Vedette SS was a highly influential Argentine punk rock band formed in 2002. It originally comprised vocalist Manuel, guitarist Jimbo, drummer Spike Dude and bassist Vikki. The band broke up in 2006 after Spike and Vikki quit.

Although their career lasted only four years and produced only one studio album their impact and influence on Argentine rock can still be seen in newer bands. They are often credited for 'refreshing' the punk scene by playing and dressing up in a very different style from the rest of the Argentine rock musicians and for headlining the garage rock revival.

History

Manuel, Jimbo and Vikki started using the name "Vedette SS" in 2002 after they decided to change their musical style from glam to punk in order to develop a bigger following. The name is an honor to London SS. They started auditioning drummers but found none in the style they needed, which was mostly influenced by bands like the New York Dolls, The Damned, Sex Pistols, Generation X and Hanoi Rocks.

In 2003 they recorded a self-titled demo and two months later Spike Dude joined the band. After a couple of months rehearsing they did their first live show before the end of the year. The whole idea of the band was to shock the boring Argentine rock scene with their music and image.

Vedette SS started playing regularly in 2004 and recorded their first full-length Acabemos con la farsa!!! in Spike's house, released through the label Fucked Up Records. That same year they participated in the low-budget gore movie Goreinvasion by German Magarinos playing three songs and getting brutally murdered. The movie got screened in theatres.

In 2005 their song Cancion para tu muerte, a prank against Argentine rock and roll idols, ranked #23 at the Garageband.com best punk songs chart. That same year Spike and Magarinos shoot the video for their song Odio ser normal.

In 2006 they went into the studio to record their second album with Marcelo Depetro but only got to do half of it because of a fight between Vikki and Spike. They didn't broke up then. A month later the TV channel CM decided to interview the band and air a video clip Spike and Magarinos had made. The rest of the band secretly started to look for another drummer to take to the TV show. When Spike found out about this he left the band, kept the unfinished recordings he was mixing and prohibited the video clip to be aired on TV.

Vedette SS played live with another drummer two more times and broke up when Vikki left the band.

Influence to the Argentine punk scene

To make it short and simple, The Ramones have always been the one and only influence for Argentine punk, being Argentina the country where they are most successful in the whole world. The Falklands Islands war between Argentina and England didn't make things easier for UK punk either. The fans of the UK punk and New York proto-punk found in Vedette SS a band to fill the void left since Los Violadores broke up, which was the last band in Argentina that played that style back in the 80s. Many people started getting interested in Johnny Thunders, the New York Dolls and T.Rex and for the first time in years (first time ever?) people put ads in record stores looking for bandmembers to start their own band and DID NOT wanted to play songs that sounded like 2 Minutos and Attaque 77 (what everybody always did). The birth of the radio channel KABUL 107.9 in 2005 also played a mayor role in the music scene as they played many old school punk bands never played before in Argentine airwaves.

Discography

Acabemos con la farsa!!! ("cut the crap") (2004)

Films

Goreinvasion (German Magarinos, 2004). Play 3 songs and got murdered.
Locura en Junin, Masacre en BsAs (2006). Live footage.

Other pages about Argentine musical groups

-2 Minutos -Adicta -Alma y Vida -Aquelarre -Arco Iris -Attaque 77 -Babasonicos -Bandana (pop group) -Boom Boom Kid -Bulldog (band) -CNNBS -Cabezones -Capsula -Carajo (band) -Color Humano -Comando Suicida -Dios (Argentine band) -El Otro Yo -El bordo (band) -Erreway -Espiritu -Fun People -Hurlingham Reggae Band -Interama -Los Autenticos Decadentes -Los Beatnicks -Los Chalchaleros -Los Enanitos Verdes -Los Fronterizos -Los Gatos (band) -Los Pericos -Los Super Elegantes -Mad (band) -Mambru -Miranda! -Ninos enfermos -Otros Aires -Perros Locos -Pescado Rabioso -Piola Vago -Plan 4 -Pomada -Porsuigieco -Rafaga -Santos Inocentes -She Devils -Sui Generis -Sumo (band) -Tanghetto -The Flaming Sideburns -Ushuaia Rocks! -Vedette SS -Virus (Argentine band) -Vivencia

Other pages about Argentine rock music groups

-2 Minutos -A.N.I.M.A.L. -ALAS -Alma y Vida -Almafuerte (band) -Almendra (band) -Aquelarre -Arco Iris -Attaque 77 -Babasonicos -Bersuit Vergarabat -Boom Boom Kid -Bulldog (band) -CNNBS -Cabezones -Callejeros -Carajo (band) -Catupecu Machu -Color Humano -Crucis -Dios (Argentine band) -Divididos -El Otro Yo -El bordo (band) -Espiritu -Eterna Inocencia -Fantasmagoria -Flema -Fun People -Hermetica -Horcas -Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas -Indio Solari -Interama -Intoxicados -La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros -La Portuaria -La Renga -Los Autenticos Decadentes -Los Beatnicks -Los Brujos -Los Enanitos Verdes -Los Fabulosos Cadillacs -Los Gatos (band) -Los Natas -Los Nuevos Coleccionistas de Pasillos -Los Piojos -Los Ratones Paranoicos -Los Twist -Los Violadores -Mad (band) -Manal -Memphis La Blusera -Nepal (band) -Nexus (Argentine band) -Pappo's Blues -Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota -Perros Locos -Pescado Rabioso -Reynols -Santos Inocentes -Seru Giran -She Devils -Soda Stereo -Sui Generis -Sumo (band) -Todos Tus Muertos -Ushuaia Rocks! -V8 (band) -Vedette SS -Viejas Locas -Villanos -Virus (Argentine band) -Vivencia -Vox Dei