Satan's Rats are back ...well, kind of...reincarnated as Satan's Cats. I wonder if Beelzebub actually has a feline fluffy friend and what breed would be by his side? I am thinking maybe a black Japanese Bobtail with yellow eyes or possibly a Savannah Cat?
Satan's Rats exploded onto the U.K. punk scene in 1977 hailing from Evesham, Worcestershire. Probably best known for their stellar single “You Make Me Sick.” However, the story didn't stop there! Satan's Rats put out three punk rock stomper 7”s in total and, posthumously, the compilation release What A Bunch Of Rodents on Overground Records. Cats, of course, have nine lives so it should not be alarming that Satan's Rats are now arched back and ready to pounce back into your soul -- claws and all. Get the catnip out, spin one up, and read on. I had the fortunate opportunity to talk to Satan's Cats about the past, present and future. This is what entailed (pun intended). Meow!
Hiss…
Satan's Cats
- Olly Harrison – drums
- Puss Johnson – vocals
- Steve Eagles – guitar
- Dave Sparrow – bass guitar
Scene Point Blank: How, after 40+ years, did Satan's Rats decide to reform the band?
Olly: Steve and I were talking about collaborating on something, and Puss and I had been talking about collaborating on something. It seemed logical to combine the two. I asked Puss if she would be interested in revisiting some of the Rats’ tracks. It's not really a reformation as we all have other commitments.
Scene Point Blank: How was it decided to take another crack at four Satan's Rats' songs? Furthermore, were you big Thin Lizzy fans (hence the cover of “The Rocker”)?
Olly: I had been listening to some of the old tracks and thought, with some changes, they would work well -- they had a spark. We really didn’t know how it would sound until we were in the same room together...at our one and only rehearsal. I particularly liked “Sex Object” and thought we could give the song a whole different meaning (which we did). We updated the lyrics to give it a "no means no" angle. We were curious to see how the Johnsons’ world and the Rats' worlds would combine -- it seemed to have a unique energy. I thought The Thin Lizzy track would suit Pussycat’s attitudey delivery and would let Steve's guitar work shine. I also loved the drumming in the original.
Scene Point Blank: Do you have many memories of December 21, 1977, when you opened for The Sex Pistols at Club Lafayette in Wolverhampton (UK)? How did Satan’s Rats land this gig?
Olly: The Pistols were true renegades at that time. Newspapers like The Sun had painted the band in such a bad light that they were hounded by various councils and forced to get out of town. They had to keep moving as threats of violence were commonplace. It was a dangerous time to look like a punk -- which was ridiculous -- as the movement was just about free speech and exposing hypocrisy. Consequently, gigs and plans changed on a daily basis. To keep The Pistols playing, they went under the name The Spots (Sex Pistols on Tour) which fooled the councils for a while.
We had initially been promised a gig with The Jam in Birmingham but it fell through at the last minute. The promoter knew we were gutted so offered the Sex Pistols as recompense. We were also lucky because the gig was moved at the last minute from December 18 to 21, 1977. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
When the Pistols arrived, we were all locked into the venue with heavy security outside. It was like being in the eye of the storm. When they walked in, they looked so familiar, like caricatures of themselves. Sid came and sat with us and we chatted for quite some time with Nancy flitting around making phone calls, etc. Sid said they had been staying at the "Fackin' Frank Cooper Hotel" and said it was so cold he had to get into bed with his clothes on. When they were sound checking they couldn’t find Paul so Johnny stood over the kit and threatened to play the drums with two hammers left by the stagehands.
Scene Point Blank: Who else did you share the stage with during this time period?
Olly: We played with: Slaughter and the Dogs and The Suburban Studs at Barbarellas, XTC, the Killjoys, and a number of gigs with the Drones -- who we met in London when we were recording, they happened to be making their album at the same time -- and Ricky and the Last Days of Earth (Ricky produced our last two singles).
Scene Point Blank: Were there any bands from that time period that you think were underrated, misunderstood or severely unnoticed?
Olly: You have to remember with the whole punk scene, all the bands were severely underrated and misunderstood. We would travel miles to see bands but only a few clued-up people would know about it. When I saw Generation X there were probably 30 people in the venue. A couple of hundred for The Buzzcocks, before they appeared on TV. Many bands were ignored by the music press or used as target practice! We attended the Vortex Club in Wardour Street on our day off from recording our singles -- they just happened to be recording the Vortex Live album. It was an all-day crazed event including The Wasps, Bernie Tormé, the Art Attacks, and Maniacs. We're probably recorded in the audience somewhere.
Scene Point Blank: What happened with Satan's Rats in the end? Band politics, or did the band just naturally dissolve into the next project?
Olly: It was a natural progression from one band to the next. The singer left and we decided to change the name as it sounded a little heavy metal and a bit earnest. We’re owning the name now, though.
Scene Point Blank: Most musicians from the ‘77 era cite glam as being an important part of their makeup. Was this true for Satan's Rats? Who would you cite as the most important and influential musicians then and now?
Olly: Glam was definitely a big influence on punk -- everybody would watch Top of the Pops and, naturally, the more interesting bands influenced the next generation. There was a well-established underground rock movement that influenced the scene, people gleaned the rock papers to find out what was occurring. I feel it wasn’t just about music however, punk was nearer to the Dada movement in the early ways: the clothes, the fanzines, the posters, the spirit, and the need to upset the status wuo (literally!).
Scene Point Blank: Did hailing from Evesham work against Satan's Rats? Was the London scene quite cliquey and not very accepting of perceived outsiders? Or is this a myth?
Olly: It was an advantage in that we were ahead of the game where we lived and the surrounding area. It never seemed to be a disadvantage except that we were travelling up and down the M40 late at night.
Scene Point Blank: Having spoken to a few bands from the same era, I've heard that a lot of bands jumped on the punk bandwagon. Former hippies with beards and flares hoping to grab the golden ring. A few have also made statements that a lot of bands were unfriendly to each other and it was rare that they were helpful and, typically, they were quite stand-offish. Did Satan’s Rats experience this type of animosity?
Olly: I think we were lucky with the people we met and played with, but there were a huge number of people who didn’t commit to the look and the spirit! We were also a few years younger than other bands and had to prove ourselves.
Scene Point Blank: How did Satan's Rats feel when Sir Bob Geldof wrote a mediocre review of the first single? Perhaps he thought there was only one Rat in town?
Olly: Bob Geldof seemed to just appear on the scene overnight. Suddenly he was on television. We were suspicious that the Boomtown Rats were a manufactured band put together by the industry. Consequently, Bob Geldof wasn’t taken very seriously -- until Band-Aid, of course. We met him much later at Tony Visconti’s studio. He had been recording The Art of Surfacing before us -- we didn’t mention the review!
Scene Point Blank: The Photos seemed to be riding the crest to acclaim: touring with The Police, U2, and The Undertones. The Photos were also on the telly several times. What went right and what went wrong?
Olly: As The Photos, we had a phenomenal rise from nowhere to the big time. We achieved a lot but we never had a hit single. The planets never seemed to align and it alluded us.
