Transvision Vamp
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Wendy James, Dave Parsons and a seriously heavyweight new-look Transvision Vamp hit Sala Moon on October 3rdThere are comebacks. There are reunions. And then there are the kind of returns that make you stop, turn up the volume and wonder how the hell it took this long. Transvision Vamp are back!
And on Saturday October 3rd, 2026, one of the most gloriously provocative, hook-heavy and attitude-packed bands to explode out of late-80s Britain will bring their long-awaited return to Sala Moon in Valencia. This isn't just another retro-rock package wheeled out to cash in on memories of a particular decade. Transvision Vamp are returning after more than three decades away from the touring circuit, with original members Wendy James and Dave Parsons at the heart of a new six-piece lineup. Valencia is the final Spanish date of a run that takes in Barcelona, Madrid and Bilbao before the band head to the UK for their first British tour since 1991.
Back in the late 1980s, Transvision Vamp didn't exactly arrive quietly. Fronted by the unmistakable Wendy James, the band smashed together punk attitude, glam-rock swagger, pop hooks and a healthy disregard for behaving themselves. They were loud, colourful, sexy, confrontational and — crucially — they wrote bloody great songs. Their debut album, Pop Art, arrived in 1988 and delivered a string of tracks that still sound tailor-made for a packed, sweaty club: “I Want Your Love”, “Tell That Girl to Shut Up” and “Revolution Baby” among them.
Then came Velveteen in 1989, and suddenly Transvision Vamp weren't simply an exciting alternative band — they were massive. The album hit No.1 in the UK, while the single “Baby I Don’t Care” became one of their signature songs and remains an instantly recognisable slice of late-80s pop-rock.
The band's appeal was never simply about what they wore, what year it was or which magazine put Wendy James on the cover. It was about energy. It was about the collision of pop melody and punk attitude. It was about songs that could be blasted from a car stereo, screamed back from a crowd and played with enough guitars to make the walls shake.
30-plus years later… here we go again Transvision Vamp officially called time on the band in 1992, after three studio albums: Pop Art, Velveteen and Little Magnets Versus The Bubble of Babble. For decades, the idea of a full-scale Transvision Vamp return seemed unlikely. Then came 2025.
Wendy James and bassist Dave Parsons reunited the Transvision Vamp name, with a new musical lineup built around them. Joining them are Alex Ward on guitar, Pip Stakem on guitar, Matt Millership on keyboards and James Sclavunos on drums — a musician whose CV includes his work with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, while Ward has collaborated with Thurston Moore. And the early evidence from their 2026 comeback shows suggests the chemistry is very real.
James has never been particularly interested in pretending that the past is the only thing that matters. After Transvision Vamp's original run, she continued to make music as a solo artist, working with musicians including Lenny Kaye, James Williamson and — once again — James Sclavunos. Her most recent studio album, The Shape of History, was released in 2024.
That matters because this isn't simply an attempt to recreate 1989. There is history here, certainly. But there is also a musician who has continued developing, writing and performing for decades. And when she steps onto that Valencia stage, there is every reason to expect the attitude that made Transvision Vamp such an irresistible proposition in the first place.
Valencia has always had an appetite for loud guitars, British indie, punk, glam, new wave and the glorious crossover territory where all of those things collide. A Transvision Vamp show isn't going to feel like a history lesson. After Spain, Transvision Vamp head into a major UK and Ireland tour, their first such tour since 1991. The run begins in Newcastle on October 6th and includes Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Oxford, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin and Belfast.
Three decades after Transvision Vamp disappeared from the touring map, Wendy James and Dave Parsons will walk onto stages across the UK with a new generation of musicians beside them — and with a catalogue that has stubbornly refused to disappear. Why this comeback matters There is a temptation whenever a band from the 1980s returns to describe it as a trip down memory lane. But Transvision Vamp were never particularly good at staying in their lane.
They emerged from the London alternative scene with a sound that was simultaneously punky, poppy, trashy, melodic and rebellious. They were too loud for some pop fans, too pop for some rock fans and far too stylishly dangerous for anyone who thought they could be neatly categorised. That refusal to fit comfortably is probably why the songs still work.
ered in the first place.
And for everyone in between, it promises something even better: a room full of people who know every word, a band with something to prove, and a catalogue packed with songs that were built for the live environment. Transvision Vamp are back — and Valencia gets the last word before they take Britain by storm.
For tickets and more information: Moon Valencia
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