Tyrants in Therapy - Band History

Band History

The Tyrants in Therapy formed in late 1983, as a four person band. The original members, who adopted nicknames, were: Michael J (officially Michael Jaye); AbbeAbbe (Abbe Kanter); songwriter, background vocalist, drum machine operator and art director Harol Glasscock (Carol Hannan); and songwriter, producer and keyboardist Charlie X (Charlie Lamont).

For the first two years of their existence, the Tyrants in Therapy were financed by indulgent music publishers, who allowed them to give full rein to their creative impulses. The result was a collection of quirky songs such as At the Cowboy Lounge, Communist Reggae, Underground Girl of the World, and In The Shadow of Hitler, which were preoccupied with subjects like gay cowboys, dancing communists and whimsical fascists.

But the world did not embrace their ironic candour, and so when the band released an EP, 3 People Nude Below the Waist (featuring scratching by the Knights of the Turntables), in 1984, it flopped. On a dare, the Tyrants in Therapy released a 12-inch dance single the following year, Paint it Pink (co-produced by Guy Roche), but it too met with general indifference.

A breakthrough occurred in 1986, with Too Tuff To Cry. The 12-inch single became a hit in Los Angeles’s New Romantic underground, selling more than 100,000 copies in Southern California and Mexico, and propelling the Tyrants in Therapy into the thick of the national dance music scene.

For the next few years, the Tyrants in Therapy (as a band, as individuals, and in collaboration with others) continued to release a steady stream of 12-inch singles on various independent Los Angeles labels. Meanwhile, it maintained its unpredictable schedule, playing discos one night and rock clubs the next.

More success came in 1989, with the release of Big Pink House (written with Terry Shaddick), and then in 1996, with Boy, both of which received significant airplay on American urban pop radio.

After years of frustration, the Tyrants in Therapy formed their own label, Emotional Coathanger Records, in 2000. For a long time, they had felt that their artistic vision was being compromised, as the various labels with which they had associated had made them adopt an increasingly constrictive dance sound. Dismayed that they were being compelled to accept a format that de-emphasised lyrics and message, the Tyrants in Therapy were delighted to finally assume full control of the content, production, packaging and promotion of their music.

That same year, they released their first full-length album, Meet The Tyrants in Therapy, on their new label. Making use of samples and rhythms dating from the 1940s to the 1990s, blending genres such as rock, dance, punk, blues and cabaret, and addressing a dizzying array of topics such as human rights, suicide, lesbianism, paedophilia and cake, the tracks marked a move away from disco and into a style they dubbed “Punk Cabaret”.

In 2001, the Tyrants in Therapy shot the first episode of their television series, Meet The Tyrants in Therapy. In total, 22 were aired.

In 2009, they released their second full-length album, High Class Trash. Once again demonstrating the flair and originality for which they are renowned, the Tyrants brought their gifts for melody and irony to a variety of subjects: love, gender, sexuality, climate change, Hollywood and cowboys. It is as unashamedly devoid of political correctness as the rest of their work.