By Devorah Ostrov
The British Tourist Authority should hire these guys! The Babysitters represent the trashy side of mid-'80s English glam. But when they aren't busy ripping off Bo Diddley via the New York Dolls with tunes like "Rock 'n' Roll Chicken," they do a fine job as London tour guides. I took photos of them posing with bobbies, splashing amongst the lions in Trafalgar Square, and with the neon lights of Piccadilly Circus shining in the background. My friend Sara Brinker and I met up with the Babysitters during a visit to England in 1984 and became huge fans!
The British Tourist Authority should hire these guys! The Babysitters represent the trashy side of mid-'80s English glam. But when they aren't busy ripping off Bo Diddley via the New York Dolls with tunes like "Rock 'n' Roll Chicken," they do a fine job as London tour guides. I took photos of them posing with bobbies, splashing amongst the lions in Trafalgar Square, and with the neon lights of Piccadilly Circus shining in the background. My friend Sara Brinker and I met up with the Babysitters during a visit to England in 1984 and became huge fans!
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Seeing the sights with the Babysitters
Photo: Devorah Ostrov
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Quite likely the trashiest and most fun band in London, the Babysitters are:
Buttz Baby - Lead Vocals
Jimbo Kaksov - Guitar and Backing Vocals
Boo Badu - Bass and Backing Vocals
Stik Wunupim - Drums
Rave-Up: So, is this just 1974 revisited? Or is it something completely different?
Stik: Well, we weren't about in 1974.
Buttz: What does it mean?
After explaining the meaning of commendable...
Rave-Up: Dave, from your agency, says you've only played about 11 shows so far.
Buttz: Yeah, a few more than that. It's about 15 now.
Rave-Up: How long of a period does that cover?
Buttz: A year.
Jimbo: In fact, our anniversary's coming up pretty soon.
Rave-Up: Are you doing anything special?
Jimbo: We'll probably split up.
Rave-Up: Is it just as hard for a band to make it in London as anywhere else in the world? We have the notion in America that it's really easy to become famous in London.
All of them: That's crap!
Stik: Every band in America wants to come over here and make it in England, and every band in England wants to go to America and make it over there. It's completely fucked up.
Jimbo: A prime example, that!
Buttz: Yeah, it is a classic example. No, the bands are big over there. ZZ Top and Def Leppard are pretty huge. You know, all the heavy bands.
Stik: So, how would we go down in America?
Rave-Up: Really well, I think!
Buttz: So, perhaps the Americans aren't as stupid as I thought. Oops!
Buttz: They're all useless. One company said we'd be good if we had a synthesizer.
Jimbo: So, we've got one now.
Rave-Up: And you're still not signed?
Jimbo: We couldn't figure out how to use it.
Buttz: There's no batteries.
Buttz: We have. We've sold a hell of a lot. I wonder what it would be like with a single, though?
Jimbo: Everybody's got it on the tape, haven't they?
Rave-Up: How did you guys decide on the cover songs you do? There's the New York Dolls and Motorhead...
Buttz: We don't do any New York Dolls! That's "Rock 'n' Roll Chicken." They stole that off us and called it "Pills," about a nurse. But the original that we wrote in 1968 was about this chicken who dresses up in a drape and creepers.
Boo: Does it sound like a cover?
Rave-Up: Well... yeah.
Boo: Strange that.
Jimbo Kaksov - Guitar and Backing Vocals
Boo Badu - Bass and Backing Vocals
Stik Wunupim - Drums
Stik: Well, we weren't about in 1974.
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Meeting English bobbies
Photo: Devorah Ostrov
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Rave-Up: So, it's not just nostalgia?
Jimbo: No, it's nothing like that.
Buttz: Most of the people that come to see us are like 14 or 15 anyway, and they shouldn't be allowed in the club in the first place. So, they don't remember anything like that, I shouldn't think. I certainly don't!
Stik: But the first record I ever bought was Gary Glitter!
Jimbo: No, it's nothing like that.
Buttz: Most of the people that come to see us are like 14 or 15 anyway, and they shouldn't be allowed in the club in the first place. So, they don't remember anything like that, I shouldn't think. I certainly don't!
Stik: But the first record I ever bought was Gary Glitter!
Rave-Up: That's commendable.
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| Buttz shows us the Trafalgar Square fountain Photo: Devorah Ostrov |
Jimbo: Commendable, that's not a bad word.
Buttz: What does it mean?
After explaining the meaning of commendable...
Rave-Up: Dave, from your agency, says you've only played about 11 shows so far.
Buttz: Yeah, a few more than that. It's about 15 now.
Rave-Up: How long of a period does that cover?
Buttz: A year.
Jimbo: In fact, our anniversary's coming up pretty soon.
Rave-Up: Are you doing anything special?
Jimbo: We'll probably split up.
Rave-Up: Is it just as hard for a band to make it in London as anywhere else in the world? We have the notion in America that it's really easy to become famous in London.
Rave-Up: It does seem as if the rock scene is bigger in America.
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| Hanging around Piccadilly Circus Photo: Devorah Ostrov |
Buttz: Well, that's it, isn't it? Take for example... uhmm... someone who was... uh... very good at...
Jimbo: A prime example, that!
Buttz: Yeah, it is a classic example. No, the bands are big over there. ZZ Top and Def Leppard are pretty huge. You know, all the heavy bands.
Stik: So, how would we go down in America?
Rave-Up: Really well, I think!
Buttz: So, perhaps the Americans aren't as stupid as I thought. Oops!
Rave-Up: You do seem to have a good local following. At the show the other night, there were a lot of kids who knew the songs and had obviously seen you before.
Buttz: Yeah, our tape is fairly widespread.
Stik: And we write basically catchy songs. So, I mean, who can blame them?
Rave-Up: Has there been record company interest? Has anyone come down to see you?
Buttz: Yeah, they've all come 'round!
Buttz: Yeah, they've all come 'round!
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Jimbo splashing about in the Trafalgar Square fountain
Photo: Devorah Ostrov
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Jimbo: We told 'em all to piss off! I think that was the trouble.
Buttz: They're all useless. One company said we'd be good if we had a synthesizer.
Jimbo: So, we've got one now.
Rave-Up: And you're still not signed?
Jimbo: We couldn't figure out how to use it.
Buttz: There's no batteries.
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Annoying the Buckingham Palace Guards
Photo: Devorah Ostrov
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Rave-Up: Is the tape the only thing you have out with your songs on it?
Jimbo: We've got a remixed version of the same songs.
Rave-Up: Is this tape the whole repertoire, or are there more songs?
Buttz: No, there's lots more than that. That's well old, that tape. A lot of things have happened since then. Like the geezer who paid for it... He wants his tape deck back.
Rave-Up: So, how are tape sales going?
Jimbo: We've sold thousands!
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| Posing with Nelson's column Photo: Devorah Ostrov |
Jimbo: Everybody's got it on the tape, haven't they?
Rave-Up: How did you guys decide on the cover songs you do? There's the New York Dolls and Motorhead...
Buttz: We don't do any New York Dolls! That's "Rock 'n' Roll Chicken." They stole that off us and called it "Pills," about a nurse. But the original that we wrote in 1968 was about this chicken who dresses up in a drape and creepers.
Boo: Does it sound like a cover?
Rave-Up: Well... yeah.
Boo: Strange that.
Buttz: They did it well, you know.
Boo: It's funny, people say that "Overkill" sounds like Motorhead.
Rave-Up: It does kind of.
Buttz: And then Chuck Berry came up to us and said he liked our new number.
Rave-Up: So, are you guys gonna be the biggest thing to happen to the English music scene in years?
Buttz: We've done it! It's just that a lot of people missed it. I mean, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? We're the only band you can go see and have a laugh for £1.50!
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Taking time out for a rest
Photo: Devorah Ostrov
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