Alien Sex Fiend are an English gothic rock band, formed in London, England … Read Full Bio ↴Alien Sex Fiend are an English gothic rock band, formed in London, England in 1982. The current lineup of the band consists of Nik Fiend and Mrs Fiend. Five of the group's albums and 12 of their singles reached top 20 positions in the UK indie charts in the period up to 1987. Alien Sex Fiend were formed by Nik Wade (Nik Fiend), Christine Wade (Mrs Fiend), David James (Yaxi Highrizer) and Johnny Freshwater (Johnny Ha-Ha) in late 1982 at the Batcave club in London (where Nik worked). The band became known in the gothic scene for its dark, electronic industrial-leaning sound, heavy samples, loops, dub remixes and manic vocals. Wade had previously been a member of the Alice Cooper-influenced bands the Earwigs and Mr & Mrs Demeanour, and later the punk band Demon Preacher (later known as the Demons).

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)

I Wish I Wuz a Dog
Alien Sex Fiend Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Never do a days work
I never have a wash
Never a suit
I got no need to be posh
Keep your lamp post shiny and bright
Stop, look and listen!
Never do a days work,
never have to wash,

never wear a suit,
I got no need to be posh.
Keep your lamp post shiny and bright,
cause there ain't no day,
and there ain't no night.
I wish I was a dog.
Bastardized conception,
Dogs in a line
You make the rules
Well that's just fine.
I wish I was a dog.
So you want to die
Yea you're gonna die
Who's been sleeping in my grave? (brain)
I gotta get back to what I know
I wish I was a dog
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Die-di-di-de-dit-da
Listen all you people
To the north, south, east and west.

Listen to your dog.
He knows best.

Overall Meaning

The song "Wish I Woz a Dog" by Alien Sex Fiend is a song that expresses a desire to escape the mundanity of modern life and embrace a simpler existence as a dog. The lyrics describe a life where one doesn't work or worry about cleanliness or fashion, but instead focuses on living in the moment and following basic instincts. The singer wishes to shed their human constraints and instead live by the rules of nature that dogs abide by. The overall message is a disillusionment with society and the longing for a less complicated existence.

The line "bastardized conception" refers to the idea that dogs are bred for certain traits by humans, which goes against the natural order of things. The following lines about "dogs in a line" and "you make the rules" allude to the idea of domesticating and controlling animals, which is something the singer wishes to escape from. The references to death and sleeping in a grave could be interpreted as a commentary on the futility of modern life and the inevitability of death, further reinforcing the desire to live a simpler existence as a dog.

Overall, the song expresses a desire to break free from societal norms and live a more instinctual and simplistic existence, embodied by the life of a dog.

Line by Line Meaning

Never do a days work
I don't work.

I never have a wash
I don't bathe.

Never a suit
I don't wear formal clothes.

I got no need to be posh
I don't need to be fancy or fancy things.

Keep your lamp post shiny and bright
Maintain your surroundings.

Stop, look and listen!
Be aware of your environment.

cause there ain't no day,
Because there is no concept of time.

and there ain't no night.
There is no differentiation between day and night.

I wish I was a dog.
I want to be a dog.

Bastardized conception,
Corrupted ideology.

Dogs in a line
Dogs following commands.

You make the rules
You decide what to do.

Well that's just fine.
That's okay.

So you want to die
Do you want to die?

Yea you're gonna die
Yes, you will die.

Who's been sleeping in my grave? (brain)
Who has been influencing my thoughts?

I gotta get back to what I know
I need to go back to what I am familiar with.

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Expressing excitement.

Die-di-di-de-dit-da
Silly and meaningless sounds.

Listen all you people
Everyone, hear me.

To the north, south, east and west.
In all directions.

Listen to your dog.
Pay attention to what your dog is doing.

He knows best.
Dogs are knowledgeable beings.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NICHOLAS WADE, DAVID JAMES, CHRIS WADE, JOHN FRESHWATER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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