Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
Zodiac Mindwarp on stage at L'Amour in Brooklyn, NY, circa 1989
Background information
Genres	Hard rock
Years active	1985-Present
Members	Zodiac Mindwarp, Cobalt Stargazer, Jack Shitt, Bruno 'The Cat' Agua
Past members	Jimmy Cauty, The KLF, Kid Chaos, Boom Boom Kaboomski, Jake Le Mesurier, Slam Thunderhide, Evil Bastard, Trash D Garbage, Flash Bastard , Suzi X, Tex Diablo, Robbie Vom, Kev Reverb, The Apocalypse

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction are a British hard rock group.

The band is the brainchild of Mark Manning, a former graphic artist and art editor of the now defunct Flexipop! magazine. The magazine folded back in 1982 but the hedonistic lifestyle of the frequenting rock and pop stars to the magazine' offices fueled his desire to experience the debauchery of life as a decadent rock star. He joined another music publication called Metal Fury as a graphic designer but would assume the alter ego Zodiac Mindwarp at night. Zodiac soon left Metal Fury and formed the Love Reaction in 1985 with Jimmy Cauty, who later formed The Orb, The JAMS (Justified Ancients of Mu Mu), and The KLF on guitar, Kid Chaos (real name Stephen Harris) on bass and Boom Boom Kaboomski on drums.

The band was signed to the Food label of Phonogram Records who soon issued their first recording, Wild Child with just Zodiac (playing guitar and vocals), Kid Chaos on bass and Jake Le Mesurier on drums. A demo version of "High Priest of Love" was included on the Melody Maker "Vinyl Conflict 2" free EP in September 1986. By the end of the year the lineup had changed again to accommodate the still present figure of Cobalt Stargazer (real name Geoff Bird) and new drummer Slam Thunderhide (real name Stephen Landrum). That lineup would contribute the studio track, "Drug Shoes," to the FOOD "Imminent 2" various artists compilation.

At various times, the band has also featured Evil Bastard (real name Robert Munro who co-penned and sang on two notable B-sides: Hangover from Hell and Lager Woman from Hell), Heavy Metal Bear (real name Alex Bradly), Trash D Garbage (real name Paul Bailey), Flash Bastard (real name Jan Cyrka), Suzi X (real name Richard Levy), Tex Diablo (real name Christopher Renshaw), and Robbie Vom (real name Rob Morris).

Zodiac Mindwarp progressed rapidly from their first gig at Dingwalls in November 1985, to playing in front of a packed Reading festival in 1986 but was followed by the departure of Kid Chaos who joined the massive rock outfit The Cult. Zodiac regrouped by assigning Trash D Garbage on Bass and Flash Bastard (Jan Cyrka) on rhythm guitar section. The expanded five member outfit all went on to record Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction's debut album in 1988 entitled Tattooed Beat Messiah. Other band members playing bass include Suzi X, Tex Diablo and Kev Reverb. Previous drummers were Robbie Vomm and The Apocalypse.