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Wendy James: Racine back to the top
by Conrad Astley2/ 6/2005
THERE was a time when her face adorned T-shirts, which appeared
to be worn by every other person walking down the high
street.
For several years in the late 80s and early 90s, Transvision Vamp
seemed like the biggest band on the planet, and Wendy James' early
life read like the perfect rock 'n' roll story.
She left home days after her 16th birthday, started going to punk
gigs, bumped into a Keith Richards look-alike called Nick
Christian, carrying a Suicide album in one hand and a bottle of
amyl nitrate in the other.
He told her he was looking for a singer. They formed Transvision
Vamp, saw the world, released million-selling records. And then
split up before it all went stale.
Now back with her new band Racine - which was Al Capone's base in
Chicago - the singer is older and wiser but doesn't regret a
thing.
"I can't say I was as involved in Transvision Vamp as I am with
what I do now," she said.
"I was 16 when we started, I wasn't related to all the decisions
that a band makes.
"Also, we were signed to a major label with all the different
departments making decisions for us.
"They said `we want you to do this', so we went `ok, we'll do
that.' There was no reason why we would scrutinise it.
"But now, I pretty much do what I like."
If Wendy James seems to have been ominously quiet for over a
decade, she has been spending her time usefully.
After Transvision Vamp split, the band's label MCA struck a deal,
making her switch to Geffen, where Elvis Costello wrote her the
album Now Ain't The Time For Your Tears.
With huge backing from the label, Rolling Stones producer Chris
Kimsey at the helm and Bob Dylan's band playing, the album should
have been a hit. It wasn't.
Despite the press attention it received and the credible muso
associations, Wendy's claim that she would become a Madonna-sized
star within years was not to come true.
The album did not make an impact on the top 40, was ripped apart by
critics, and the singer hated the experience of recording it in the
south of France.
She realised the time was right for a reappraisal, spent years
teaching herself to play guitar, keyboards, and drums, and began
writing her own songs - something she had never done before.
She said: "It really does take a long time, if you're going to be
integral to every step of the process.
"I had to go back to the start, I had to learn how to play all the
instruments and learn how to write songs that were good enough to
serve on a demo that would be made into a finished record.
"Making the entire thing from scratch takes as long as it takes. It
hasn't been frustrating at all, it's been an adventure."
Another adventure was moving to New York, the city she fell in love
with at the age of 17, where she recruited bandmates Singh Birdsong
and Ray Sullivan, and recorded her album Racine Number One.
The world has changed since Transvision Vamp's heyday - the band
fell apart after they started to sound hopelessly dated in
comparison to Public Enemy, De La Soul and The Stone Roses.
Wendy says she now listens to hip hop almost constantly, rather
than white rock, with 50 Cent and Jay-Z among her favourites, and
believes the influence can be heard in Racine's music.
She has high hopes for the band, and is now beginning to think
about their second album, just after the debut's released.
Meanwhile, she is also looking for new acts to sign to Pia-K, the
label she set up to release Racine's music.
So, for the time being, it seems a Transvision Vamp reunion can be
ruled out.
She said: "That association can be a benefit because people at
radio stations and magazines have got some knowledge of my past
life, and there's a ton of fans who grew up with Transvision Vamp,
and that's all good.
"But I've got nothing to do with that any more, it's not something
I think about.
"When I play shows, usually about three quarters of the audience
have never heard of Transvision Vamp. Only people connected with
the industry and old fans know who I am.
"I'm still in touch with the old band members. It's quite a legacy,
to see them in the audience really happy for me.
"I don't regret anything about those days.
"We had some excellent moments and in the end our trajectory began
falling.
"Things always rise and fall in a natural way. I believe everything
you do is the right thing to do."
Racine play Academy Three on Monday
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