"I'm here for the part of rock slut": The Guttercats

    How many of you have been watching "Married With Children"? Those of you that have surely must remember the episode when our favourite blonde bimbo, Kelly Bundy, lands a part in a rock music video. And while her appearance was so disastrous they eventually had to chain her to a chainlink fence, the band itself was flawless. Steamy hot and oozing electricity, the riff of the song they had been performing has been stuck on our minds ever since, making you want to swing your hips like Kelly.

    Did you ever think you would get to listen to the full song? Unfortunately the show didn't give much choice, however the name of the band was clearly audible. The Guttercats. And yes, they were a REAL band!

    I mean, come on, it's the 80s. There's no need for a made-up band. Not when the place was crawling with fame hungry (or just plain hungry) rock bands willing to bend over backwards for a chance at glory. Let's face it, even in an era with as high demand for rock bands as the 80s, there was a serious supply surplus of bands. Being great didn't do much, looking the part didn't help, when there was a thousand more great hot bands to be found just around the corner.

   Unfortunately the fifteen minutes of TV fame the show provded didn't seem to help the Guttercats much, as there seems to be no music video of theirs ever produced, no Headbanger's Ball rotation nor record deal, and as far as most of the people are concerned, the band only existed in the show, and is listed as a fake TV show band in most internet sources. But unlike Kelly's platinum mop, they were for real.

   Like any other glam band at the time, the band consisted of leather clad, long haired dudes, sex related lyrics, and catchy guitar riffs. A good band by all accounts, they seem to have recorded some demo tracks- the exact number of which unknown- but thankfully four of them have made it online. "Decoy Woman", the song we saw them perform in the show and we couldn't get enough of, is one of them.

   All four of the demos we have at our disposal are electrifying glam rock magnificence. Starting with "Decoy Woman", the song that brought us all here, and moving on to "Rescue Me", an explosive surprise since the power ballad-worthy title is instead utilized on their loudest song in the list, featuring delicious guitar licks throughout the track and the most original "babeh!" croons any sleazy glam vocalist could ever wish to achieve, the Guttercats show their potential as a hard rocking band able to set the amps on fire during any live show.

   "Friends" is another great example of 80s rock decadence, lyrically and musically. Fun, sleazy, and in much better sound quality than the previous two examples, it whets your appetite for more, which brings us to the next-and last-song in the list. "Mary Innocent", the band's softest song so far, is not really a power ballad but for lack of one, this one goes as close to the ballad realm as possible.

   Unfortunately the Guttercats were unable to put out anything else back then, and that appearance on "Married With Children" and those four demos are all we are going to get. Probably a bar band for as long as they stuck together, we have no other information about them other than they were probably a Hollywood band... No naming names, no dates, and not even a power ballad to help experience the bittersweet feelings they left behind, by existing just long enough in the spotlight to tease us mercilessly and leave us wanting more.