Marc And The Mambas

Marc And The Mambas was formed in early January of 1982. The line-up of the Mambas at this time was minimal, Marc Almond, Anni Hogan, Tim Taylor, and David Ball. But it was not untill March of 1982 that there first single 'Sleaze' was released and made available only to 'Cellmates' fan club members. The actual song 'Sleaze' was a double A-side of 'Fun City'. 'Untitled' was the first album from Marc And The Mambas released in September of 1982. It featured a double format of LP and 12" single. The 12" has the catalogue number BZS 14 and both inner sleeves are labeled with their respective numbers along with a distinctive 'eyes' design. The band had changed slightly since 'Sleaze', still the nucleus of Marc and Annie Hogan, but with the added instrumentation of Matt Johnson and backing vocals of Cindy Ecstacy. In June of 1983 the single 'Black Heart' was released on both 7" and 12" formats. 'Black Heart' was later re-recorded as part of a medley and was released as one of the bonus tracks on 'The House Is Haunted' 12" and 7" double pack. The album 'Torment And Toreros' was released in August 1983. Many still regard it is an example of Marc's best work. 'Torment was the final single form Marc And The Mambas released in November of 1983 on 12" format only, although a 7" promo does exist in just a plain black sleeve. The third and final album and may I ad is extremely rare is 'Bite Black And Blues' which was released early December and was made available only to Gutterheart fan club members. The album contains early works of 'Memoralbilia', and a extremely rare dub version of 'Black Heart'. On December 30th of 1983 Marc personally visited a record reviewer at a nearby radio station with a bull whip in one hand and a violin in the other announcing the official end of the Mambas.