John's Children - The Legendary Orgasm Album (1982) {2000, Reissue}

Orgasm is John's Children's sole studio album, projected for release on 18 March 1967, and eventually released in September 1970. It was recorded (before Marc Bolan joined the band) at Advison Studios in London, England. Originally intended as a regular studio album, it was transformed into a fake "live" album by producer Simon Napier-Bell by dubbing audience screams lifted from The Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night.

According to the liner notes by Chris Donovan in the 1982 Cherry Red Records reissue of the album, its release in the United States was stopped by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who objected to the title. When the album was finally released by White Whale in the U.S., the title "Orgasm" was covered up on the front cover and on the disc label. However, the title was forgotten to be removed from the LP spine, where it remained.

John's Children were a 1960s pop art/mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with The Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners. Their 1967 single "Desdemona", a Bolan composition, was banned by the BBC because of the controversial lyric, "Lift up your skirt and fly." Their US record label delayed the release of their album, Orgasm for four years from its recording date due to objections from Daughters of the American Revolution.

John's Children were active for less than two years and were not very successful commercially, having released only six singles and one album, but they had a big influence on punk rock and are seen by some as the precursors of glam rock. In retrospect the band has been praised for the impact they had, and their singles have become amongst the most sought-after British 1960s rock collectables.


The first readily available edition of Orgasm. The skimpy, vaguely Who-ish songs are nearly buried under the mountainous overdubs of hysterical teenage screams, making this a true artifact -- and nothing more -- of an era. The reissue includes excellent liner notes and four bonus tracks -- the fine psychedelic single "Smashed Blocked" and its decent follow-up, "Just What You Want -- Just What You'll Get," the B-side of which ("But You're Mine") is an unabashed ripoff of the Who's "I Can't Explain." Be warned that the version of "Strange Affair" (the B-side of "Smashed Blocked") included here has, for some inexplicable reason, been presented backwards!