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July 11, 2025

30 Photos of English New Wave Band Bow Wow Wow in the 1980s

Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals.

The band’s music was characterized by a danceable new wave sound that drew on a Burundi beat provided by Dave Barbarossa on drums, as well as the subversive, suggestive, and sometimes exuberant lyrics sung and chanted by their teenage lead vocalist.

Their debut single, “C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!,” released in July 1980, was groundbreaking as the world’s first-ever cassette single. In November 1980, they released a cassette-only mini-album, Your Cassette Pet, which included tracks like “Sexy Eiffel Towers” that sparked early controversy due to suggestive moaning from the then-14-year-old Lwin.

Their first full-length album, See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!, was released in October 1981 after they signed with RCA. Their 1983 album, When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going, opened with the track “Aphrodisiac,” which, despite Lwin being only 16 at the time of its release, featured lyrics about drug-fueled sexual encounters.

The original lineup of Bow Wow Wow disbanded in 1983. Lwin pursued a solo career, while the male members (Ashman, Gorman, and Barbarossa) went on to form the band Chiefs of Relief.

Bow Wow Wow's legacy lies in their unique sound, their pioneering use of the cassette single, and the indelible mark they left on new wave music, even amidst the constant scrutiny and controversy surrounding their image and management.






























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