HOW IT ALL BEGAN
SHOCK
In 1979 mime artists extraordinaire Tim Dry and Barbie Wilde united with disco champion dancers Robert Pereno, LA Richards and Karen Sparks to produce Shock; a rock / mime/burlesque/music troupe. In April 1980 they recruited another mime Sean Crawford who had a unique robotic act called Plastic Joe. The line up changed with the departure of Karen and the quick introduction and departure of Penny Dunlop who was finally replaced with long legged Carole Caplin. Shock performed in clubs like The Hacienda (Manchester) The Warehouse (Leeds) and The Blitz (London) With costumes from designers Kahn and Bell they found themselves in the vanguard of the New Romantic cult of the early '80's, alongside Boy George, Duran Duran, Adam Ant and Spandau Ballet. It was from the Blitz that their first record 'Angel Face' came, with production by Rusty Egan (Visage) and Richard Burgess (Landscape).
In 81 Shock billed with Ultravox at the legendary 'People's Palace Valentine's Ball' atthe Rainbow Theatre. This was the moment when the New Romantic scene exploded and went from being an obscure cult to a global trend. Again Shock was at the front of things in the US when in March Ö81 in Downtown Manhattan they were asked to support a new artist called Prince.And the list of who they have worked with goes on but Shock did catch the eye of one super star which led onto their biggest live concert in April '81 and that was with Gary Numan at Wembley Arena.
TIK and TOK
Whilst in Shock Tim and Sean did do a robotic piece together but the true birth of the characters Tik and Tok in their white faces, bow ties and tail jackets was on 24th July 1980, busking outside San Lorenzo's restaurant in Beauchamp Place. The busking proved to be very lucrative and Tik and Tok moved on to create the pitch in the new Covent Garden Piazza which has now become a world renowned place of street entertainment. It was like standing by a cash machine that just didn't stop throwing money out. Tik and Tok went on to appear on innumerable TV shows (including The Royal Variety Show 1983), supported Duran Duran at Birmingham Odeon in '82, worked with Vangelis at his home studio, were themselves supported by a fledgling Depeche Mode, got a huge amount of press coverage and released 5 singles and a well received album on the Survival label in the UK, Germany and Japan.
They went to Tokyo for a while and had featured roles in the third Star Wars movie "Return Of The Jedi ". Last, but by no means least, they were the support act on Gary Numan's comeback tour "Warriors" in 1983.
But meanwhile, back in Tik & Tok world, here follows a gallery of photos in chronological order of our android heroes. From the 1st picture way back in 1980 to the last shots in 1984. And also there's pictures of Tim & Sean in the 2000's taken at some of the many 'Star Wars' autograph Conventions that they've attended. Click Gallery link below.
Extra page: "THE BLITZ /JAPAN" taken from a Japanese site devoted to '80's music