“... be surprised, the band surprises us a lot live! Vitality and great freshness, sounding very current but without losing an iota of the irreverence of '77. Great songs along the lines of Buzzcocks and The Undertones, sometimes bordering on power pop. They always played a twenty-song lineup in high rotation, where they mixed old classics like "Teenage Treats", "She Made Magic" or "Can't Wait 'Til 78" with new songs like "Punk Prayer", "Love In 2 Chords". or "Ohh Baby". Yes, it was good and the old ones surprised” - Luís Rattus
“THE WASPS "Teenage Treats / She Made Magic" (4 Play). Aha, A light at the end of the tunnel. Adopting the old saw of attack being the best means of defence/offence The Wasps deliver a great record, great guitar riff and great singing. A hit or my name is B. P. Fallon.” - Bob Geldof
THE WASPS were in high demand. During the '76-'77 period they performed extensively and continuously at venues across London and the UK such as The Roxy, The Vortex, The Bridge House, Music Machine, The Marquee, etc. They performed with many well known bands including TALKING HEADS, THE POLICE and many others!
They performed live twice on BBC Radio 1's John Peel show on 13th February 1978 & then again on 13th February 1977. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-wasps/1979/john-peel-sessions-bbc-broadcasting-house-london-england-7be0cee8.html
In 1979 THE WASPS performed on UK TV show "Run Around" hosted by well know TV presenter Mike Reid.
Their singles "Teenage Treats", (a favourite of John Peel's), "Rubber Cars", RCA and from the LIVE AT THE VORTEX album & also single, (Recorded 5th Dec '77) THE WASPS anthem "Can't Wait Till '78" along with their version of Lou Reed's "Waiting For My Man", are considered Punk classics from that period.
In 1979 The Wasps signed to RCA. Their first single with RCA, "Rubber Cars", was RCA's fastest selling single the week it was released and would have been a massive hit had RCA not reluctantly pulled the record for legal reasons. The band with the line up at that time split in 1979 during its release due to unresolvable managerial disputes.
THE WASPS UK PUNK '76- '79 FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/TheWaspsPunk
THE WASPS UK PUNK TODAY OFFICAL FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/TheWaspsPunkOFFICIAL
“The Wasps Punkryonics is the real and raw deal. At a time when the music climate was changing from month to month (what's in today is out tomorrow), The Wasps music recorded between 1977 and 1979 not only stands up today, but it also has some down-right classic moments which must have rocked back in the day” - Patrick
“...The record will be a joy to both old and new fans of melodic punk rock...Still fronting The Wasps is their original singer-songwriter Jesse Lynn-Dean, who at least wrote one throwback classic on Opener Punk Prayer, "It Don't Matter To Me". An impressive return to form, as if The Wasps hadn't missed a beat.” - Niek
“I think the album is great, I think (the songs) are all hits.” - Tony