Barking Up an Old Tree

Back in 1980, Annabella Lwin wasn’t much older than LeAnn Rimes is now when punk impresario Malcolm McLaren put her in the spotlight, fronting a band called Bow Wow Wow.

The quartet was frequently dismissed as a flashy, ephemeral product of the marketing zeal of McLaren, who had earlier gained notoriety creating and managing the Sex Pistols. But history has been kind to the short-lived band (whose members ever so briefly included Boy George before he went on to Culture Club).

Bow Wow Wow’s sound is now remembered as a savvy combination of scrappy punk rock, hummable pop and exotic rhythms borrowed from both African and Native American music cultures, perhaps best exemplified in the group’s rambunctious 1982 hit remake of the Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy.”

Now, 14 years after the 1983 breakup, Bow Wow Wow is back on stage, reunited for a U.S. tour that includes shows at the Galaxy Theatre tonight, Billboard Live on Saturday and the Hop on Sunday. Describing how it feels to be back in the limelight with her old band, Lwin generates almost as much energy as she did belting out Bow Wow Wow tunes a decade and a half ago.

“Bow Wow Wow is a unique band,” she says. “And when we play, it’s like magic on stage. I really missed live work ‘cause I hadn’t done it for such a long time. Since I haven’t been out there prostituting myself in the music scene, I’ve realized that there just aren’t that many good live acts around. I can’t really speak for America, but in England it’s like, ‘Where’s the live bands?’

“There’s obviously something lacking. We give it our all, you know. We’re here to entertain people and bring some fun back into the industry.”

Bassist Leigh Gorman was the only other original Bow Wow Wow member available for the reunion.

Guitarist Matthew Ashman died two years ago of complications of diabetes; taking his place is guitarist Dave Calhoun, who played in the Vapours, contemporaries of Bow Wow Wow best known for their frenetic cult hit “Turning Japanese.”

Drummer Dave Barbarossa is now playing with Republica, and his commitments to that group prevented him from joining his former comrades, although he did coach his replacement, Eshan Khadaroo, through rehearsals before Bow Wow Wow hit the road.

The reunion was triggered when Bow Wow Wow agreed to re-form earlier this year for a weeklong ‘80s retrospective package tour that also included Human League, Berlin, Howard Jones and the Fixx. When tour organizers chose to put the new wave fest on hold, Lwin and company decided to forge ahead on their own. Their tour, which kicked off with two sold-out shows in Seattle last month, continues through February.

After Bow Wow Wow broke up, Gorman pursued various musical projects, ranging from a band venture called Chiefs of Relief to production (Voice of the Beehive, plus the hit single remix of “Hippychick” by Soho) and television commercials. For Gorman, this reunion has been an opportunity not only to rediscover Bow Wow Wow’s music but also to appreciate the inventiveness that went into it.

“There are a lot of elements that are quite weird and experimental, using wordless chants and stuff like that,” he says. “But we couched them in a three-minute pop song format, and people didn’t give us any credit for it. Then Peter Gabriel came along and used the same methodology and got all this critical acclaim, whereas we were doing it three years before him.”

Gorman says it’s too soon to know whether this new incarnation of Bow Wow Wow will pick up where the original lineup left off in the studio, but for now he’s content to relive the fun with the fans who are turning out to see the band.

“We used to have a lot of great times, but there was a lot of pressure on us in those days,” he says. “It was kind of like a job, and there was a lot of stress. We were under pressure from the record company and Malcolm and everyone else. Now I’m playing [these songs] again, and I’m really enjoying it.”

* Bow Wow Wow plays tonight at the Galaxy Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, 8 p.m. $16.50. (714) 957-0600. Also Saturday at Billboard Live, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 8:45 p.m. $15. (310) 786-1712; Sunday at the Hop, 17647 Gale Ave., City of Industry, 8:45 p.m. $15. (818) 810-8467.