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The following interview was done between 'Alex Ogg' and 'Nik Wade' in June 2006

Nik Fiend (aka Nik Wade; vocals), Camilla Branson (bass), Joe Schmo (guitar), Gerry Healy (drums) (Nik’s note: “This is probably the longest serving line-up, and essentially the one that recorded ‘Little Miss Perfect’ – probably the most famous Preacher record, though the drummer differed”)

Prior to becoming Alien Sex Fiend, the most lovably deranged slice of zombie carrion in the underworld of Gothic rock, Nik Wade piloted London-based punk band Demon Preacher who, with the exception of Wade himself, never boasted a stable line-up. But they did have a lot of fun. The band was formed in 1975 by Wade and guitarist Tony Gialanze, initially as little more than a bedroom project. They were eventually joined by Gialanze’s friends Tony Ward (guitar), Geoff Bedz (guitar), Gerry Healy (drums) and Gialanze’s girlfriend, Sharon Mac (bass). Picking up on the emerging punk buzz, they spent most weekends working on putative punk rock songs, eventually finding proper rehearsal space in the crypt of a Roman Catholic Church on Holloway Road – somewhat ironic, given the church’s subsequent views of Alien Sex Fiend’s no-holds barred live shows. Nik Wade: “All the other lads were choirboys when they were younger. So it was OK for them to rehearse in the crypt of Our Sacred Lady Roman Catholic Church, off Holloway Road. Tony Gialanze introduced me to Tony Ward, Gerry and Geoff, and they would let me have ten minutes at the end of their 5 hour and 50 minute rehearsals, to do ‘Dead End Kids’. Eventually, cos they’d had such a buzz from doing one of my songs, they dropped the other band and joined Demon Preacher. After some time the church found out that Demon Preacher were ‘at it’ in their crypt. We were then banished.”

Demon Preacher played their first show at the end of 1977 with Lydon, Cook and Jones from the Sex Pistols all attending. They began to pick up regular work at venues such as the Roxy and the Hope & Anchor. This led to their first studio session and debut EP. The lead track pilloried the Royal Northern Hospital in London, generating a good deal of local press. Wade: “I saw a piece in the Islington Gazette about porters having to help out on operations – I thought, fuck me!” However, like the other three tracks, the sound betrayed the financial strictures the band faced. “All I wanted was to get a record released and get started, I wasn't after awards for production or anything!” Wade later told punk77. With money tight, it took a loan from Wade’s boss to finance the venture. But he was reimbursed quickly as the single, whose cover Nik had photocopied and sellotaped, and individually numbered himself, flew off the shelves. John Peel liked it, played it, and even suggested that Wade sounded like a young Mick Jagger. The line-up now featured Wade, Camilla Branson (bass), Healy and Ward with additional guitar from Kevin Armstrong. Armstrong, who would later produce Alien Sex Fiend’s Acid Bath album, played lead on the EP’s fourth track, ‘Dead End Kidz’. But the line-up always remained fluid, with Wade talking up his band to get gigs and then worrying about covering the musical bases as an afterthought.

The tracks were cut at IPS Studios in Shepherd’s Bush, though their original intention of having everything completed in two hours proved unrealistic. Luckily studio owner Pete McGhee was sympathetic enough to allow them a further two hours to get everything straight. Tony Ward and Gerry Healy departed after the EP’s release because they weren’t prepared to give up well-paid jobs and make a go of the band full time. Concurrently the EP had caught the ear of Pete Stennet of Small Wonder. He’d sold numerous copies of it through his shop and offered the band the chance to do a follow-up. The result was ‘Little Miss Perfect’, the story of Joyce McKinney. McKinney was the crackpot former beauty queen accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a “manacled Mormon missionary”, who regaled the newspapers at her committal hearing with lurid details, milked the publicity, and then jumped bail and fled to Canada. The single had elements of the signature aural chaos that would denote Alien Sex Fiend recordings, and a suitably lascivious spoken introduction, as well as a dub version on the flip.

By the time of the single’s release photographer Joe Schmo, whom Wade had met at the Roxy, had joined as guitarist. Camilla Branson and Kevin Armstrong (as producer) were still aboard, and the new drummer was Paul Wilson, later of the Psychedelic Furs. However, after he’d completed a show at the Stoke Newington Open Air Festival he disappeared, so for the recording session sticksman about town Max Splodge (aka Martyn Everist) pounded the toms.

After the single’s release the band shuffled personnel as they continued to play regularly around London venues such as the Music Machine, the Old Queen’s Head in Stockwell and the Islington Pied Bull (later to become the Powerhaus). After contracting their name to the Demons, they released a third and final single, ‘Action By Example’, featuring later Belle Star Claire Hirst on saxophone. The b-side, ‘Wish I Woz A Dog’, would later re-appear on Alien Sex Fiend’s Who’s Been Sleeping In My Brain? album though with a completely revised musical backing. The Demon Preacher song ‘Frankenstein’, unrecorded, would actually inspire the Dark’s ‘Goth hit’ ‘The Masque.

Thereafter they reverted to the full billing as Demon Preacher again, with the late Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle on drums, Jim and Boo later of the Babysitters on guitar and bass, with Piece Thompson on lead guitar. This line-up headlined a festival on the Isle Of Wight, but it was to be the group’s final performance. Fuelled by a session of magic mushrooms, Wade & Piece decided to create a new experimental venture, No Longer Umpire, which was a short-lived precursor to Alien Sex Fiend. When Piece left to join Turkey Bones & The Wild Dogs, after a momentary spell as The Boneshakers, Alien Sex Fiend began.

Discography:

Royal Northern 7-inch EP (Illegal SRTS 78110 1978)

Royal Northern/Laughing At Me/Steal Your Love/Dead End Kidz

Little Miss Perfect/Perfect Dub 7-inch (Small Wonder SMALL 10 1978)

As The Demons:

Action By Example/I Wish I Woz A Dog 7-inch (Crypt Music DEM1 1980)

Compilations:

Small Wonder Punk Singles Collection Vol. 1 CD (Anagram CDPUNK 29 1994; ‘Little Miss Perfect’)

The above text was by Alex Ogg's forthcoming book "No More Heroes"

www.alexogg.com