POP Music Review : Pop-Style Equation From English Vamp

Debbie Harry = Johnny Rotten = Edie Sedgwick = Elvis = Transvision Vamp?

What’s wrong with this equation? Nothing, if you’re Wendy James, the lead singer of the English sex -tet, which played Wednesday at the Roxy. In her pale Carnaby Street lip gloss and micromini, James alternated between pouty-mouthed sensuality and body language gleaned from the school of Pop (Iggy division) as she and the boys in the band attempted to recycle virtually every famous post-’60s archetype of cool. Surprisingly, they almost pulled it off.

When Vamp first came to Stateside attention, via a remake of Holly & the Italians’ “Tell That Girl to Shut Up,” the group seemed to be just another calculated bunch of British style-over-substance abusers. Even the band’s name has the same postmodern clink to it as Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The 15-minute trendoid status appeared confirmed when Vamp’s latest album, “Velveteen,” recently entered the British charts at No. 1.

But while we’re not dealing with major original thinkers here (the T. Rex-derived song “Revolution Baby” sounded as significant as a faded anarchy slogan on a torn T-shirt), live the group turned out to be a very straightforward, solid, punchy pop-punk outfit, devoid of pretention or forced attitudes. Yes, the blatant cop of “Hang On Sloopy” for “Baby I Don’t Care” is not the real McCoys, and Vamp labors in the shadow of early Blondie--the roots here are more obvious than those on James’ head. But there’s something endearing about the ruthless blond ambition of James’ tough-little-girl swagger and medium-cool vocals, and the band’s hard-hitting dedication to raunch ‘n’ roll proved it’s more than just a bunch of trendy posers doing a Transvision Camp.