March 1997 Magazine

August 29th 1977 was the date of a bank holiday Punk Festival. Barbarella's was one of the few venues in Birmingham that would put on such acts and this was the first all day event.

Among the 20 or so acts that day were local band Model Mania who loaned Spizz a guitar. Spizz then convinced the promoter that he was a local hero and was given a ten minute slot. The entire set was improvised and the promoter realising cut the PA. To many this would have been a setback but to Spizz this was a turning point. "I've been switched off!" he repeated. The audience responded "He's been switched off!". Forcibly removed from the stage by security the audience spontaneously mobbed the diminutive one. They then proceeded to carry him round the venue chanting "He's been switched off!" Several minutes later he was returned to the stage to a thunderous applause from around a thousand people. The public wanted more. Spizz was one of them. The day continued but the highlight of the day had passed and Spizz is pictured top right ecstatic after his first public performance.

Just over a year later Spizz returned to Birmingham as part of the Siouxie and the Banshees Scream tour. This time his name was on the poster.

Following the success of Where's Captain Kirk? the band signed to A&M and became known as the band that changes its name every year. A brilliant idea providing you are hugely successful. The main problem is keeping the public informed of the changes when out of the limelight. Even the Guinness Book of Records did not deem having the band with the most different names worthy of a mention. Amusingly, the Deputy Editor, Sheelagh Thomas, was a fan and had bought the original Where's Captain Kirk? and was sorry that the suggestion was a little too specialised. However eating a complete motorbike is not and that is in the book. It is generally thought that these are the two main reasons why the name changes came to an end but have they?