Benjie Bollox
| Benjie Bollox | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1972 (age 44–45) |
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Punk rock, new wave |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, actor, photographer, writer & artist |
| Instruments | Vocals, drums, harmonica, keyboards |
| Years active | 1988–2003 |
| Associated acts | The Visitors U.K. Subs Splodgenessabounds Riot Squad (USA) |
Benjie Bollox (born 1972) is a musician, photographer, songwriter, DJ & artist.
Benjie started playing in various bands in 1987 before forming The Abnormals in 1988 in which he was the vocalist. The Abnormals played a mix of covers and originals. They played for a year but were having trouble finding a steady drummer. Joe Blow, a friend of the band knew all the lyrics of the songs, so Benjie took over on drums and Joe joined as vocalist. With the line up change, the band decided to change the name of the band to Riot Squad. Riot Squad played from 1989 until 1990 releasing a self-titled cassette in 1990. In 1991, Benjie and some friends put together a band called The Vagrants in which he played drums. Benjie left after a short while, but the band continued and went on to become well known as Terminal Disgust.
In 1994, Joe Blow was putting together a rockabilly band and asked Benjie to join as the drummer. They called themselves the Black Cats. After a short while, they decided to put some distortion into the guitar and go back under the name Riot Squad again. They released an album called The Undying Breed in 1995. The band played many gigs, opening for bands such as Fear and The Business. Due to a conflict of interest in music, Benjie departed in 1995 and returned to London where he continued to DJ in various clubs.
In early 1996, Benjie and Charlie Harper from U.K. Subs joined forces and recorded some new tracks in London with Benjie on drums and backing vocals. It was at this studio where Charlie and Benjie wrote "Riot" together. "Riot" was initially released with some other new U.K. Subs tracks that they recorded and was released in Germany on the various artists CD titled British Punk Invasion II. Benjie worked with Charlie on and off until the spring of 1998. Between 1996 and 1998, Benjie was also the official coconut player for the legendary Splodgenessabounds.
In early 1998, Benjie Bollox met up with former Severed Heads member and former Riot Squad stand in guitarist Steve Jones to form a band together in which Benjie was vocalist again. Johnny Bastard, a former bandmate of Steve Jones was enticed into the fray and along with him came ex Head Cleaner member, Ted Uhlemann. Frenzied gigs around town saw The Visitors blend of punk rock, new wave and pure rock and roll attract a group of fans as wild as the band. The first LP Sniffing Glue came out in June '98 on Mind Kontrol Records with the controversial cover that was designed for The Visitors by Tom Ellard of Severed Heads and soon after they released the limited edition Visitors Peas & Chips Please Twice on Noise Noise Noise Records in August 1998. Immediately the group attracted international acclaim. Their fourth album released in July 2001 on Noise Noise Noise Records, the more melodic Thanks For Nothing, saw the group firmly established as one of the cities most celebrated artists.
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