Sheep on Drugs

by David JeffriesMocking pop culture and sneering at authority, the U.K. duo Sheep on Drugs began with the credo sex is death, drugs are for sheep, buy the product. Formed in 1990 by vocalist Duncan X (aka King Duncan) and multi-instrumentalist Dead Lee (aka Lee 303), Sheep on Drugs combined sleazy rock and trashy techno and released their first single, Catch 22, a year later. A grotesque cabaret-styled live show supported the release, and soon aggressive dancefloor singles like Motorbike and 15 Minutes of Fame were becoming industrial club favorites. They made their full-length debut in 1993 with Greatest Hits on the Island labels Smash imprint. They followed it a year later with ...On Drugs, but both the band and the label were unhappy with the album and when the sales tanked Island dismissed the band. The duo formed its own label, Drug Squad, which released the EPs Suck and Strapped for Cash, both in 1995. Martin Atkins Invisible label would compile the EPs in 1996 as Double Trouble. A year later the new album One for the Money appeared on Invisible, but Duncan exited the band soon after the release. Lee experimented with the side project Bagman while a remix album (1997s Nevermind the Methadone) and a live album (1998s Two for the Show) kept the Sheep on Drugs machine rolling. Duncan had become a famous tattoo artist in London by now, so when Lee contacted him for a reunion, Duncan agreed to contribute, but he was unable to join full-time. F**k from 2005 was the next release and it worked in more of the dance music Lee had been experimenting with in his Bagman project.