Gene Loves Jezebel

Originally named Slavaryan by Michael, Gene Loves Jezebel was formed in 1981 by the Aston brothers, with drummer James Chater, bassist Steve Radwell, and guitarist Ian Hudson. In 1984, the group recorded a John Peel radio session for the BBC and toured the UK with fellow Welsh artist John Cale. and recorded in New York with Cale. The second Album, Stephen Marshall was hired as bass guitar and John Murphy played drums with Richard Hawkins appearing on a few tunes too. and yielded the singles "20 Killer Hurts" and "The Motion of Love". "The Motion of Love", was the band's first appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also a top 50 hit in the UK. ==Split and brief reunion: 1990–1997==

Fighting between brothers Jay and Michael Aston lead to the band breaking up. While Michael Aston went solo, the rest of the band continued as Gene Loves Jezebel. while the band were on tour in the USA forcing the band to briefly split. In 1993, the brothers reformed the band with a new lineup; Francois Perez replaced James Stevenson and drummer Robert Adam was retained. James Stevenson was asked to join The Cult on their world tour as rhythm guitarist. While Jay Aston performed occasional acoustic shows under his own name, Michael Aston formed a new band called the Immigrants (renamed Edith Grove in 1994) The brothers began working together again that same year and recorded two songs with Stevenson, Bell, and Rizzo for a compilation album, The Best Of, released in September 1995. Jay Aston also recorded a solo album, Unpopular Songs, produced by Stevenson. The brothers reconciled in the mid-1990s, wrote some new songs together, and shared a house in Los Angeles. They initially used Michael Aston's band from the Why Me album era. In 1997, the band embarked on the Pre-Raphaelite Brothers tour, in which Gene Loves Jezebel material and songs from the brothers' solo careers would be performed. ==Two Genes Loving Jezebel: 1997–present==

After the Pre-Raphaelite Brothers tour, Jay Aston refused to work with his brother unless Stevenson and Rizzo were brought back. Michael Aston agreed, and the album VII was recorded in England. A reunion tour was undertaken in the U.S. during which a rift developed between the brothers. Michael Aston, who missed the final dates of the tour, launched his own band, also called Gene Loves Jezebel, with musicians from the Pre-Raphaelite tour. His vocals were removed from the VII album, which was released without any contribution from him. Later, the full album with Michael's vocals included was released as The Doghouse Sessions. In October 1997, Jay Aston, Rizzo, and Stevenson sued Michael Aston over rights to the name Gene Loves Jezebel and, after a protracted court battle, eventually dropped the lawsuit. Jay Aston leads the UK version of the band, also featuring James Stevenson and Pete Rizzo, and has toured both the US and the UK extensively as well to support releases such as Accept No Substitute (2002), The Thornfield Sessions (2003), The Anthology, Vols. 1-2 (2006) and Dance Underwater (2017) and Love Death Sorrow (2023) On 15 February 2008, a lawsuit was filed by Michael Aston in California's Central District Court, against "Chris Bell, James Stevenson, Jay Aston, John Aston, Libertalia Entertainment and others" for trademark infringement. In a posting on their Myspace page on 25 September 2009, Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel announced that an agreement had been reached with Michael Aston regarding the use of the name Gene Loves Jezebel: Jay Aston's band is now known as "Gene Loves Jezebel" in the UK and "Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel" within the US; Michael Aston's band is now known as "Gene Loves Jezebel" in the US and "Michael Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel" in the UK. The settlement agreement was posted on Michael Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel website. which became number one on the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Chart in Argentina. On 16 November 2011, Jay Aston and James Stevenson appeared on stage at the Brixton Academy in London with the Smashing Pumpkins to perform the song "Stephen" from the Immigrant album. In December 2016, Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel announced that they were recording a new album via a Pledge Music campaign. via Westworld Recordings/Plastichead. In September 2018, Jay Aston, James Stevenson, and Peter Rizzo were named as defendants in a lawsuit brought by Michael Aston for infringement of his trademark at the end of Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel's first US tour in ten years. Jay Aston's band argued that they had complied with the agreement with Michael Aston to the best of their ability. At the hearing on 7 January 2019 in Santa Ana, California, before the judge The Hon James Selna, the judge found in favour of the defendants on all of the five counts that Michael Aston had brought and ordered him to pay the defendants' legal fees. Case 8:808-cv-00181-JVS (RNBX) On 1 December 2023, Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel released their tenth studio album, Love Death Sorrow, on Cleopatra Records to critical acclaim. In his review of Love Death Sorrow for Goldmine Magazine, Dave Thompson wrote “It not only sounds like a classic Jezzies album, it feels like one as well — at the same time as dodging any accusation of treading water or restating old ground. The band have already lived through their glory days. Now they're celebrating their most glorious." Thomson also praised the guitar work of James Stevenson saying "Stevenson is playing some of the most grandiosely incisive guitar of his life right now." James Stevenson left the band in the summer of 2025. ==In popular culture==

The 2017 album Goths by The Mountain Goats contains the song "Abandoned Flesh," which chronicles the history of Gene Loves Jezebel, including a reference to this Wikipedia page. ==Discography==

Albums Singles :¹ Michael Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel :² Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel ==References==