Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction were a British hard rock group, which was formed in 1985.
Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial hard rock featuring big riffs and choruses, as was the trend in the band's heyday of the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s. The camp lyrics are intended as self-parody, and can be seen as either humorous, or offensive by those who take them at face value, for their often lascivious and misogynist tone. Song titles like "Back Seat Education", "Feed My Frankenstein", "High Heeled Heaven", and "Trash Madonna" illustrate Mindwarp's tongue-in-cheek approach. Lyrical content also exhibits a send up of cult worship, often of Zodiac Mindwarp's self-proclaimed raging libido, with Mindwarp claiming the titles 'Sex Fuhrer', 'Love Dictator', 'President of the United States of Love' and 'High Priest of Love'.
The band is the brainchild of Mark Manning, a former graphic artist and art editor of the now defunct Flexipop! magazine. The magazine folded back in 1982, but the hedonistic lifestyle of the rock and pop stars who frequented the magazine's offices fueled his desire to experience the debauchery of life as a decadent rock star. He joined another music publication called Metal Fury as a graphic designer, but assumed the alter ego 'Zodiac Mindwarp' at night. Zodiac Mindwarp was the namesake of a series of underground comics written and illustrated by Spain Rodriguez. Zodiac soon left Metal Fury and formed the Love Reaction in 1985 with Jimmy Cauty (who later formed The Orb, Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu and The KLF) on guitar; Kid Chaos (Stephen Harris) on bass; and Boom Boom Kaboomski on drums.
Links to Peel[]
Peel played a track from the group on his show in the summer of 1986 via their 'High Priest Of Love' single. There is no evidence that he played any further material from the group on his radio programmes.
Shows Played[]
- 23 July 1986: Kick Start Me For Love (12" - High Priest Of Love) Food