ArtistInfo

Rubella Ballet

Band, *1979 GB
Alternative

Rubella Ballet formed in 1979 by Sidation (Flux of Pink Indians), Zillah Minx, Pete Fender & Gem Stone (Fatal Microbes) at the Crass gig at Conway Hall where Crass invited the audience to use their equipment and finish off the evening doing their own thing as they wanted and left the crowd in charge. So Sid being 6” 9 inches tall and at the front of the stage climbed up with Zillah and jumped on Penny’s drum kit, Zillah grabbing Steve’s mic, Pete & Gem jumping straight up and taking the bass and guitar, plugged in and started playing. Sounding like rather organised chaos this was the start of a very colourful part of what was and is the British anarcho punk scene. Sid was also drumming for Flux of Pink Indians as he lived near the band with Pete Fender and Gem Stone (Fatal Microbes), son and daughter of Vi Subversa who lived with the rest of Poison Girls at Burghley House in Epping (before the M25 ploughed through it). Sid went on to drum on the single 'Tube Disaster' that Flux released on Crass records as well as composing the music for the b-side ‘Sick Butchers’ and ‘Background To Malfunction’ at Dial House in the studio Crass rehearsed in. Flux did many gigs with Rubella Ballet and Sid ended up playing for both bands every night. Sid left after about a year touring with Flux to play full time for Rubella Ballet. The band are well known for their tribal power, haunting lyrics, psychedelic stage show and the use of nothing more than a UV lights, strobes and a bit of smoke to illuminate the band. The music has the same innovative psychedelic qualities fusing punk, tribal, dance and absolute weirdness into a myriad of music styles. Zillah Minx is synonymous for the shock value of wearing home made ultraviolet hand painted day-glo clothes along with their multi coloured day-glo hair do’s through the east end of London’s, dark, violent, poor, ghettoized, shithole, (a direct result of Thatcher’s Government). Everywhere they went not everyone smiled and laughed, some people started hurling abuse or wanting to beat them up or even threaten to kill them for being so different. Zillah Minx original punk in 1976 created and designed her own day-glo death rock clothes scene that has been copied by bands and clothes designers throughout the world and keep glowing and growing around the world.

Members

	Andy Smith g
	Eugene Crowley syn
	Gem Stone b, voc GB
	Adam g
	Sean
	Dan Sansom
	Steve Cachman g
	Sam Burnett key, perc, bvoc, g
	Sid Truelove
	Sean McCann
	Simon Roe dr
	Zilliah Ashworth
	Rachel Ashworth