Guitarist/vocalist Toby Swann is originally from England and formed Toronto's The Battered Wives in 1977 with Toronto natives Larry "Jasper" Klassen and Cleave Anderson.
The Battered Wives gained a reputation on Queen Street as aggressive rabble rousers. Fellow Brit, John Gibb, a clothing boutique owner on Queen Street, had heard about the band through their reputation and managed to convince the members they needed him.
Within a year they had signed with fledgling Bomb Records out of Toronto who released their first album, simply titled 'The Battered Wives', and they headed out on tour with Elvis Costello. But, it wasn't long before women's groups were down their backs for not only the name, but for their logo -- a fist with lipstick smeared across the knuckles.
The women's groups began to picket every venue the band played and doing a set list featuring such tunes as "Uganda Stomp" (about Idi Amin) and "Lover's Balls" didn't sit well with the pre-PMRC parents groups either.
Despite the controversy, or maybe because of it, the Battered Wives built up a huge following which managed to push the sales of the self-titled debut to gold status (50,000 copies) -- an unprecedented event for a debut by a Canadian 'New Wave' group at the time.
The continual upheaval and media spectacle was too much for Cleave Anderson and soon departed to beat the skins for The Sharks (with Sherry Kean). He was quickly replaced by Patrick Mooney.
A second album was recorded, but Bomb Records had run out of money and the album sat for almost a year before they licensed it to Epic. However, Epic refused to release the disc unless the band changed their name to 'The Wives'. Controversy or not, the album only sold 5,500 copies but still managed to win the band a Juno Award (a Canadian version of The Grammy) for 'Best Album Graphics'.
The Wives had seen no promotion on the western leg of their 1979 tour and asked to be released from their deal with Epic Records citing breach of contract. Ready Records were quick to pick up the newsworthy band and let them return the 'Battered' to their names for their 1980 album 'Live On Mothers' Day'.
Alas, the punk hedonism was long gone and the industry failed to recognize the band and they split up. Swann moved on to both a solo career (he would have a seminal underground hit with 'Lullabyes In Razorland' and its slash-and-burn remake of the Judy Garland classic "Somewhere Over The Rainbow") and as founder of Gamma Gamma. He was last seen sailing off into the razorland sunset.
with notes from John Hamilton and Patrick Mooney.
Singles
1981 Somewhere Over The Rainbow/Lullabyes In Razorland (El Mocambo)
1981 Diamond World/Jonathan (El Mocambo)
1981 Magic/You're Wrong (El Mocambo)
with THE BATTERED WIVES
1978 Uganda Stomp/Giddy (Bomb)
1979 Daredevil/You Better Be Right (Line - Germany)
1980 Keep A Knockin'/Daredevil (Ready)
with THE WIVES
1979 Sex & Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll/Pass Out (Bomb/Epic) [could only be obtained by buying the 'Cigarettes' album]
Albums
1981 Lullabyes In Razorland (El Mocambo)
1986 Imaginary Angels [cassette] (El Mocambo)
with THE BATTERED WIVES
1978 Battered Wives (Bomb) [also released on red vinyl]
1980 Live On Mothers' Day (Ready)
with THE WIVES
1979 Cigarettes (Bomb/Epic) [included the bonus 7" single "Sex & Drugs and Rock'n' Roll"]
with THE BATTERED WIVES
1996 Battered Wives (Pacemaker)
1996 Cigarettes (Pacemaker)
Video
Compilation Tracks
with THE BATTERED WIVES
1981 "Daredevil" on 'Bomb Catalogue No.1' (Bomb)
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