Alien Sex Fiend recorded a cassette (The Lewd, the Mad, the Ugly and Old Nick) with Youth of Killing Joke, which brought them to the attention of the UK music press, along with the appearance of their track "R.I.P." on the Batcave club compilation, The Batcave: Young Limbs and Numb Hymns 1983, released by London Records in 1983.
They signed to the Cherry Red sub-label Anagram Records, releasing their first single, "Ignore the Machine", in August 1983. The single was immediately successful on the UK Independent Chart, reaching No. 6. Their debut studio album, Who's Been Sleeping in My Brain, was released by Anagram on 1 November 1983, followed by Acid Bath in 1984. They released the world's first 11" single, "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)", that October.
The band also recorded two BBC Peel Sessions in 1984. At the May session, they recorded "Attack!!!", "Dead and Buried", "Ignore the Machine" and "Hee Haw"; at the August session, "In God We Trust", "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)" and "Boneshaker Baby".
In October 1985, their third studio album Maximum Security reached No. 100 on the UK Albums Chart and remained there for the week of 12 October. They also had two top 100 singles with "Dead and Buried" in August 1984 (No. 91) and a reissued "Ignore the Machine" in March 1985 (No. 99). Throughout the early 1980s, their work was frequently in the UK Indie Chart and remained a fixture on American college radio.
The band also became popular in Japan, and in 1985, they released a live album recorded there, Liquid Head in Tokyo. Freshwater left later in 1985, and the band continued as a trio, supporting Alice Cooper on his "The Nightmare Returns" tour in 1986 and releasing "It" the Album that October. The band was reduced to a duo of the Wades when James left following the release of 1987's Here Cum Germs.
In early 1988, the band, as the Dynamic Duo, recorded a one-off 12" single "Batman Theme" with recording and live engineer Len Davies, before continuing as Alien Sex Fiend, incorporating electronics and sampling even more into their sound on the album Another Planet, released in November 1988. They reverted to a four-piece with the 1989 addition of two prior guest collaborators, drummer/guitarist Andrew Wilson (a.k.a. Rat Fink Jr., formerly of the Turnpike Cruisers) and keyboardist/guitarist Simon "Doc" Milton, who made their official debut on that year's Too Much Acid? double-live album. Their seventh studio album, Curse, was released in October 1990.
Fink and Milton departed in 1992, following that year's Open Head Surgery album and its subsequent tour (documented on The Altered States of America live album).
The Wades then became a duo once again and provided the soundtrack for the Digital Image Design game Inferno in 1994.
In the mid 1990s, the band's video for "Zombified" appeared on the MTV show, Beavis and Butthead, subjected to their usual commentary.
In 1996, the Wades launched their own 13th Moon label, issuing three further albums: Nocturnal Emissions (1997), Information Overload (2004) and Death Trip (2010).
On 9 November 2018, Alien Sex Fiend released Possessed, their first album in eight years, on Cherry Red.
Music style
Alien Sex Fiend has been described as gothic rock, deathrock and industrial. Glenn Danzig has cited the group's sonorous and echoing sounds as having influenced the mixing for several of the recordings for his group Samhain.
Later projects
Fink published a book in 2000, Once Upon a Fiend, recalling his experiences in the band. He later drummed for Blackpool bands United States of Mind and Dog Food before joining Uncle Fester in 1999, who changed their name to UFX in 2006. Fink currently serves as frontman of Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show, a duo also featuring Vince "Ripper" Cornwall. They perform Alien Sex Fiend and the Cramps material, and have released two albums, It's Fun to Be a Monster and Boneyard a Go Go!!!.
Albums
Who's Been Sleeping in My Brain (1983)
Acid Bath (1984)
Maximum Security (1985)
"It" the Album (1986)
Here Cum Germs (1987)
Another Planet (1988)
Curse (1990)
Open Head Surgery (1992)
Inferno (1994)
Nocturnal Emissions (1997)
Information Overload (2004)
Death Trip (2010)
Possessed (2018)
Dead & Re-Buried
Alien Sex Fiend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah! Ah!
D-D-D-Dead and buried
What was created, went on before
Burn your art out like some cheap old whore
You're all old and boring now
All the milk's been taken from the cow.
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Switched my sulph to Ajax
Ain't high but I'm clean
Never eat anything with a face on it
Know what I mean?
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Dead
Asthma attack in a purple haze
Your cards are numbered and so are my days
The living ain't easy, the living ain't clean
Makes me hot, makes me naked
Makes me feel just plain obscene
Know what I mean?
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Dead
Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah!
Ah!
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Living ain't clean, living ain't easy
Makes me feel just plain obscene
Know what I mean?
Dead dead dead!
Switched my sulph to Ajax
Ain't high but I'm clean
Never eat anything with a face on it
Know what I mean?
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Ah ah!
Ah ah!
Asthma attack in a purple haze
The cards are numbered and so are your days
Living ain't easy, living ain't clean
Makes me feel plain obscene
Know what I mean?
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Now we're all on board the mystery train
Don't know where we're going
And if we did
It's all the same
D-D-D-Dead and buried
D-D-D-Dead ah!
Ah ah!
Mm
The lyrics to Alien Sex Fiend's "Dead and Buried at the BBC" are a commentary on the decline and eventual death of creativity and artistry. The opening lines of "D-D-D-Dead and buried / What was created, went on before / Burn your art out like some cheap old whore" suggest that art and creativity are being commodified and used up. The line "all the milk's been taken from the cow" extends this metaphor, suggesting that the creative force has been exhausted.
The second verse contrasts this deadness with a sense of purity and vitality. The singer has "switched my sulph to Ajax" and "never eat[s] anything with a face on it" - in other words, they've cleaned up their act and stopped partaking in things that are damaging or unclean. The line "makes me hot, makes me naked / makes me feel just plain obscene" suggests that there is a powerful and even erotic quality to feeling truly alive.
The final verse brings back the themes of mortality and the unknown, as the "mystery train" carries everyone forward without a clear destination. Overall, the song critiques society's tendencies to transform everything into a commodity, and urges listeners to find ways to stay vital and alive in the face of these forces.
Line by Line Meaning
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Everything was created and done before, so you're old news and uninteresting
What was created, went on before
Everything has already been done before, so what's the point of trying to create anything new?
Burn your art out like some cheap old whore
Stop trying to create art because it's no longer interesting or valuable
You're all old and boring now
Everyone is old and stale, there's nothing new or exciting happening
All the milk's been taken from the cow.
Everything that was once valuable and new has already been used up and is now gone
Switched my sulph to Ajax
Changing habits to clean up and be functional, but not necessarily happy or high
Ain't high but I'm clean
Not using drugs anymore, but still not feeling great
Never eat anything with a face on it
Not eating meat or other animal products
Know what I mean?
Do you understand?
Asthma attack in a purple haze
Feeling like you can't breathe and being trapped in a confusing situation
Your cards are numbered and so are my days
Everyone has a limited time to live and will eventually die
The living ain't easy, the living ain't clean
Life is difficult and messy, and not everything is clear or straightforward
Makes me hot, makes me naked
Feeling exposed and vulnerable
Makes me feel just plain obscene
Feeling dirty and shameful for wanting things that are not socially acceptable
D-D-D-Dead and buried
Everything is stale and old news
Living ain't clean, living ain't easy
Life is messy and difficult
Dead dead dead!
Everything is dead and stagnant
Now we're all on board the mystery train
We don't know where we're going or what's happening, but we're along for the ride
Don't know where we're going
We have no direction or purpose
And if we did, it's all the same
Even if we did have direction, it wouldn't matter because everything is stale and boring
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind