Gene Loves Jezebel is a gothic rock band from the early 1980s founded by twin brothers, Michael and Jay Aston (born John Peter Aston). Originally called Slav Aryan, Gene Loves Jezebel began in 1980 with the Aston brothers, guitarist Ian Hudson and a drum machine. The Astons grew up in Porthcawl, Wales, making the move to London in 1981. With a new home, and shortly thereafter, the new name, the trio played several live shows and were signed by Situation Two. In May 1982, the label released Gene Loves Jezebel's demo single Shaving My Neck. The band then added bassist Julianne Regan followed, briefly, by a keyboardist, Jean-Marc Lederman.
Regan left within a year to form All About Eve, leaving Ian Hudson briefly playing bass until Stephen Marshall joined. This line up went on to perform some 100 gigs and recorded the first album Promise, along with their first John Peel Session and the beautifully bizarre B-side Stephen, often considered to be an homage to the man himself. Peter Rizzo joined in 1984. Gene Loves Jezebel underwent a dozen or so line up changes between 1981-1985.
The band released two more singles in 1983 before Promise peaked at number 8 in the UK Indie Chart. In 1984, the group recorded a John Peel radio session for BBC and toured America with fellow Welsh artist John Cale. The second album, Immigrant, was released in mid-1985. However, during an agonizing American tour for Immigrant, founding member Ian Hudson left the band and was replaced by former Generation X and Chelsea guitarist James Stevenson (who later also played rhythm guitar on tour with The Cult). During 1986, the group moved its contract to Situation Two's parent company, Beggar's Banquet Records and distribution rights in USA to Geffen Records. The subsequent promotion increased pop-chart success for the group. The single Sweetest Thing briefly hit the Top 75 in UK and the album Discover reached number 32 in UK Albums Chart. At this time, the group also found heavy rotation on college and countercultural radio stations across America. The band had slowly turned their attention to dance music. The slick and catchy guitar hooks of singles Desire and Heartache leapt to #6 and #72, respectively, on Los Angeles' New Wave station, KROQ. Later that year, former Spear of Destiny member Chris Bell became the band's fifth drummer.
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