SPAZZ The Elastik Band’s extraordinary 1967 single, that caused it to be widely vilified as “one of the most tasteless records ever made”, was withdrawn by record companies on both sides of the Atlantic, and stopped in mid-play by a horrified Australian DJ on Sydney’s 2UW station, who raged, “I think we’ve heard about enough of that…I find it offensive and I’m sure a lot of other people do too.”

Recorded by five guileless teenagers in their hometown of Belmont, California, the outrageous ‘Spazz’ was both the high and low point of the Elastik Band. The track has long been a staple of garage/psych compilations, from the first volume of the ‘Pebbles’ series back in 1979 to Rhino’s 1998 coffee-table presentation of the genre, the 4CD ‘Nuggets’ box.  Appropriately, the song has also been covered by subsequent generations, including a 1987 recording by the Jesters of Destiny and a 2004 version by a band called Sicbay. (Check out the story behind "SPAZZ" )

While this 45 is no longer available, now a collectors item, the song Spazz is included on The Elastik Band CD and available to stream.