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Romeo Void was a New Wave band from San Francisco, California active from 1979 to 1985.
They are best known for the songs "Never Say Never" (1982) and "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)" (1984), which were minor hits, with the latter becoming a Top 40 pop single. Their popularity was primarily in alternative and college radio, and as a dynamic performing act. They recorded for 415/Columbia Records. The original band members met at the San Francisco Art Institute. Most of the band members were also visual artists and did their own album art.
Romeo Void was the subject of a minor controversy in 1985 when the band's lyrics proved too offensive and led to the removal of CJSW's rooftop speakers at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
After the demise of Romeo Void, Debora Iyall, the lead singer and lyricist, released a solo album in 1986 named Strange Language. She eventually put together and sang in the groups Knife in Water and Lower East Venus. John Haines played drums for Pearl Harbor and the Explosions.
The band was reunited briefly in 2004 for a one-off concert by VH-1's Bands Reunited, although Benjamin Bossi was unable to perform due to hearing loss. The band wrote and recorded four demo tracks in October 1993 (If I Was Your Cat, Stormy Eyes, Two Rivers, and Safe Place), which were sent to Sony Music but never released.
The song "Never Say Never" was featured in the 1984 film Reckless, the 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and the 2002 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as part of the New wave radio station Wave 103
. In 2009 the band Julien-K covered Never Say Never on their debut album Death to Analog, listing the song title as Nvr Say Nvr.
Personnel- Debora Iyall: vocals
- Benjamin Bossi: saxophone
- Peter Woods: guitar
- Frank Zincavage: bass
- John "Stench" Haines: drums (''It's a Condition)
- Larry Carter: drums (Never Say Never (EP) and Benefactor)
- Aaron Smith: drums (Instincts)
- Jay Derrah: Drums 1979-1980
DiscographyStudio albums- ''It's a Condition, March 1981 (issued on CD in July 2007 with one bonus track – a cover of the 1960s instrumental "Apache" – as part of a two-fer with Debora Iyall's solo album Strange Language, 1986. "Apache" was the B-side of Romeo Void's first single , "White Sweater".)
- Benefactor, November 1982 (issued on CD in 2006 with the Never Say Never EP as bonus tracks)
- Instincts, October 1984 (issued on CD in 2003 with one bonus track)
EPs- Never Say Never, January 1982 EP co-produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars (issued on CD in 2006 as bonus tracks to Benefactor).
Compilations/Live albums- Warm, in Your Coat (compilation), 1992
Singles- White Sweater b/w Apache, 7” single, 415 Records S-0012 – February 1981
- Never Say Never, b/w Guards, 7” Single, Columbia Records # 38-03378 – November 1982
- Never Say Never, b/w Undercover Kept; Wrap It Up, 12” Single, Columbia Records # 32-08558
- A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing), b/w Going To Neon, 7” Single, Columbia Records # 38-04534 (#35 US)
- A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) (DJ edit), b/w A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) (Dance & Album versions), 12” Radio Promotional Single, Columbia Records # AS-1886
- A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) - (Dance Mix - 6:12), b/w Six Days and One, 12” Single, Columbia Records # 44-05103
- Say No, b/w Six Days & One, 7” Single, Columbia Records # 38-04660
- Say No, b/w Out on My Own (Dance Mix- 5:06), 12” Single, Columbia Records # 44-05135
Copyright Citations
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