Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave/pop music band that was created by manager Malcolm McClaren in 1980.
McClaren (who was the former manager of the Sex Pistols) persuaded David Barbarossa (born in 1961 in London, England), guitarist Matthew Ashman (born on November 3, 1960 in Mill Hill, England) & bassist Leigh Gorman (born on December 11, 1961 in England) to leave Adam Ant, and form a new music band under his management. The band embarked on a 6-month audition process to search for a lead singer.
Dave Fishel, a session musician, music director and talent scout from Liverpool heard then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye on October 31, 1966 in Rangoon, Burma) singing along to the radio at the laundromat she worked at and he convinced McClaren to audition her for the group.
Shortly after Annabella joined Bow Wow Wow, McClaren added a second lead singer, George Alan O’Dowd to the group; however, his stay with them was short-lived and he soon formed a new band called Culture Club, achieving fame under the name “Boy George.”
In July of 1980, Bow Wow Wow signed a record deal with EMI Records and released their first single, “C·30 C·60 C·90 Go” shortly thereafter. Despite its lack of promotion from the label, the song managed to peak at #34 on the UK Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.
In November of that same year, the band released their cassette-only debut mini-album, “Your Cassette Pet.” Because the album wasn’t available on vinyl, it was ineligible for the UK Albums chart; however, it managed to peak at #58 on the UK Singles chart.
In 1981, Bow Wow Wow released the single, “W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah, No No My Daddy Don’t)” which peaked at #62 on the UK Singles chart and managed to peak at #83 on Billboard’s Disco Top 100 chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks.
After leaving EMI Records, the band signed a record deal with RCA Records. During that same year, they released the single, “Prince of Darkness” which peaked at #58 on the UK Singles chart.
In October of 1981, they released their first full-length album, “See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!” which peaked at #26 on the UK Albums chart & #192 on the Billboard 200.
The album cover depicted the band recreating Édouard Manet’s painting, “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” which showed a then 14-year-old Annabella posing nude which caused controversy which nearly caused her to quit the band.
Annabella’s mother alleged exploitation of a minor for immoral purposes and instigated a Scotland Yard investigation. As a result, Bow Wow Wow were not allowed to leave the United Kingdom until McClaren promised not to promote Annabella as a “sex kitten.”
The lead single from the album, “Chihuahua” peaked at #81 on the UK Singles chart and #48 on Billboard’s Dance/Disco Top 80 chart (staying on the chart for 7 weeks). The second single, “Go Wild in the Country” became a hit, peaking at #7 on the UK Singles chart. It also managed to peak at #11 on the music charts in Ireland.
The last charting single from the album, “See Jungle! (Jungle Boy)”/”(I’m A) T.V. Savage” peaked at #45 on the UK Singles chart.
Bow Wow Wow toured the United States, opening for The Pretenders and The Police. They were set to tour Europe as the opening act for Queen (who were supporting their album, “Hot Space” at the time), but they were poorly received by Queen’s fans and dropped from the tour before the dates were completed. They also toured in Japan, supporting Madness.
In May of 1982, the band’s four-track EP, “The Last of the Mohicans” was released by RCA Records. Although it didn’t chart in the UK, it managed to peak at #67 on the Billboard 200.
Bow Wow Wow’s cover version of the Strangeloves’ 1965 song, “I Want Candy” became their biggest and well-known hit song. The song peaked at #9 on the UK Singles chart and #62 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United States, it peaked at #36 on Billboard’s Dance/Disco Top 80 chart (staying on the chart for 15 weeks) and #22 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
Their follow-up single, “Baby, Oh No” peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and #58 on Billboard’s Dance/Disco Top 80 chart (staying on the chart for 8 weeks), but didn’t chart in the UK. The song’s lyrics were later reworked for advertising use by Japanese cosmetic brand, Perky Jean by Shiseido.
After the success of the “I Want Candy” music video on MTV, RCA complied an album, “I Want Candy” to help capitalize on their newfound American audience; it peaked at #123 on the Billboard 200 & #26 on the UK Albums chart.
In 1983, Bow Wow Wow released their second full-length album, “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going” which peaked at #82 on the Billboard 200, but failed to make the UK Albums chart.
The only single to chart from the album, “Do You Wanna Hold Me?” peaked at #47 on the UK Singles chart and #77 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also reached the charts in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Bow Wow Wow planned to embark on a world tour in support of the album, but tensions within the band were rising as the members were suffering from illness & exhaustion after a successful, but intense tour in the United States.
In 1983, Annabella was suddenly and unceremoniously fired from the band; she reportedly heard the news by reading it in NME. Shortly after the band broke up, they appeared in the 1984 film, “Scandalous”, performing the songs “Where’s My Snake?” & “What’s the Time (Hey Buddy).”
The remaining members of Bow Wow Wow went on to form a new group called Chiefs of Relief with guitarist Matthew Ashman as the lead singer; they released just one album in 1988 on Sire Records in the United States. Matthew later played in other bands until his death in 1995 from diabetes complications at the age of 35.
David Barbarossa went on to work with other artists such as Beats International, Adamski, Republica, Chicane and Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals. He performed live with Adam Ant in 1995.
Both David and Leigh Gorman toured with Adam Ant in 2015 for a series of concerts recreating the album, “Dirk Wears White Sox.” He also wrote two novels: “Mud Sharks” & “We Were Looking Up.”
After Chiefs of Relief disbanded, Leigh Gorman went into music production and even earned a gold record for his work on Soho’s song, “Hippychick.” He would subsequently join Soho for a tour in the United States & even appeared on “The Arsenio Hall Show.”
Annabella remained with RCA Records and released a solo album, “Fever” in 1986. She later formed a new band called Naked Experience, collaborating with seasoned musicians such as Billy Steinberg & Ellen Shipley.
In 1997, Annabella and Leigh Gorman reformed Bow Wow Wow, adding guitarist Dave Calhoun & drummer Eshan Khadaroo. They embarked on the “Barking Mad” tour in 1997-98 which produced a compliation CD called “Wild in the U.S.A.” which consisted of live material & remixes of previous Bow Wow Wow tracks.
In 1998, they collaborated with DJ Swedish Egil on the track “Eastern Promise” (which was released as part of Egil’s album, “Egil’s Groove Radio Presents: Alternative Mix CD by Priority Records”). They contributed the song, “A Thousand Tears” to the 1999 film, “Desperate But Not Serious” and also appeared in the film.
In September of 2003, the band performed at the KROQ Inland Invasion festival with a lineup hat consisted of Los Angeles guitarist Phil Gough (of Novacaine) and drummer Adrian Young from No Doubt. In sEptember of 2005, Devin Beaman from Philadelphia was brought in as the new drummer.
Bow Wow Wow’s songs “Aphrodisiac”, “I Want Candy” and “Fools Rush In” (the latter two remixed by Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine) were featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 Sofia Coppola film, “Marie Antoinette.” On November 2, 2006, they performed at the Maritime Hotel’s Hiro Lounge in New York City to promote the film.
In 2006, the band recorded a cover version of The Smiths’ song, “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish” which appeared on three 2007 releases: a new three-track, “I Want Candy EP”, the compilation album, “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before: A Tribute to the Smiths” and the soundtrack to the film “Blood & Chocolate.”
On November 21, 2010 (on the 15th anniversary of Matthew Ashman’s death), Bow Wow Wow (along with original drummer David Barbarossa) performed at a tribute concert for him at The Scala in London; the show was headlined by Adam Ant and featured members from Matthew’s other bands, Chiefs of Relief & Agent Provocateur.
With new guitarist Jimmy Magoon and drummer Dylan Thomas, the band played shows in California and toured the United Kingdom in 2011-2012. In December of 2012, Leigh Gorman began performing under the name “Bow Wow Wow” without Annabella Lwin’s consent & launched a new Facebook page.
The new version of the band consists of singer Chloe Demetria, guitarist Matthew Fuller and drummers Lyle Riddle & Sean Winchester. In 2014, actor/musician Zachary Throne took over on guitar and Les Warner replaced Sean Winchester. In an interview with the Washington Times in 2016, Leigh indicated that he was interested in creating new music with the current line-up of Bow Wow Wow.
Meanwhile, Annabella Lwin continues to perform and she is billed as “Annabella Lwin of the Original Bow Wow.”
To see a video for “I Want Candy,” go to:
To see a video for “Go Wild in the Country,” go to:
To see a video for “C·30 C·60 C·90 Go”, go to:
To see a video for “W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah, No No My Daddy Don’t)”, go to:
To see a video for “Prince of Darkness”, go to:
To see a video for “Chihuahua”, go to:
To see a video for “See Jungle! (Jungle Boy)”, go to:
To see a video for “(I’m A) T.V. Savage”, go to:
To see a video for “Baby, Oh No,” go to:
To see a video for “Do You Wanna Hold Me?,” go to:
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