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)
Echoes
Alien Sex Fiend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine.
And no-one called us to the land
But something stirs and something tries
And starts to climb towards the light
Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no-one calls us to move on
And no-one forces down our eyes
And no-one speaks and no-one tries
And no-one flies around the sun
Cloudless everyday you fall upon my waking eyes
inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no-one sings me lullabies
And no-one makes me close my eyes
And so I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky
"Echoes" by Alien Sex Fiend is an imaginative and poetic song that speaks on the themes of nature, identity, and connections. The first stanza paints a picturesque image of an albatross hovering in the sky while the echoes of a distant time resound in the underwater caves. The next verse portrays a desire for something unknown, something that stirs and tries to reach the light amidst the unknown. The third verse delves into the idea of identity, capturing the intersection of two strangers, two separate glances with an underlying similarity. The singer poses the question whether they should hold hands and venture through the unknown to better understand each other. The final verse speaks to the idea of renewal, urging one to throw open the windows of the mind and be receptive to the world without any inhibitions.
The lyrics of "Echoes" seem to embrace a kind of surrealist perspective, transporting listeners into an imaginative realm filled with visual metaphors and sonic snapshots. The absence of punctuation marks contributes to the free-flowing and dreamlike quality of the song. The lyrics do not follow a linear narrative but evoke feelings of curiosity and wonder.
Line by Line Meaning
Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air
The singer observes an albatross hovering high in the sky.
And deep beneath the rolling waves
The singer looks beneath the ocean's waves.
In labyrinths of coral caves
The singer sees the twists and turns of coral caves underwater.
The echo of a distant time
The artist hears echoes of the past.
Comes willowing across the sand
The echoes drift across the ocean floor.
And everything is green and submarine.
Everything the singer observes has a green tint due to the underwater perspective.
And no-one called us to the land
The singer is currently underwater and hasn't been beckoned to the surface.
And no-one knows the wheres or whys
No one knows the destination or cause of the artist's journey.
But something stirs and something tries
Despite the absence of direction, something inside the artist longs for a purpose.
And starts to climb towards the light
The artist begins to move upward, in search of light.
Strangers passing in the street
The singer observes two strangers crossing paths.
By chance two separate glances meet
The two strangers make eye contact by coincidence.
And I am you and what I see is me
The singer identifies with both strangers, and sees their reflections in himself.
And do I take you by the hand
The singer considers taking one of the strangers by the hand.
And lead you through the land
The singer considers guiding the stranger through an unknown territory.
And help me understand the best I can
The artist seeks knowledge and understanding of the world.
And no-one calls us to move on
The artist and the strangers are left to their own devices; no one tells them how to proceed.
And no-one forces down our eyes
There is no pressure or coercion to see things a certain way.
And no-one speaks and no-one tries
No one is actively attempting to communicate or influence the singer and the strangers.
And no-one flies around the sun
The artist and the strangers are unconstrained by any external force or limit.
Cloudless everyday you fall upon my waking eyes
The artist is greeted by a cloudless sky each morning.
inviting and inciting me to rise
The clear sky encourages the artist to start their day.
And through the window in the wall
The singer looks out through an opening in their surroundings.
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
Sun rays stream in through the opening, like wings of light.
A million bright ambassadors of morning
Countless rays of sunlight represent the success of a new day.
And no-one sings me lullabies
There is no one singing the singer to sleep at night.
And no-one makes me close my eyes
No one is forcing the singer to go to bed.
And so I throw the windows wide
The artist opens a window to let in fresh air.
And call to you across the sky
The artist shouts to reach out to the world beyond their immediate surroundings.
Contributed by Thomas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.