Self-styled Glam Rock extremists Sexagisma might not have set the world afire during their early-mid 1980s heyday.  But forty years on, it’s hard to think of any group from that era who burned so brightly and so briefly and did it all so far below the radar that even they’d forgotten quite how brilliant they were.

Time heals, however, and history’s mistakes are there to be learned from.  Either that, or we’re missing David Bowie, The Sweet and the Sex Pistols a lot more than we realized. Those were probably the south-east London quintet’s greatest influences, together with a misspent youth watching Alice Cooper stage shows, and such a grotesque sense of humor that even the Batcave laughed at their jokes.

From The Batcave 1981-1985 is the first ever release for Sexagisma’s story, a 19 song digest that traces them from stage to studio, via raw rehearsals, home-made demos, while also demonstrating that the clutch of covers that were their crowd-thrilling encores – “Hang Onto Yourself,” “Cracked Actor” and “Jean Genie” (Bowie), “Blockbuster” and “Hellraiser” (the Sweet), “School’s Out” (Alice Cooper) – were only one of the costumes that Sexagisma wore.

VIDEO (“Monster Fun”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCXChD7emP4

VIDEO (“Glitter Devils”): https://youtu.be/gcGDI4Esv_Q

In frontman Vaughan Funnel, they also boasted a songwriter who was as comfortable crunching through a brain-crushing glam stomp (“Monster Fun,” “Glitter Devils”) as he was rewiring George Orwell’s 1984 (via Bowie’s Diamond Dogs, of course) for the seriously thoughtful “Zero Time”; who sang of “Creeps On The Street” and the “Rocket City Gang,” while living out a stage show that was as dangerous as Dali, and as wicked as Warhol.  

Yes, think Trash or Flesh reshot as rock’n’roll; think the Velvets if they’d been outfitted by Westwood; think the Pistols if Johnny Rotten’s audition had been “Dead Babies” instead of “School’s Out.”

And then put it onstage in a quiet London pizza place.

Several of the songs, Funnell recalls, “were dropped from our set in favor of faster more energetic stuff.  ‘Zero Time,’ in particular, I now see as an essential song in our catalogue, as it shows another side to the band’s sound. The same thing for the overlooked ‘Space Ranger.’  It was anthemic, but it was always getting dropped.

“With the release of this album, I can see these songs from a different perspective, other than the onstage energy of performing them live.”

Available today in vivacious pink vinyl as well as the bonus track stacked CD, with lengthy liners , photos and memorabilia, From The Batcave 1981-1985 also includes the band’s one release from their actual lifetime, the deliciously evocative “Freaks Graveyard,” taken from the now impossible-to-find Sing As We Go various artists album.

As for the future, Sexagisma might have forgotten themselves for the last 40 years, but that might not be the case for much longer.  As Funnel puts it, “Right at this time I’m willing to try anything thrice. The release of the album has definitely revitalized my interest in making music, and the same goes for other band members and associates.”

He pauses.  “Anything’s possible at this stage.”  And we remember the last time he said something like that. The day the band turned up at a London club gig, bearing with them a life size crucifix.  They were considering crucifying their dancer.

Track listing

1. Monster Fun (Bat Cave Deadly Mix)
2. Betcha Can’t Dance To This One Baby
3. Creeps
4. Good Morning George
5. Planetoid Twist
6. Screamers
7. Glitter Devils
8. Zero Time
9. Coming Right Up
10. Dali Mixtures
11. Freaks Graveyard
12. Rocket City Gang
13. Space Ranger [CD ONLY]
14. Monster Fun (original version) [CD ONLY]
15. Hang On To Yourself [CD ONLY]
16. I Didn’t Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock-N-Roll) [CD ONLY]
17. Hellraiser [CD ONLY]
18. Cracked Actor [CD ONLY]
19. Glam Medley (Jean Genie – Blockbuster – School’s Out) [CD ONLY]

CD: https://cleorecs.com/products/sexagisma-from-the-batcave-1981-1985-cd
VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/products/sexagisma-from-the-batcave-1981-1985-pink-vinyl-lp
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/sexagisma_fromthebatcave