The Homosexuals - Biography
The Homosexuals, from London, England, probably led the most subterranean life of any punk band, self-releasing their primitive recordings under a variety of names. If they had any desire for acclaim, acceptance or material reward, they hid it well, and yet their music is delightful—pop, even. The Homosexuals started out as the Rejects, a bizarro art-punk band formed by Bruno Wizard and Ian Kane while attending Goldsmiths’ College at the University of London in 1976. The Rejects made their live debut at the Roxy in January 1977, opening for the Damned and the Vibrators. Bassist Jim Welton and guitarist Anton Hayman joined the Rejects in 1977, but if they replaced earlier members, their names have not yet been vouchsafed to history.
Drummer David Dus left when the Rejects changed their name to the Homosexuals; it is not clear when or why Ian Kane left the band. Wizard, Welton and Hayman played on The Homosexuals’ first release, the single “Hearts in Exile” b/w “Soft South Africans” (1978 Lorelei). It was recorded, like most of the Homosexuals’ subsequent output, at Surrey Sound in London with engineer Christopher Gray. The Bigger Than The Number Yet Missing The Dot 7-inch (1979 Black Noise) was the first release on the band’s own Black Noise label. Meanwhile Welton, recording as L. Voag, self-released the Move 7-inch (1979) in a handmade sleeve, as well as the LP The Way Out (1979). The Homosexuals E.P. 12-inch (1979 Black Noise) initiated “Divorce Proceedings from Reality.” The Homosexuals’ name did not appear anywhere on the band’s next release, the Ici là-bas/Les Incroyables 12-inch (Black Noise), which credited each of its six songs to a different fictional band (e.g. the Prolific Urdos, Yanto Novitch).
Wizard called himself Sir Alick & the Phraser on the solo 7-inch “In Search of the Perfect Baby” b/w “Nursery Chymes” (1980 Black Noise), later issued in a different sleeve as a Homosexuals single. The band’s next release was a home-recorded split LP credited to George Harrasment [sic] and Masai Sleep Walking (1982 Black Noise); according to Hyped2Death’s discography, George Harrasment (pronounced like the quiet Beatle’s surname, with the stress on the first syllable) was Bruno’s solo project, Masai Sleep Walking Anton’s. Again, the Homosexuals’ name was absent from the artwork—in this case, the J-card—of their 16-song Venceremos cassette (1982 Black Noise).
Drummer/percussionist Chris Cutler (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Pere Ubu et al.) released The Homosexuals’ Record (1984 Recommended), an LP collecting most of the band’s 1978 sessions, on his label. Nothing further issued from the Homosexuals until 20 years later, when Cutler released an expanded version of Record on CD, retitled The Homosexuals’ CD (2004 ReR Megacorp), and Wizard put together a new band of Homosexuals for live shows. The 3-CD box set Astral Glamour (Hyped2Death 2004) followed, including all but one or two of the original band’s recordings.
Wizard and band recorded the Love Guns? 10-inch (2008 Serious Business), the first new Homosexuals record in over 25 years. Important If True, a collection of nine songs recorded between 2008 and 2009, includes new versions of some old songs and the previously unheard Wizard/Hayman composition “Pentecost 2016.”