on bass and Dean Wilkinson on
drums, all members of The Resort (at least according to a compilation of
obscure Business material that lists that bands family tree.)
These are the concrete details of their legacy as I know them. On the
aforementioned Business compilation there is a tune called "Can't Stand
The Sixties" which is a re-write of The Resort's "Rag Doll". Supposedly
there was a never released disc called "Never Mind The Guns 'N' Roses Punk
EP, Here's the Heavy Metal Outlaws EP" . Finally, there is the "Sexism"
CD-EP which I happen to know exists, because it's right in front of me as
I type this.
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It's really only one
song, a decent but not great Crue ripper called "Swallow My Love". The
next song, "Get Your Tits Out" is actually an old Business tune, re-tooled
with awful female backing vocals. The last track is a cheefully abominable
version of "Tits" called the "Freedom-Fuck Censorship" mix. Roi's rasp is
only somewhat suited to "Swallow", he sounds much more comfortable in the
soccer chant lechery of "Tits". The true punch line of the record is
during the remix, which samples a number of disparate sources and has Roi
intoning "suck me, fuck me" with all the enthusiasm of a carnivore forced
to order a bean burger at his local Wimpy bar.
Link Boss Mark Brennan (and also
a Business alum) referred to HMO as "Rap meets metal meets Oi! meets a
serious punch in the face".
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Ok,
so it's blurry, but you get the picture. |
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As much credit as
Brennan deserves for his label, which has re-released scads of records by
literally countless punk bands, he's always been a bit of Kim Fowley
figure, breathlessly hyping whatever he's about to sell you. In his liner
notes to the re-release of "!989" Brennan also claims that the HMO was
"...the direction that rock needed to move into to save itself...". That's
a rather large claim given the thin charms of this record, although
perhaps a plundering of the vaults would make good Brennan's claim.
 The
only other person who has even mentioned HMO is Situationist
Writer/Prankster Stewart Home who refers to this EP in his landmark book
"Cranked Up Really High" and of course he has his own opinions on it that
you can check out at the
stewarthomesociety.com which I highly recommend.
HMO disappeared as fast, and with as little fanfare, as they came. Roi
then fronted the appropriately named "Roi" for awhile, before succumbing
to the inevitable and re-forming the Last Resort, mostly with characters
who had played in latter day Anti-Nowhere League lineups. (Left: recent
Roi pic).
I've railed against the reformation of old punk outfits that bear little
resemblance to their original incarnation elsewhere on this site. However,
I've got a real soft spot for Roi Pearce and essentially the man can do no
wrong in my book. He's a singular presence if there ever was one (possibly
because he makes Dio look like Brad Pitt, and still rocks the European
punk circuit in mesh tank tops). Whatever name his band may be gigging
under, it's always sounds like Roi Pearce doing Roi Pearce. These are
fickle times, and while I like progression and challenge as much as the
next music fan, it's good to have a guy like Pearce doing what they do
around.
(Anyone who may have info on the HMO please drop me a
line at
blagamuffin69@yahoo.com ).
A big thanks to Nat P. for use of his fabulous Business collection.
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-Sascha (Heavy Metal PTA Member).
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