The Rezillos
“When I was asked to contribute to the exhibition, I felt like a rock and roll caveman,” says Eugene Reynolds of The Rezillos, who will play at the launch of Rip It Up at Summerhall in Edinburgh on June 24.
Fellow Rezillo Fay Fife agrees. “I’ve finally accepted I’m a punk artefact,” she admits. “I’m honoured that the museum’s displaying my purple PVC mini-dress and Eugene’s green vinyl jumpsuit. Eugene and I wore black plastic jumpsuits once and by halfway through our set, we’d nearly expired!”
Eugene adds, “Everyone else in The Rezillos – and our subsequent reincarnation, The Revillos – threw everything away. But my garage is an archive of everything imaginable to do with The Rezillos.”
The band released their first album 40 years ago this summer, split at the height of their fame and reunited in 2001 for a gig with The Proclaimers. “We’ve been gigging all over the world since,” says Fay, who gained a PHD in clinical psychology during her break from the band. Eugene focused on his motorcycle business and garden, explaining, “I can be a wild man of rock, but not 24 hours a day!”