Radio - Sunday, May 4, 2008

JASPER AND THE DIRTY LOOKS - Yummy Yummy Yummy (Unreleased)

TEACHER’S PET - Fast Food Baby (Smog Veil)
63 MONROE - Media Junkie (Punk History Canada)
NAZI DOGS - Detention Zone (Zurich Chainsaw Massacre)
GUITAR GANGSTERS - Bye Bye Beach (Captain Oi!)
CARBONAS - I’m a Schizo (Goner)
THE VAPIDS - 9.18 Ft. lee VA. 1952 (Self-Released)

BATTERED WIVES - (You’ve Got Me) Giddy (Unreleased)
BATTERED WIVES - Get What I Can (Unreleased)
BATTERED WIVES - Uganda Stomp (Unreleased)
BATTERED WIVES - Everybody Loves a Loser (Bomb)

TYRANNA - Back Off Baby (Unreleased)
TYRANNA - Dying in the Suburbs (Unreleased)
TYRANNA - Toronto Boys (Unreleased)
TYRANNA - Johnny (Unreleased)
TYRANNA - My Neighbour (Unreleased)

BUZZCOCKS - What Do I Get ? (A&M)
SCREWED - What Do I Get ? (Screwed)
SCREWED - Baby Won’t Ya (Unreleased)
SCREWED - Green Haired Girl (Unreleased)
SCREWED - Suzi Peroxide (Unreleased)
SCREWED - Your Generation (Screwed)

GRIMPLE – One More (Prank)
SET FOOT - Aginy (Copper Loving)
THE FIRST STEP - Connection (Rivalry)
SEARCH & DESTROY - Nervous Wreck (Clarence Thomas)
PEDESTRIANS - Insufficient Funds (Residue)
THE ENDS - New Rome (Dirtnap)

Flyer - Wednesday March 12 - Saturday March 15, 1980

The Wives "Cigarettes" LP

"Cigarettes" was the second album by the Battered Wives. Cleave Anderson had left the band and Patrick Mooney replaced him on drums. Bomb Records was supposed to release it but they ran out of money so they sat on it for almost a year before licensing it to Epic Records. Epic refused to release the record unless the band changed their name to the Wives. The record came out sometime between 1979 and 1980 and included a bonus single that was a whote label promo featuring the Ian Dury song "Sex & Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll as the A side and Pass out on the B Side. 5,500 copies of the record sold. The band won a Juno for the artwork cover. The songs on the record are:

1. Ready or Not

2. New Wave Robot

3. Afraid of the Dark

4. Windy Beach

5. Rub For Your Life

6. Hit and Run

7. Plastic Princess

8. Fantasy (I Love)

9. Telling You Lies

10. Wake Me When it's Over

11. Mandy

Pacemaker Records re-issued the album in 1999 as a CD with the following extra tracks:

12. Sex & Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll

13. Pass Out

14. Love Abuse

15. Factory Girls

16. Classified

17. Giddy

Flyer - Monday August 8, 1979

Battered Wives LP

The Battered Wives were a punk band from Toronto that consisted of Toby Swann (guitar and vocals), Larry "Jasper" Klassen (bass and vocals), John Gibb (guitar) and Cleave Anderson (drums). This was their first release which was a self-release and it came out in 1978 on Bomb Records, the same label that did the Last Pogo compilation, which was like a soundtrack for Colin Brunton's movie. This first Battered Wives album had memorable songs like 'Daredevil', 'Suicide,' 'Freedom Fighters,' and perhaps their best known hit, 'Uganda Stomp (Bomp Idi Bomp)', that poked fun at Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The band would present a copy of the single to the Uganadan embassy in Ottawa. Although the band was criticized within the scene for being too rock 'n roll or stadium rock sounding, evident in the slow do wop song writing in songs like 'Lovers Balls'. they had a great ability to write a catchy number and come across as an early version of the Toy Dolls. They certainly fit into the camp of punk that worked to offend like the Angry Samoans or the Dickies. This first LP came out in late 1978 or ealry 1979 and was released on red vinyl. The songs on it are:

1. Daredevil
2. I Want it All
3. Get What I Can
4. Uganda Stomp
5. Suicide
6. Angry Young Man
7. You Better Be Right
8. Lovers Balls
9. Everybody Loves a Loser
10. Freedom Fighters

In 1999, the album was re-issued as a CD on Pacemaker Records. This release included the songs:

11. Talkin' Shop Liftin'
12. Something She's Hiding
13. Best Part of a Man
14. Rocking Good Summer
15. Rodeo
16. Bad News

Press Release: Which Wives

Sudbury Star - Monday November 6, 1978

Globe & Mail, Saturday November 4, 1978

WAVAW protest flyer

Flyer - Friday November 3, 1978

The Toronto Sun: Thursday November 2, 1978

Zine - Surfin' Bird #1

Surfin' Bird was a zine from Montreal that came out in November 1978. This issue featured an interview with the Battered Wives, a piece on Elvis Costello, a column by the guitarist of the Chromosomes, a piece on DEVO, a piece on Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richardsm, and some record reviews which included Blondie, the Rezillos, the Clash, the Dishes, and the Buzzcocks. Click on the cover photo to download a PDF of this issue.

Battered Wives "Ugandan Stomp" ep

The "Uganda Stomp" is battered Wives first ep. The ep came out on Bomb Records. The song makes a reference to the old Sun single "Ubangi Stomp" by Warren Smith. The number is deliberately offensive in the punk tradition and uses some reggae. The song is about former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and the band gave a copy of the single to the Ugandan embassy. The B-Side is a song called "Giddy" which was never released on other vinyl but did get released on the CD version of "Cigarettes". Check out Short Sharp Kick in the Teeth for a download of the ep.

Bomb Pree Release: Battered Wives tour announcement

Zine - Battered Wives zine #1

Click image to download.

The Spectator: Friday, September 22, 1978

Toronto Sun: Sunday August 27, 1978

The Toronto Star: Wednesday August 16, 1978

Zine - The Pig Paper #09

Click for download

Flyer - Wednesday, July 12 - Saturday, July 15, 1978