About Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their debut EP Your Cassette Pet in 1980 and had their first UK top 10 hit with "Go Wild in the Country" in 1982. The band's music was characterized by a danceable new wave sound that drew on a Burundi beat provided by Dave Barbarossa on drums, as well as the subversive, suggestive, and sometimes exuberant lyrics sung and chanted by their teenage lead vocalist.
In 1980, former Sex Pistols manager McLaren persuaded David Barbarossa , guitarist Matthew Ashman and bassist Leigh Gorman to leave Adam Ant and form a new group under McLaren's management. The band embarked on a six-month audition process for a lead singer. Talent scout Dave Fishel heard 13-year-old Lwin singing along to the radio at a West Hampstead dry cleaner where she worked, and Fishel persuaded McLaren to audition her. Shortly after Lwin joined the group, McLaren added a second lead singer, George Alan O'Dowd, dubbed "Lieutenant Lush" . His stay was short-lived, however; O'Dowd soon formed a new band called Culture Club and went on to stardom under the name "Boy George".
Bow Wow Wow signed with EMI Records in July 1980 and released their first single, "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!" shortly after that. Initially released only on cassette, it was the world's first-ever cassette single . EMI did not promote the "cassingle" due to its lyrics , which promoted home taping at a time when music piracy was a hot-button issue. The B-side, "Sun, Sea and Piracy", also promoted home taping, then lying on a beach and enjoying the fruits of this labour. Both tracks were on side one of the tape, making the second side blank, presumably so the listener could follow Annabella's lead. Despite its lack of promotion, "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!" reached No. 34 on the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for seven weeks.
Bow Wow Wow performed on a Peel Session on 20 October 1980, and in November, they released the cassette-only mini-album Your Cassette Pet. It contained only eight tracks and was not available on vinyl; therefore, it was ineligible for the UK Albums Chart. However, it peaked at No. 58 on the UK Singles Chart. One notorious track from the mini-album was "Sexy Eiffel Towers". It was credited to Ashman, Barbarossa, Gorman, and McLaren and included suggestive moaning and heavy breathing performed by then-14-year-old Lwin. Other controversial tracks included "Louis Quatorze" , "Uomo Sex Al Apache", and "Radio G-String". All tracks on My Cassette Pet are credited to the four men except "Fools Rush In". McLaren was already renowned for his creative use of provocation to raise public awareness of his projects .
Both "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!" and Your Cassette Pet ranked among the top 10 "Tracks of the Year" for 1980 by NME. When their second single, "W.O.R.K. " failed to chart, EMI dropped the group.
In 1981, after splitting from EMI, Bow Wow Wow signed with A&R head Bill Kimber at the U.K. division of RCA Records. Their first full-length album was released in October of that year: See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy! The cover photograph depicted the band recreating Édouard Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe with a then 14-year-old Lwin posing nude, with her side turned toward the camera and arm and leg positioned to hide explicit content. The cover caused outrage, and Lwin was almost made to quit the band due to the controversy. Lwin's mother alleged exploitation of a minor for immoral purposes and instigated a Scotland Yard investigation. As a result, the band was forbidden to leave the UK until McLaren promised not to promote Annabella as a "sex kitten". Regardless, the photo appeared a second time on the cover of the band's follow-up EP The Last of the Mohicans.
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