Bow Wow Wow was one of two bands that I felt truly and passionately connected to in my early twenties. The other one was Public Image Limited. I still listen to the music from these two groups (and also to New Order and Gang Of Four, but my appreciation of them came later and was not so fanatical.) PIL was good for about four years or so and was essentially a collaboration between John Lydon and Keith Levene, formed after the disintegration of The Sex Pistols. Bow Wow Wow, on the other hand, was the brainchild of Malcolm McLaren, whose mismanagement was largely responsible for the Pistols premature dissolve. His uniting of Myint Myint Aye, whom he rechristened Annabella Lwin, with Matthew Ashman, David Barbarossa and Leigh Gorman (of the original Adam And The Ants) more than made up for the loss of the earlier band(s.) The truth is (as far as I'm concerned) that Bow Wow Wow and PIL are way better than the Pistols. The other bit of information I wish to convey (and what sets Bow Wow Wow apart from PIL) is that Bow Wow Wow was the best live band of its time, which the various videos of their performances, littering YouTube and other sites of its kind, amply prove.
What follow are some of the highlights of their record album cover art, which was done with a much more sophisticated eye than most. The final album isn't by Bow Wow Wow at all, but from the band they became (at least at first) without Annabella. This was Chiefs of Relief, Matthew's first band where he took stage front and center. Matthew, sadly, died of diabetes at the age of thirty five in 1995. Annabella still occasionally tours with Leigh Gorman (and whoever else can be persuaded to come along, sometimes including Dave Barbarossa) as Bow Wow Wow.
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