Boy George was tossed aside and Lwin stepped up front and center as the only girl in the band. Their mix of African drumming, heavy bass lines and highly-sexed song lyrics coupled with the "controvery" (really huge amounts of publicity) over Lwin's underage status, threw Bow Wow Wow into the international punk/New Wave music scene in a matter of months.

McLaren was not only an advocate of creative publicity, but also an early champion of what was then the 80s version of Napster, HOME TAPING on cassettes. Why should a group of friends each pay what was then some $13US for an album, when you could buy one on vinyl (this is only shortly before the advent of CDs) and swap tapes with your friends. C30,C60,C90, GO! was McLaren's paean to home taping and the bane of the record industry. He released a cassette-only collection called My Cassette Pet. Haven't seen a copy in years, so it was with great nostalgia I picked up the disc a few years ago in Atlanta. Never thought I'd see it again in any form.

Another great scheme McLaren cooked up was the EP release entitled THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS featuring a naked Lwin and the fully-clothed guys posing in the manner of Manet's "Dejeuner sur l'Herbe." I remember buying it, and thinking it was the coolest album cover I'd ever seen. The 4-song EP featured LOUIS QUATORZE, I WANT CANDY and MILE-HIGH CLUB which also showed up on another release called simply Bow Wow Wow, with Lwin body-painted all in gold (a la Goldfinger, no doubt) and wearing nothing but her mohawk. That album featured their video hit BABY, OH NO which was featured on USA Network's late-night music show Night Flight with a profile of the group. Lwin made a telling comment on the public's perception of their music when she said that most critics and listeners labeled their sound "primitive, sounds like you don't know what you're doing." Their motivation was to have a good time and make music doing it. The party didn't last much longer though...

Typical star tantrums on the part of Lwin, and general discord among the band members over Lwin's star status (reminds one of Gwen Stefani and No Doubt, doesn't it?) led to a rapid decline after just a couple full-length albums, the last of which WHEN THE GOING GET TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING was their only Stateside hit. An appearance on the TV show, Solid Gold coincided with their US tour promoting the album. Then, Lwin did a solo album or two, and the greatest hits compilations have been following ever since.

BWW is not your usual punk-rock/New Wave 80s sound. It's an acquired taste for many listeners, especially if you weren't around the first time they hit the airwaves. Still gotta love their chutzpah for their style and their music!!


Gold I said!   March 23, 2002
itsjoev (Kalamazoo, MI)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Chunka-chunka guitars and percussion overload. Surf-sounding mysteriosos and breathless, ridiculous, sex-filled lyrics. I love BWW. they were funny, smart, and stylish. The albumthat this reminds one of was an early import that many new-wavers bought in the early 80s after we'd used up See Jungle See Jungle and needed more! The track listing is NOT the same as that priceless import classic, but it'll do for the true fan. Everyone else proceed with caution. If you like the rawer Adam and the Ants of "kings of the wild frontier" you might like this. Just wading in? Buy "See Jungle See Jungle..." first. Either one has "go Wild in the country" a BRILLIANT song.


Good, liner notes are good!   December 10, 1999
Chris Hall (Bloomington, MN)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Although I wouldn't call this the BEST collection of Bow wow wow's career, I'd say this is a decent album to have, especially since it has great liner notes and photos in the insert.


A real ear opener   July 5, 1999
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I've been searching for this album for a long time - I'm sure it was called something else when I had it on vinyl years ago - no wonder I've had so much trouble finding it. Unlike your first reviewer I find the lyrics hilarious - "Sexy Eiffel Tower" a great wedding song for instance!


Get cut-out and save   November 4, 2000
kireviewer (Sunnyvale, Ca United States)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Bow Wow Wow was one of many female-fronted New Wave bands from the early eighties. These bands evolved from the punk scene and were influenced by some extent by the disco scene. They sang shorter songs, backed by an electronic beat. The lead singer would have a girlish, but sexy voice and sort of shout/sing the lyrics. Groups included Romeo Void, Motels, Berlin and Missing Persons.

Bow Wow Wow was a little bit different in that the singer had a Burmese/English accent, they had a hard driving African rhythm and they were from England (like all forms of modern music, Punk/New Wave originated in the US and was adopted by the British). Bow Wow Wow was one of the pioneers in rock videos, producing their first video before MTV first started broadcasting.

These New Wave groups did not produce many full length albums. Instead they generated tons of singles, EP's and 12 inch singles. They could take one song, remix it in different ways, and release it as several different singles. Alot these were dance mixes, aimed for the club scene (as Disco evolved from the traditional Bee Gees/Donna Summer crowd, to the Yuppie/cocaine crowd). Bow Wow Wow only released two official albums. Everything else are compilations and "greatest hits", plus one live album from the nineties.

This CD is a compilation from many different sources. It contains music from an 8 song cassette tape called "Your Cassette Pet", songs from a number of EP's plus b sides from many singles. It has 18 tracks and is 50 minutes long. All of the tracks are short, with a high energy African beat.

This isn't Bow Wow Wow's best CD. The songs are mostly from the earlier, more silly stage of the group. The continious, staccaco beat, song after song, is a bit tiring and hard to take in a single sitting. But, if you want to put something on and dance like crazy for 50 minutes, this is the perfect CD.

If you can find this CD at the cut out price, it is quite a bargain.