Rock may never again challenge established values as it did during the mid Fifties, late Sixties or mid Seventies. But anyone who peers beneath the sparkling veneer of carefully marketed pop crazes will discover a flourishing nonconformist tradition. Bands like sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, the Swans and Big Black have been regular fixtures in the independent charts duringthe past few years, all providing a fine antidote to rock's tendency towards the anodyne since the early Eighties.

Unlike their aforementioned contemporaries, the Butthole Surfers did not grow our of New York's 'no wave' movement at the turn of the 1980s, but from similar pastures to those which gave us Janis Joplin, R.E.M. and, perhaps more poignant, the maverick spirit of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. Six years ago, the Butthole Surfers used to bribe the punters with offers of free drinks; now there are newsworthy scuffles for tickets every time they play to their European faithful. Musically, the band have progressed tremendously: from their unexceptional recordings for Alternative Tentacles, the Buttholes sharpened their playing, began to find their way round the recording studio and embarked on a more ambitious musical course, which culminated in the release of 1987's "Locust Abortion Technician", surely one of the finest albums of the decade.

It is said that the origins of the band can be traced back to a 999 concert in San Antonio, Texas, back in 1980. As much of the biographical nature of the Buttholes is based on hearsay - very few journalists come away from an interview with many hard facts; record sleeves rarely boast track listings, let alone band members - tracing a comprehensive history of the band is fraught with difficulty. The Surfers' wicked sense of humour has only contributed to this confusion.

Well don't laugh, but I'm just about to tell you that Gibson Jerome Haynes ('Gibby' to you and me), the band's vocalist and larger-than-life figure at the front of the stage, is not the first star in his family - his father Jerry has been 'Mr. Peppermint', a children's show host on Texan TV, since 1961. Despite claims to the local press that he "was always quiet at home", Mr. Haynes senior has seen his son set high school baseball scoring records and graduate as an accountant with honours in 1981. He was probably less impressed, however, when Gibby began to take up nude tennis and started giving his performance art pieces titles like "Hold the Pickles at Auschwitz". At least one school of thought seems to be of the opinion that father and son once appeared together in an episode of "Dallas"!

It was whilst studying at Trinity College, San Antonio, that Gibby met Paul Leary Walthall, a guitarist with a pedigree consisting of college garage bands like the Crowd Pleasers. After a drummer - whose name everyone seems to have forgotten - came and went, King Koffee (a native of Fort Worth) was recruited. Little, too is known of the early bass players, but nevertheless, the incipient Butthoel Srufers began to play in the locality. After toying with names such as the Ashtray Baby Heads and Nine Foot Worm Makes Home Food, the band settles on Butthole Surfers, a name which they say literally came from the crowd. Midway through their debut appearance at an art gallery, its proprietor, John Schon, pulled the plugs on them.

Seemingly unwanted intheir home state, they followed in the footsteps of another Texan misfit, Janis Joplin, and ended up in California, where they were exposed to the west coast post-punk of bands like the Germs and the Fear. During their stay, they built up an audience for themselves and came to the attention of Dead Kennedys mainman Jello Biafra. The fruits of this new friendship were two mini albums for Jello's Alternative Tentacles label.

Like most of the band's early work, this secured a U.S. release many months before being unleashed in the U.K., and while still currently available, copies with the original black-and-white sleeve are difficult to trace. The album was victim to a strange publicity exercise when the distributors Subterranean placed a 'free single' sticker on the sleeve. This actually turned out to be a 45 by Voice Farm, nothing to do with the buttholes whatsoever.

All of the band's albums have been pretty mixed bags, and the "Butthole Surfers" debut is no exception. Gibby's loud mouth is well in evidence, as a cursory listen to the opening "The Shah Sleeps In Lee Harvey's Grave" bears out. "Hey", where the band sing "hey" ad nauseum, is an early example of the gentle side of the band which still forms an essential part of every album, though don't expect James Taylor!  It is a disparate record, also bearing shades of rockabilly ("Wichita Cathedral"), Beefheart/PiL overtones ("Something"), Clash circa 1st album ("Suicide"), off-beat ("The Legend of Anus Presley"), even mainstream rock ("Bar-b-q Pope", which incorporates what sounds like Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper" guitar refrain slowed down). "I smoke Elvis Presley's toenails when I wanna get high", sang Gibby, though a cynic might think he had one stuck down his throat!

Their second release was another mini-LP, this time playing at 45 rpm, and bearing in mind that 70% of "Live PCPPEP" boasted material from the debut, there's not a great deal to be said about it. The tracks from the first album were denser, yet while King Koffee's sister Therese had been added to give the drumming a family feel, the percussion is fairly inconspicuous on this recording. It appears that the album was recorded with some cash from an oil-rich patron to fill in time because the next studio LP was taking such a long time. "It's crap," said the band, but it did feature a track listing on the sleeve!

It was with "Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac" (issued at the end of 1984 in the States by Touch and Go, and in July 1985 here on Fundamental), that the Butthole Surfers took a large step forward. Something strange was definitely happening here; out of the window went any last hopes of borrowing from traditional rock'n'roll structures, and the band were beginning to discover a musical persona of their own. The group parted company with Alternative Tentacles before the album's release because the label had begun to drag their heels over it. Apparently, there was also a problem with royalties from the previous two releases.

At one stage Bob O'Neill, a recording studio manager who also ran the short-lived Ward 9 label, looked odds on to release the album until Touch and Go stepped in. Incidentally, the U.S. release (T&G LP 5) features the face of an old man and some doodles on the sleeve and is superior to the U.K. issue. By this time, Gibby had discovered the technique of singing through a megaphone, and sessions for the record were alivened by the presence of necrophile around their Texas studio. It showed - and the band's reputation had begun to spread.

By this time, the Buttholes had endured a couple more changes in personnel. A bassist called Terence stayed for about a year and played on sessions at Kramer's New York studio during the winter of 1984. He left in the new year, and was replaced by Trevor, who lasted just four months, and then Juan, for all two shows. With a European jaunt in the _____fing. Shockabilly member Kramer stepped in until the end of the year. Debuting at Newport's Stow HIll Labour Club, the band's projected Long appearance (in Harrow-on-the-Hill) was cancelled after a rift with the promoter. However, the rest of the tour, which covered Norway, Holland and Germany, was unaffected.

To coincide with the dates, a 12" of new material was issued, lovingly titled "Cream Corn From The Socket Of Davis", the socket is question belonging to Sammy Davis Jnr. This was the first vinyl offering from what appeared to be an intense period of recording by the band, first in their own studio in Texas, followed by a couple of months in Detroit and six months or so in Athens, Georgia. It was this last sojourn which spawned most of their infamous REM jokes. "Cream Corn" was a four-track 12" EP and drew on material recorded in Georgia and New York. Most memorable was "Moving To Florida" on which Gibby announces his intention to "potty train Chariman Mao"! Unconfirmed is a rumour that a limited edition of the EP come out in the States on orange vinyl.

The cover of "Cream Corn" featured a face-on photo of Mrs. Middle America circa 1960, and in their infinite wisdom, Fundamental decided to use this for the CD release of "Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac". This item also included the "Cream Corn" EP, although "Comb" was retitled "Lou Reed", and "To Parter" became "Two Part".

Because the two tracks on the B-side had been lifted from the Buttholes' next project "Rembrandt Pussyhorse", the album was further delayed while replacement tracks were recorded. The bulk of the material was recorded in their own eight-track studio in Texas few months after the completion of "Another Man's Sac". The finished tape was then sent to Alternative Tentacles, who wanted nothing to do with it: " 'Rembrandt Pussyhorse' never existed, does not exist and will never exist", they are alleged to have said. Anyone with a tape of the projected album (which included the two "Cream Corn" cuts, and different mixes) will know otherwise. Eventually Red Rhino Europe did the honours on this side of the Atlantic, while Touch and Go issued it in the States.

However, there was some confusion over the European cover. The band made the mistake of sending over the artwork for the jacket and for the promotional poster at the same time and the record company people decided to amalgamate the two. The result was the 'cowboy' sleeve, which, itself has appeared in two slightly reduced photo and larger type and, to a collector, are infinitely preferable to the amended version. U.S. copies (Touch & Go LP 8) depict various parts of the anatomy.

Opening with the piano chords of Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold", the album was the first to really have fun with the rock of bygone ages, as demonstrated by a berserk cover of teh Guess Who's "American Woman". "Rembrandt Pussyhorse" was a continuation of the adventures which really began on "Another Man's Sac", and which would culminate in their next album, "Locust Abortion Technician".

By the time of its release, bassist Jeff Pinker (alias Tooter, alias Pinkus) had appeared at the band's doorstep as a refugee from Atlanta band Drowning In The Fountain, and the line-up has remained reasonably constant ever since. Just prior to a second European tour to promote the album, Gibby claimed to U.S. magazine 'Forced Exposure' that the band had recorded a 45, one side of which contained every song they'd ever recorded - all at once! Sadly neither this, the "Human Cannonball" single nor the intriguingly titled "The Butthole Surfers Buy A Synthesiser" album has ever seen the light of day. Nice ideas, though, even if they probably never existed.

If only the first of their two projected London dates (at the Claredon and Dingwalls) materialised, it was enough to prove that the Butthole Surfers has established a sizeable U.K. following. However, the arriveal of the fire brigade meant that many were denied the chance to see Gibby manipulate his new toy, his near-legendary 'Gibbytronix', a digital delay box which gives him the freedom to multi-track, alter the speed and echo and generally manipulate his voice beyond recognition. It has proved to be a godsend to the band, whose sound has since transformed from the mildly afflicted to the truly demented. Since this time, their popularity has increased manifold, a fact which must worry drummer Theresa: "The world would be a very sad place if we became a monster group," she has said. "It would be a pretty sad reflection of things."

After the tour, the Butthole Surfers returned to live in Austin, Texas, where they set about remixing tapes in readiness for the release of "Locust Abortion Technician". This surfaced on Blast First, a U.K. label which has a habit of issuing some of the finest sounds of the late Eighties. The nightmarish quality of the album will not be to everyone's tast, but "Locust Abortion Technician" is a milestone in that it fuses the styles of several genres - heavy metal, punk, ethnic, rock, electronic and psychedelia - while retaining a strong sense of unity. Unique for its time, it shows absolutely no signs of dewy-eyed nostalgia for any of the musical forms it draws upon.

The opener, "Sweat Loaf" (a parody of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Loaf") is a stunning mixture of wigged-out HM riffing and gentle passages that could almost have been written in 1967, while in total contrast, the band construct their own ethnic piece, "Kuntz", which benefits greatly from the 'Gibbytronix'. One track, the painfully-paced "22 Going on 23", put in an appearance in John Peel's Festive Fifty in 1987, though there's barely a cut here which didn't deserve a place. Gibby's increasing reliance on his new toy, plus Paul Walthall's determination to take maximum liberty with his fuzz-swamped guitar, contribute greatly to the band turning in such a fine album.

When they returned to the U.K. for a mini tour in August, the Butthole Surfers stage show benefitted from superior sound, enabling the band to repeat some of their studio tricks in a live situation. The shows were augmented by Kathleen, who had joined as the resident nude dancer fresh from working in a New York sex booth. In keeping with tradition, the group endured yet another mishap while in the U.K. - on this occasion, their van was broken into within 24 hours of their arrival.

A subsequent visit in February 1988 saw the band hit the headlines again when police had to turn away hundreds of fans from their appearance at the Mean Fiddler, Harlesden. Although the release of the new album, "Hairway to Steven", was imminent, Gibby was keen to inform interviewers of future projects. These included a one-off LP in the style of "Kuntz" under the pseudonym Jack Officers, and a sort of 'new age'recording utilising all the band's new equipment.

It was more than the title which suggested Led Zeppelin as the3 source of inspiration for "Hairway to Steven"; in common with 'Zep IV', each song was represented not by a title but with a sign. It was not a perfect follow-up to "Locust Abortion Technician", but it does offer some fine moments. The opening cut (play at 45 to deciper the words) was a lengthy, grinding piece punctuated with high-pitched voice which conjures up visions of the baby in 'Eraserhead'; "I Saw An X-Ray Of A Girl Passing Gas" was a former 12" EP project which never materialised and is, I suppose, the band's perverted idea of what a ballad should sound like! More fun and games with our cherished rock'n'roll pops up on Side Two, where the protracted intro satirises the likes of Springsteen and his fellow stadium rockers. A dubbed live audience enhances the effect. Leaving the music aside, "Hairway" boast one of the most ridiculous sleeves since "An Evening With Wild Man Fischer".

Worth tracking down are a number of U.S. compilation albums which feature hitherto unreleased recordings by the band. There include 1986's "God's Favourite Dog" (Touch & Go T&GLP 11), "Smack My Crack" (Giornio Poetry Systems GPS 038), "A Texas Trip" (Caroline CAROL 1339) and the "Peace And War" double album.

"Blind Eye Sees All" is the band's only official video release (Touch & Go) and features footage from two performances, including a clip from the band's very first gig. Some reports suggest that a limited quantity of the video came with a free 5"  single release of "American Woman". Another import release is a cartoon book on the band titled "Gibby Goes To Florida". This is already proving difficult to track down. Other ephemers, including concert poster, is in high demand, while a 7" bootleg single coupling a live version of a Beatles song (possibly "Come Together") with "Cherub" has already disappeared.

It had to happen. When the Butthole Surfers returned for a one-off appearance at the Brixton Academy at the end of August, the knives were out in force: "It's two years too late for the Buttholes," wrote Steven Wells in 'NME'. "They're just another boring f-art rock band." Time will tell if, in fact, the American mavericks have already had their day; but having spent the best part of the decade before hitting peak form, I doubt whether the Butthole Surfers have lost their touch just yet!

BUTTHOLE SURFERS COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY

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