Considered one of L.A.'s early punk bands, Venus & the Razor Blades were a creation of Kim Fowley--the producer/manager/songwriter/vocalist who gave us everyone from the Hollywood Argyles (&"Alley Oop") to the all-girl hard rock/metal band The Runaways. Iggy Pop and The New York Dolls were among the artists who influenced this short-lived, mostly female outfit, whose best songs were as fun and humorous as they were trashy and decadent. Fowley assembled the band in 1976, when he auditioned quite a few artists and ended up hiring guitarist/singer Steven T., rhythm guitarist Roni Lee, bassist Danielle Faye (who had been with an L.A. band called Atomic Kid), drummer Nickey Beat (who was soon replaced by Kyle Raven) and singers Dyan Diamond and Vicki Arnold, aka Vicki Razor Blade. Arnold was only 17 when Fowley hired her, and Diamond was only 14--although her gritty belting sounded like the work of a woman in her early 20s. Fowley produced and co-wrote various singles for the band, including "I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are" and "Punk-A-Rama" on Bomp and "Dog Food" on Spark. While those singles weren't big sellers, Venus & the Razor Blades managed to acquire a tiny underground cult following before breaking up in 1977. Diamond went solo the following year, when Fowley produced her excellent but neglected solo album, In The Dark, for MCA. It was also in 1978 that Fowley assembled the Venus & the Razor Blades collection Songs from the Sunshine Jungle for the Visa label. ~ Alex Henderson