Romeo Void
Another request to fulfill today, ladies and gentlemen. Today’s featured band is San Francisco based post-punk/new wave act Romeo Void.
Formed in 1979 by a group of college art school chums, Romeo Void would stir up a slice of controversy with their sex-fused lyrics and fiery performances. However, this controversy would not stop the band, led by Debora Iyall, from scoring a few independent hits for Columbia Records over the course of six years.
Romeo Void would record three full length records and one EP before officially disbanding in 1985 due to an apparent slew of lineup changes. Debora would release one solo record in 1986 before forming a handful of bands (including current outfit Knife In Water) while other remaining members would soon do the same. The band reunited in 1992 for a handful of benefit gigs for a friend and have since performed a one-off show on Vh1’s behalf in 2003. Though new material is rumoured to have been recorded since the band’s demise, no new tracks have appeared. Instead, the band’s legacy has sadly diminished to that unforgettable catchy chorus from the song ‘Never Say Never.’ The song features one of the most remembered lines of the 1980s- ‘I might like you better if we slept together’ and is to this date, a dancefloor favorite.
I’ve uploaded an extended (and far superior than the broadcasted version) mix of ‘Never Say Never’ plucked from the EP of the same name. The second featured tune is a personal favorite from their 1982 record Benefactor.
download Romeo Void- ‘Never Say Never (12” Single Version)’
download Romeo Void- ‘Chinatown’
And for your viewing pleasure, here’s a video for the song ‘Say No’ from their first record, 1981’s Instincts.
A few scattered links:
Debora Iyall’s website
Romeo Void on Amazon.com
September 27, 2007 at 4:41 pm
creepy singing taxidermied animals!
aces!
September 27, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I have their first on LP (!) and I have Debra Iyall’s solo album. MEH. Is a lucky thing I got that one free at the record company I worked at. She wasn’t able to figure out “who she wanted to be” with that one and it’s extremely disjointed.
September 28, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Thanks all for the reminder of how artists’ work gets reduced to catchy put-downs and dismissed. Romeo Void also reunited in 1992 to play a few benefits at Slim’s in SF for an ailing friend.
FYI: My name is spelled Debora.
September 28, 2007 at 5:26 pm
i pray my post didn’t imply that i felt that way about the band…i rather like Benefactor on the whole, and i’m aiming to seek out the rest of the material! i think it’s a crying shame that bands are often pegged as one-hit wonders despite having other great records and tracks under their belt. most of my favorites and artists i post here have hardly gotten any credit for their stellar efforts, perhaps a mission statement with this blog…to give credit and exposure to some favorite music that might not have received it initially.
thank you for the corrections and edits- and again, i pray i didn’t offend you with this post.
September 30, 2007 at 5:36 pm
No worries. I tried to reply to your message at my MySpace page but it said, “Reply didn’t pass the spam filter.” Hmmmm. Anyway, we’re cool.
Peace, Debora
July 21, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Thanks for the link to the full 12" extended version of never say never, every one i googled (rapidshare etc) was missing the last 10-15 secs and was at best 128kbps instead of 192kbps, even amazon only had this version as part of a group of 12 " singles