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.
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.
T & T GALLERIES
Extra
page: "THE BLITZ /JAPAN" taken from a Japanese site devoted to '80's music
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