Absolute Whores
Encyclopedia
'Absolute Whores' are a Canadian
indie rock
/Cowpunk
band most active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band consisted of Greg McConnell
as Ugly Dick Adonis, Vaughan Passmore as Blind Pig Neuton, Albert Saxby as Clint Rude. Michael Lavery as Sven Campbell and Johnny Trash as himself. They played their first show at Toronto's musical landmark Isabella Hotel in 1984, after convincing the hotel manager Joe Freid that Absolute Whores was an artistic reference, and not a sexual one. After many bass players - The Cursed Gerald, Brent Ruddy - and more guitarists - "Hot Fingers" McWhinnie, Meanus De Vilo - the band settled into the above line-up.
Their debut recording was a 1985 demo cassette entitled Killing An Elvis
Song For You. (The song was "Heartbreak Hotel".) The accompanying poster has been referred to as "One of the greatest pieces of pop art of all time".
The band continued to host jam nights at Toronto's Hotel Isabella to fund the printing of their newspaper, The Whore's Rag. The first edition earned them instant notoriety as it satirized and ridiculed many of the local sacred cows that no one was prepared to criticize for fear of career-damaging reprisal. Singer Johnny Trash commented
"Any such move would be redundant as no one can wreck the band's career better than me."
The band also released another cassette entitled "Product" in 1985, a single, "I'm An Asshole (For Your Love)", in 1986 and in 1989 its only full-length album, an eponymous effort which featured another Elvis cover, "All Shook Up" (with the verb replaced with something more artistically accurate), and a Replacements cover, "Here Comes a Regular".
The band currently plays once a year, generally on Halloween.
In 1997, Trash and Passmore joined McConnell in his new band, Strato-Chief. That band released its debut, Turbines for Speed in 1998 and their subsequent CD, In Search of the Seven Foot Woman, as a posthumous tribute to McConnell in 2000.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/Cowpunk
Cowpunk
Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...
band most active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band consisted of Greg McConnell
Greg McConnell
Greg McConnell was a Canadian indie rock musician, who was a member of the alternative country bands Absolute Whores , Lost Dakotas and Stratochief....
as Ugly Dick Adonis, Vaughan Passmore as Blind Pig Neuton, Albert Saxby as Clint Rude. Michael Lavery as Sven Campbell and Johnny Trash as himself. They played their first show at Toronto's musical landmark Isabella Hotel in 1984, after convincing the hotel manager Joe Freid that Absolute Whores was an artistic reference, and not a sexual one. After many bass players - The Cursed Gerald, Brent Ruddy - and more guitarists - "Hot Fingers" McWhinnie, Meanus De Vilo - the band settled into the above line-up.
Their debut recording was a 1985 demo cassette entitled Killing An Elvis
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
Song For You. (The song was "Heartbreak Hotel".) The accompanying poster has been referred to as "One of the greatest pieces of pop art of all time".
The band continued to host jam nights at Toronto's Hotel Isabella to fund the printing of their newspaper, The Whore's Rag. The first edition earned them instant notoriety as it satirized and ridiculed many of the local sacred cows that no one was prepared to criticize for fear of career-damaging reprisal. Singer Johnny Trash commented
"Any such move would be redundant as no one can wreck the band's career better than me."
The band also released another cassette entitled "Product" in 1985, a single, "I'm An Asshole (For Your Love)", in 1986 and in 1989 its only full-length album, an eponymous effort which featured another Elvis cover, "All Shook Up" (with the verb replaced with something more artistically accurate), and a Replacements cover, "Here Comes a Regular".
The band currently plays once a year, generally on Halloween.
In 1997, Trash and Passmore joined McConnell in his new band, Strato-Chief. That band released its debut, Turbines for Speed in 1998 and their subsequent CD, In Search of the Seven Foot Woman, as a posthumous tribute to McConnell in 2000.