Backstage With Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction: Idle Chitchat And Fun Photo Ops With Fanzine Journalists

Originally published in Rave-Up #14 (1988)
Interview by Devorah Ostrov & Sara Brinker

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction

Back cover photo - Tattooed Beat Messiah (Mercury/Phonogram Records) 

Lovable British hooligans Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction recently roared into town in promotion of their new album Tattooed Beat Messiah. Following their boisterous show at the Stone, Mr. Mindwarp (a.k.a. Mark Manning, former art editor at Flexipop! magazine) had some time to kill and we had a tape recorder. So, we engaged in a bit of idle chitchat while Sara posed for an impromptu photo op in her custom-made jacket.

Rave-Up: When did you get your first tattoo?

Sara Brinker poses with Zodiac Mindwarp

Jacket and photo by: Vicki Berndt
https://vickiberndt.com

Zodiac: I was 14 years old. It was a skull and dagger tattoo, and it cost me about 20p. I had it covered up about four or five years ago.

Rave-Up: How did you like tonight's show?

Zodiac: The audience tonight was good. It reminded me of a London audience. London, and England, are crazy!

Rave-Up: You didn't seem too pleased with the stage divers.

Zodiac: They fucked up my microphone. Stay off my stage, fucking wild boys! I always try to give a good show, regardless of what the audience is doing. They pay their money, like everybody else. They paid to see a looney.

Rave-Up: Is that how you see yourself?

Zodiac: Yeah, I'm a dancing bear.

Rave-Up: Are you happy with the level of success that you have at the moment?

Zodiac: I actually want to follow Mötley Crüe and buy myself an island. I want to be bigger than Michael Jackson.

Rave-Up: So, who else do you listen to?

Zodiac Mindwarp on the cover of Kerrang!

Zodiac: I like Bruce Springsteen!

Rave-Up: How do feel about John Cougar Mellencamp?

Zodiac: He's alright. I prefer Bruce, though.

Rave-Up: Did you enjoy New York?

Zodiac: It was filthy and unpleasant, and everyone had a very hostile attitude. They all sound like, "What's your problem?" "You got a problem?" "You talkin' to me?"

Rave-Up: Did you ride on the subway?

Zodiac: No, I've seen Death Wish!

Rave-Up: Did you see much of the Midwest or the Mojave Desert on your way to California?

Zodiac: No, except out the window.

Rave-Up: You guys should have rented some Harleys and gone out into the desert!

Zodiac: With our luck, we probably would've run out of petrol and starved on some desert road.

Advert for the 30th-anniversary tour of
Tattooed Beat Messiah - 2018/2019