B-Boys in the Batcave

Someone posted this flyer on the Ritz-centric Facebook group, The Ritz NYC. Obviously, I’ve spoken about both my love for the Ritz and the Rock Hotel series here several times before (see here and here, just as two examples). This is a cool flyer in that it showcases a slew of my favorite bands, and I’m guessing that this dates back to 1988, and I believe I was at that Dead Boys reunion show. Those were never to be missed.

In any case, the thing that really caught my eye here, though, is at the bottom – look at the January 7th show:

Did that really happen? Did Alien Sex Fiend and Schooly D share the same bill? I have seen no further evidence of this having occurred.

Alien Sex Fiend, for those who may be unfamiliar, are a storied British goth band from the Batcave scene who largely ditched the stylish finesse of Bauhaus and Siouxsie in favor of a more luridly camp, bawdy and not-just-a-little ridiculous aesthetic that owed more to the Cramps and Alice Cooper. I’ve written about them here before, but their sophomore album Acid Bath is a goddamn classic. Seek it out.

Schooly D, conversely, is an old school, hardcore rapper of some renown, notable for such pugnacious tracks as “Smoke Some Kill,” “I Don’t Like Rock & Roll” and, of course, “Mr. Big Dick.” Not sure what he’s been up to since then, although he did famously record the theme song to the “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” back in the 2000’s.

In any case, the notion of Alien Sex Fiend and Schooly D sharing the same bill is simply too bizarre to fathom. That said, if you listen to “Attack #2” by Alien Sex Fiend off the afore-cited Acid Bath (below), they did include a sample recording of the call letters of Disco 92, WKTU, which – in the early-to-mid 80’s, at least – would have been the only major radio station bold enough to be playing Schooly D’s records, so maybe there was a shared affinity? I have a hard time picturing Schooly D being down with Nik Fiend, but stranger things have surely happened.

Could this show have inspired the great, star-crossed goth/hip-hop alliance that spawned the Sisters of Mercy/Public Enemy co-billing a decade later?

Any intel to share?

Comments

[Stephen Popkin]

I saw Can Calloway open for Schooly D at The Limelight circa 1991.

[Greg Fasolino]

Can confirm, this show did not happen. Alas, their entire 1988 U.S. tour was canceled and we had to wait a year for them to finally play NY for the first time since early 1984.