The Wasps - REVIEWS / PRESS / INTERVIEWS

loud magazine review of The Wasps performance in Coimbra, portugal. 09.07.22

“... be amazed, the band surprises us a lot live! Vitality and great freshness, sounding very current but without losing an ounce of the irreverence of 77. Great themes in a line of Buzzcocks and The Undertones, sometimes bordering on power pop. They always played in high rotation a lineup of twenty songs, where they mixed the 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

— Loud Magazine, Portugal, 17th July 2022

"Can't wait" tour, portugal 2022

THE WASPS ARE HOT IN PORTUGAL!

The Wasps were in Portugal on their "Can't Wait" tour 2022

The Wasps were in Faro, Porto & Coimbra on a mini tour of Portugal. This exciting whirlwind tour in the middle of a heatwave, the last gig in Coimbra ended what was an intense and exciting tour which by the time The Wasps performed the final song "Waiting for my man" ended in a stage invasion!! WE LOVE PORTUGAL!!

ARCM, FARO

Porto

The Wasps Porto

Stage invasion at Coimbra

punk prayer album reviews / reseñas de álbumes

PUNK PRAYER ALBUM REVIEW 25.05.22

By Mark Fletcher at JUST SOME PUNK SONGS BLOG SPOT

A great review of The Wasps new Punk Prayer album by Mick Fletcher at Global Punk Radio on Just Some Punk Songs blog spot...

"If I was to ask when punk rock first became a thing I'm sure there'd be a few different answers but I'm equally sure quite a lot of you would say 1976. That's also the year that The Wasps (https://www.facebook.com/TheWaspsPunkOFFICIAL) (https://thewaspsofficial.com/) got together in East London. They released a couple of cracking singles (Teenage Treats & Rubber Cars) but split in 1979 due to "unresolvable managerial disputes."

And now, over 4 decades later, they're back with a new album. They're relocated to Malaga but are still fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Lynn-Dean. He's ably supported by Martin Hope (guitar), Roly Quesnel (drums), Kiko Alvarez (bass) & Perico (guitar). The album's titled Punk Prayer and on it the band are as enjoyable as ever. To promote it they'll be playing a few UK gigs including an appearance at the Nice n Sleazy Festival in Morecambe on Friday 3rd June.

The album's available via Vespa Records & Family Spree Recordings and you can get it here : https://familyspreerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/fsr116-the-wasps-punk-prayer

I don't suppose I can say the album's packed with catchy Buzzcocks inspired punk tunes when the bands both formed in the same month (Feb '76) but if you're new to them expect a similar style. There's plenty of catchy choruses, lots of melody and you'll want to jump around. I'll play a different song on Sunday's Just Some Punk Songs show but today I'm highlighting the one addressing the climate change crisis. It's called Don't Kill The Planet Janet...

LINK TO THE REVIEW AT JUST SOME PUNK SONGS

PUNK PRAYER ALBUM REVIEW BY ADD TO WANT LIST

“....The record will be a joy for both old and new fans of melodic punkrock.....Still fronting The Wasps is their original singer songwriter Jesse Lynn-Dean, who a the very least penned a throwback classic in Punk Prayer opener It Don’t Matter To Me. An impressive turn to form, like The Wasps haven’t skipped a beat” - Niek

— Review from Add To Want List, 24th May 2022

PUNK PRAYER ALBUM REVIEW BY FAMILY SPREE

REVIEW BY FAMILY SREE RECORDINGS, SPAIN

PUNK PRAYER by THE WASPS 2022 (FSR116)

"I think the album is magnificent. I think they (the songs) are all hits and that the public we usually target with the releases on our label, Family Spree will really like it. ("Los temas del disco y me parece magnífico. Como le comenté a él, creo que son todo hits y que pueden gustar mucho al público al que habitualmente nos dirigimos con los lanzamientos de nuestro sello, Family Spree").

-- Tony, Family Spree

FAMILY SPREE RECORDINGS

PUNKRYONICS / PLUS REVIEW BY GULLBUY

“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've rocked back in the day.” - Patrick

— Gullbuy

REVIEW OF PUNKRYONICS released 2003 (NOW PUNKRYONICS PLUS re-released 2022 with bonus tracks)

by patrick of gullbuy 6TH JANUARY 2004

The Wasps reissue on Overground Records is just the kind of teenage punk treat I like to hear - and similar to Damaged Goods' reissue of the UK punk collection from 1977, Raw Deal. 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've rocked back in the day.

Punkryonics culls the classic punk rock single tracks Teenage Treats and She Made Magic, demos of JJJenny (how this one remained unreleased until now is a mystery, it's a killer punk rock track), Run Run Angelica and Rubber Cars (later recorded for an RCA single), and a caustic live version of Can't Wait Till '78 from the Live at the Vortex compilation (from December 1977).

Punkryonics could only be more perfect if it included all of The Wasps' recordings: for some reason Overground Records decided to not include The Wasps' live version of The Velvet Underground's Waiting For My Man from the Live at the Vortex album, as well as two Peel Sessions, and the RCA version of Rubber Cars (opting for a demo version here). Also, mentioned in the liner notes is the fact that The Wasps used to perform a version of Deliverance's theme song Dueling Banjos (before The Toy Dolls did it?) to calm their vocalist Jesse Lynn-Dean down. Still, in this day and age, this is just about the only way to hear the 70s punk band The Wasps, and what's here is great stuff including 10 previously unreleased songs.

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INTERVIEWS WITH JESSE LYNN-DEAN

JESSE LYNN-DEAN INTERVIEW

SUR IN ENGLISH NEWSPAPER 17.06.22

A great article about The Wasps front man Jesse Lynn-Dean and The Wasps Punk Prayer Tour 2022 in the Sur in English newspaper. (One of Spain's biggest English newspapers). This full page article was written by the well renowned music journalist and author Tony Bryant.