Ausgang: Scarred Lips

In the early 80’s, the UK was crippled by Thatcher, the overground was teeming with grim, hunched figures trudging along slimy, rain-sodden streets on their way to Nowhere…. Midst this stifling backdrop, four grubby outcasts, were incubating in a dark, airless cocoon like some infectious disease, until they erupted - black clad, armored and howling, like sulky mutants, just as a whole post-punk subculture was morphing into…something else. The twisted energy that writhed, then crawled, from that diseased underbelly coincided with a spearhead of like-minded, alternative bands that ripped through an increasingly complacent underground, and in doing so, created a new scene that later became known as ‘goth’. That twitching potency was called Ausgang, and as far as they were concerned, there was nothing else like them. This is their story.Mark - or ‘Max’ (are they really one and the same?) - tracks his formative and teenage years, chock full of comic books, Action Men, kung fu, wrestling, fencing, glam, punk rock and motorcycles. In ’77, he forms his first band, Solicitors, which eventually morphs into post-punk art provocateurs, Kabuki, then classic 80s goth icons, Ausgang. They burn brightly for four brief years before splitting and going their separate ways. Mark takes a step behind the music biz scenes, first as a freelance music journalist, then concert promoter, artist manager and label owner. Then, disillusioned with the industry, turns his back on the whole shebang and spins off at an acute tangent to teach yoga full time - a discipline he’d been studying for five years. This continues for twenty two years, culminating in running his own studio. By that time, yoga falls out of his favor and a more informed approach to general ‘movement’ takes over. In the interim, Ausgang reforms in the early 2000s following a Cherry Red Records ‘Best Of…’ compilation release. They tour the world and find a new, younger audience who have been influenced by the original incarnation. There’s a period where this slows down due to their bass player’s illness. Mark’s studio has to close following the pandemic, which allows him to focus all his efforts on Ausgang 3.0, his art and writing this book. Ausgang are at full throttle once more and at the top of their game… Read more