Tigertailz - "Young And Crazy" (Music
for Nations, 1987)
Current Gemm
price: LP $8.71-$34.19 (picture disc also available)
Price I paid: $4.00 promo LP copy from Chick's
Record And Tapes, Baltimore, 1987.
Worth: A bottle of Thunderbird, a can of Aqua
Net, and the trade in credit at your local record store for selling the
second D'Molls album.
By:
Adam T.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fucking Tigertailz. Those guys had some of the biggest hair
ever. How it
could possibly be real is questionable. On the back cover of their second
album "Bezerk" (released in 1990) the band proudly claim their mantra, with
the chant "No Hair Extensionz * No Wigs * No Surgery" boldly printed next to
their logo. The fact that two of them are unsuccessfully morphing their guts
in to more flattering poses proves at least one of those statements was
true. So due to their creampuff battles, questionable coiffures, and quite
possibly the gayest name ever, the boys obviously felt the need to defend
their cred against the cries of "poseur" and the fear someone might confuse
them with fellow wig wearin' Blimey glam pudges, Wrathchild UK. Laughingly,
the band also felt the urge to cover Megadeth and Metallica to further prove
the fact they weren't just a bunch of glam fags. It seemed at one time in
the late '80s, you couldn't open an issue of the weekly metal bible KERRANG!
without reading at least something about the mighty Tigertailz. Quite often
jabs mentioning their diets, stupid hair, and the fact they can play
Metallica covers with the best of them. But the truth of the matter was
Tigertailz really had no reason to be so defensive (well maybe...) because,
in fact, they were one helluva shit kickin' glam metal band!
Tigertailz was formed in Wales in 1985, by bassist/artist Pepsi Tate,
guitarist Jay Pepper, frontman Stevie Jaimz, and drummer Ian Welsh.
Englishman Steevi Jaimz was snagged from the the Colorado based
Crash KO
which also featured American Ace Finchum who also quickly joined the 'Tailz
on drums. The band soon issued the self released Shoot To Kill demo as a
12" single, featuring early takes of future LP standouts Shez Too Hot and
Livin Without You. After selling out the initial copies of their EP and a successful two night stint at the London Marquee club, they were signed to
Music For Nations, the UK home of other poofs like Stryper, Poison and
Metallica. This led to the 1987 debut album Young and Crazy which stands
proudly next to Motley Crue's "Too Fast For Love" and
Poison's "Look What The
Cat Dragged In" as a true gem of the hair metal era. Steevi
Jaimz's vocals
croak like a British Paul Stanley battling Michael Monroe for a hairdryer.
The band plods along at acceptable glam punk pace, with Jay Pepper showing
he owes more to Mick Mars or Eddie Van Halen than Johnny Thunders. Despite
the obvious Metal leanings and a shoddy production by a non-related Steve
James, nothing can tame the power of these cock rising anthems of sex,
lipstick, and self destruction. More so, Tigertailz true strength lies in
their ability to nail the big chorus on every song. Whether it's the "Shout
At The Devil" style chants of "Shoot To Kill" or the soaring
Raspberries
style harmonies of "Livin' Without You", all ten tracks on "Young and Crazy"
are catchier than fishnet gloves on barbed wire.
Sadly, world domination was not in the cards for Steevi Jaimz. Keeping
with the glam metal tradition of replacing blonde frontmen with brunette
ones, Jaimz was ousted for his debauched lifestyle, inflated ego, and
smaller hair. But Tigertailz fans had no need to fret. The band quickly
grabbed the especially feminine screecher, Kim Hooker, he of huge hair and
Gene Simmons obsession. The fans were mezmorized by the new frontman's
massive do' and slanty eyes and this period would prove to be the most
successful in the band's history. Their second album Berzerk was released
in March 1990, reaching number 36 in the UK charts. The Berzerk album
spawned several singles, the ultra wimpy string laden ballad Heaven (UK
top 40), the massive Love Bomb Baby and the anthemic Def Leppard-esque
Noise Level Critical. Overall, Berzerk's production was top notch for the
time and the big hooks and deluxe packaging made for infectious glam
pop. Around this time the band also released their first home video called
Berzerk: Live 1990 which surprisingly reached number 5 on the UK charts. I
scored this video at a mall in the cut out bin for $3.00 a few years after
it was released. There's more backing vocals on tape than a Milli Vanilli
concert and witnessing the croak crooning of the ballad "Heaven" along to a
symphonic backing tape is a fate worse than death. Avoid this shit at all
costs (unless you wanna admire their priceless gravity defying hair trix!)
Eventually, like most bands of their ilk, Tigertailz saw their
popularity wane, and their creative direction starting to lean to more
serious concepts like their Clockwork Orange based project Wazbones.
Eventually they changed their name to Wazbones (and you thought you couldn't
pick a worse name than Tigertailz!) to sidestep some contract
disputes. Smartly the band re-adopted the old moniker and continued to
release countless cds of outtakes, new recordings, live shows, and
compilations in Japan with revolving members until the late '90s.
As for Steevi Jaimz, the old ham never stopped gigging away despite
never grasping the brass ring. IN 2003 a disc of early 'Tailz demos entitled
"Original Sin" was released on Perris Records and ads have run in the UK
press that Tigertailz will be embarking on a European package tour featuring
Jaimz and original Drummer Ace Finchum as the only remaining original
members. Check out
www.steevijaimz.moonfruit.com
for more info and to listen
to the surprisingly great new Tigertailz single "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof".
-Adam T
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________