When the new group assembled to begin its first commercial recording session, it had expanded to a quartet, with the addition of Julianne Regan on piano and vocals. In 1982 the group secured a booking at the Institute of Contemporary Art Rock Week Festival, and the performance led to a record deal with Situation 2 Records. Historical details notwithstanding, the trio adopted the name of Gene Loves Jezebel no laterthan 1982 in London, England and achieved a peak of popularity in the mid –1980s. Michael Aston, who limped from a badly healed broken leg, received the nickname “Gene, ” evocative of the late bop musician, Gene Vincent, who was crippled in a motorcycle accident in the 1950s. Martins, where the other patrons dubbed J with the nickname of “Jezebel ” because of his long and flowing –hair. All the while the twins were popular frequenters of a club called the St. In keeping with the group ’s unaffected and characteristically unrehearsed music style, the name of the band was not an issue for some time until the trio sought to come up with a billing name for themselves. Gene Loves Jezebel appeared in a live performance for the first time on Decemand performed their London debut at the Convent Garden Rock Garden. A short –lived association with a drummer named James Chater predated the initial formation of the group as a trio thus their earliest performances did not include a drummer and utilized a drum machine as an interim solution for rhythm. Prior to the name change, one or both of the Astons established a professional relationship with guitarist and songwriter Ian Hudson Hudson later joined with the twins to form a trio. Also clear was the fact that Gene Loves Jezebel was a reinvention of the earlier Slav Arian group of 1980 or 1981. In the wake of conflicting details as to whether one or both twins initially went to England, it was nonetheless evident that the brothers “surfaced ” on the British music underground sometime around 1980. Another mainstream version holds that Michael Aston initially moved from Porthcawl to London on his own and established the Slav Arian band while his brother remained in Wales, and that the two rejoined forces later in London. According to one version of the account, the twins, who sang and played guitar, moved to London, England in 1980, and there they re –christened their Slav Arian band under the name of Gene Loves Jezebel. Reports concur nonetheless that Slav Arian was a forerunner to Gene Loves Jezebel, and that musicians Michael Aston and Jay “J ” Aston, identical twins from a working class family in Porthcawl, Wales, were deeply involved in the roots and history of both bands. As with the precise name of the band, little else was clearly documented about the early Slav Arian group. Still other reports indicated that the group was called Slavorian. Some sources cited the group ’s name as Slav Arian and others reported the group ’s name as Slay Arian. Among those, many popular stories maintain that the twin siblings, Jay (born John) and Michael Aston of South Wales, originally formed a group by the name of Slav Arian. Despite a virtual disbanding of the group ’s membership in the mid –1990s, Gene Loves Jezebel regrouped with relentless persistence and expanded its experimental evolution into the late 1990s.Ĭonflicting accounts detail the specific origins of Gene Loves Jezebel. Their unique style, characterized by a high degree of experimentation, garnered significant support from broad –minded audiences including collegiate radio listeners. The band, which was heavily influenced by the gothic music movement, initially emerged as a trio and expanded later into a quintet. The band and its music in many ways reflected a cult –like persona, and conflicting reports concerning the origins and membership of the band dealt the group an aura of mystery that successfully enhanced the appeal of Gene Loves Jezebel. In the midst of a surge of popularity in the mid –1980s, Gene Loves Jezebel remained among the least understood of the barrage of bands that comprised the musical genre called alternative rock.
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