Children Of The Revolution IV -

It was back in 1969 in a school playground in North London that the idea for The Children of The Revolution first took shape. It was here that school chums Alain Insane and Rufus Stone, noticing they looked pretty good together, decided to form a band. A week later they met Vince St. Claire and Heath Rowe at an inter-school North vs West London soccer tournament and a legend was born.

Rehearsing in Vince's parents' garage everyday for three years the dynamic quartet forged their unique and unsurpassed songwriting style. The band were signed after their first gig at a youth club in Chiswick by legendary A+R man Tuff Ringwood. They were all 18. The following three years spawned a barrage of hits but it was their third album, 1974's "Revved Up", which catapulted them to international mega-stardom, selling over 20,000,000 copies in North America alone. The accompanying tours led to scenes unparalleled since the height of Beatlemania.

In 1976 the band headed for Thailand to exploit the lucrative Far-Eastern market. It was here that problems set in. The gruelling schedule meant 114 gigs on the trot without Match Of The Day or Coronation Street and with a mountain of radio, press and personal appearances on top, band tensions inevitably set in. Also, the band's incredible songwriting skills had resulted in a multitude of artists covering their songs in the U.K., most notably Slade, Sweet and Status Quo.

To make matters even more complicated for The Rev, Marc Bolan covered their second most famous song "Geddit On", and with a slight lyric change had claimed it as his own. The resulting famous litigation wore the band down although they finally settled out of court for an undisclosed three-figure sum. Rufus had also become increasingly disillusioned with Alain and Vince's preoccupation with the new Punk Rock. It all came to a head on the final leg of the tour at the second to last gig in Phuket. On January 6th 1977 the band split. When asked about it afterwards Rufus cited the ubiquitous musical differences: "I was musical and they were different", he told N.M.E. Alain and Vince headed back to England. Heath went on a ten year round-the-world spending spree and Rufus headed to Nepal where he spent two years in a Buddhist monastery contemplating the future.

Vince immediately joined punk band Chelsea, later joining Billy Idol in the final incarnation of Generation X. Alain surfaced a couple of years later with his own punk band The Alarm who had some worldwide hits of their own in the Eighties. Rufus, having returned from Nepal, was incensed and realised that to exorcise Punk he'd have to invent a whole new rock genre. He spent two years in a damp cellar in Hamburg before emerging with the antidote - The Sisters Of Mercy and Gothic Rock. Punk was a thing of the past. Rufus became a seminal figure in the "Goth" movement, later forming another influential goth band The Mission.

But they all secretly pined for The Rev (as The Children of the Revolution had affectionately Decome known) and Glam Rock. To this end Vince even joined semi-glam goth band Gene Loves Jezebel for a number of years.

In 1993 Rufus was invited to join The Cult and when Vince was drafted in on rhythm
guitar a year later the old friends started talking about reforming The Rev! When The Cult fell apart in Rio half way through the tour, Rufus and Vince contacted Alain upon their return to England. Alain confessed - he was ready! Heath, who had got into Punk himself and was playing with Stiff Little Fingers, (having previously been wasting time with Julian Lennon and Patsy Kensit's Eighth Wonder) heard the call-up and arrived with his legendary pink furry drum kit and wearing his matching trademark pink featherboa.

They realised it was essential to secure the services of their former producer, the legendary George Glitter (the man who invented the 'glam rock' sound and trained the likes of Tommy Visconti and Baz Chandler). After an extensive worldwide search, The Rev tracked him down in Blackpool, Lancashire. Apparently George had rejected rock 'n' roll taking up alternative employment with the City Council and had been painting the famous tower for the past twenty years.

With the promise of a brand new Triumph Stag however, Glitter was soon persuaded and agreed to record The Rev again. Together they have created the new masterpiece that you can now hold in your hands.

After rehearsing every day for three years in Vince's parents' garage The Rev are back - and ready to rock your world like no other band can.

CD produced by George Glitter & The Children Of The Revolution. Recorded at The Doghouse, Henley On Thames, 28th August - 5th September 2000 Guest Musicians : George Glitter - Keyboards, Barry Bell-Bottom - Percussion, Chris Masbelle & Holl Turneck - Handclaps, Bube Toob - Backing Vocals, Kid Aggro - Vocals

Special Thanks to George Williams, Barrymore Barlow, Jules Jones, Stan Stead, Andy Greenley, Kat Wick, Katrina Copping, East Midlands, Sam Greenley, Felix Towe, Jackie Collins, Stevenson's Hog, Sven Tees, Chris Webb, Kirstin Beaver, Chris Bashford, Keith Corcoran, Gareth Jones and Steve Fulton.
Management - Mickie Must for S.P.A..M.

Cover Photograph by Bube Toob.
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