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)
Here She Comes
Alien Sex Fiend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm feeling better now I've found my mind
The leaves on the tree are falling down to the ground
And I'm looking through an illusion in your mirror
Who is the man? Give us a clue
Living on thinners, choking on glue
Come back baby, where you been?
And he said Hee-Haw
And he said Hee-Haw
Here come the bone people
Knock knock knocking on the walls of Jericho
I'm burning in the desert, while some people froze
Movement in my fingers, blood runs from my nose
I'm a trickle in the stream, yeah and the wild wind blows
And he said Hee-Haw
Yeah he said Hee-Haw
Here come the bone people
Who is the man? Give us a clue
We're living on thinners and choking on glue
There ain't no Christmas, there ain't no sin
Come back baby, where you been?
Hee-Haw
Hee-Haw
Here come the bone people
The sky is red, I'm dead
The sky is blue, and so are you
Who is the man? Give us a clue
Living on thinners, you're choking on glue
Knock knock knocking, knock knock knocking
Knock knock knocking on the walls of Jericho
I'm burning in a desert, while some people froze
Movement in my fingers, blood runs from your nose
And I'm a trickle in the stream, while the wild wind blows
And he said Hee-Haw
He said Hee-Haw
Here come the bone people
The sky is red
And I'm dead.
The lyrics to Alien Sex Fiend's song "Hee-Haw" are cryptic and open to interpretation, but they suggest a sense of confusion and chaos. The opening lines, "It was just a simple case of lobotomy, I'm feeling better now I've found my mind," may indicate a mental breakdown and a subsequent sense of enlightenment. The line "The leaves on the tree are falling down to the ground, and I'm looking through an illusion in your mirror" suggests a sense of detachment from reality.
The song repeats the refrain, "Here come the bone people," which could refer to a sense of mortality or the idea that we are all just flesh and bones. The repeated question, "Who is the man? Give us a clue," further emphasizes a sense of confusion and searching for identity. The verses also mention living on thinners and choking on glue, potentially suggesting drug use and addiction.
The chorus also mentions the walls of Jericho, which in Biblical literature were famously destroyed by the Israelites through a combination of faith and sound. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for overcoming obstacles or breaking down barriers. The line "I'm burning in the desert while some people froze" could also suggest a sense of isolation and being out of step with the rest of society.
Overall, "Hee-Haw" paints a picture of a world that is confusing and unpredictable, with a protagonist who is struggling to make sense of it all.
Line by Line Meaning
It was just a simple case of lobotomy
I underwent a lobotomy, but now my mind is clearer.
I'm feeling better now I've found my mind
I feel much better now that I have regained control of my mind.
The leaves on the tree are falling down to the ground
I observe the natural order of things as autumn takes its course.
And I'm looking through an illusion in your mirror
I see beyond the façade you present of yourself in the mirror.
Who is the man? Give us a clue
Can you please provide us with more information about the person in question?
Living on thinners, choking on glue
Living a self-destructive lifestyle fueled by addiction to solvents and glue.
There ain't no Christmas, there ain't no sin
The holidays and morality as perceived by society hold no meaning to me.
Come back baby, where you been?
You've been gone, and I'm curious about your whereabouts.
And he said Hee-Haw
He uttered an inexplicable phrase.
Here come the bone people
A group of unconventional, possibly skeletal individuals is approaching.
Knock knock knocking on the walls of Jericho
The sound of someone knocking incessantly at the walls of a long-destroyed city.
I'm burning in the desert, while some people froze
I'm suffocating in a hot, dry wasteland while others suffer from frostbite.
Movement in my fingers, blood runs from my nose
My fingers are twitching, and my nose is bleeding.
I'm a trickle in the stream, yeah and the wild wind blows
I'm insignificant, like a small stream swept away by a violent gust of wind.
The sky is red, I'm dead
The sky is a foreboding shade of red, and I feel like I'm already dead.
The sky is blue, and so are you
The sky is a peaceful blue, and you share the same mood.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRIS WADE, DAVID JAMES, JOHN FRESHWATER, NICHOLAS WADE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind