In Toronto, in the late spring of 1978, Vera 'Rabies' Skye met guitarist John Ziegler and started collaborating on the first Tyranna songs, including 'Unfaithful/Divorce' and 'Shock Face.' In mid-June Ziegler enlisted Gerry 'Johnny Bubblegum' Smith on bass, and the three musicians met for just two rehearsals, and one impromptu neighborhood photo session with Don Pyle.
The next Sunday, the first full band rehearsal occurred, with drummer Dave Porter and second guitarist John Tucker. In the next three days, Tyranna added 'Johnny' and two covers, and that Thursday, Friday and Saturday debuted at The Turning Point, opening for The Ugly. Tyranna took Sunday off, then over the next few days recorded their first batch of songs on Tucker's trusty 4-track Dokorder 1140.
Rabies presented an opinionated, intelligent, dominant personality that had the self-confidence to mix in playful, child-world elements, as heard on 'Johnny' and 'Divorce'. Her tough, rapid-fire delivery was never contradicted by her strong sense of melody. Ziegler played a gold-top Les Paul, self-modified with a third pick-up, held in place with bandages, that produced a unique fuzz tone. Bubblegum favoured 'all-downstrokes' picking to drive both steady root notes and fluid runs. John Tucker played angular, alternate-tuning riffs, using a sharp, clean Telecaster twang to off-set Ziegler. Dave Porters' drumming featured jazz flavours, and it was his and Tucker's quirky art stylings that finished off Tyranna's unique sound, which The Dents labeled "sophisto-punk." Ziegler mysteriously left the group mid-recording session, never to return. Without him, Tyranna played two more gigs, supporting The Curse, and recorded a seconds set of songs at Porter and Tucker's Wade Avenue loft, before disbanding.
Rabies soon met Ronnie Partridge and the two began the song-writing partnership that produced the majority of Tyrannas new material. Ron's hard-edged Les Paul/Marshall sound toughened Tyranna, while new songs also introduced more accessible pop stylings. Cleave Anderson, fresh out of the Battered Wives, brought his rock solid, powerful drumming as well as new songs like the tough, 'Back Off Baby'. The new Tyranna line-up, benefitting greatly from Cleave's experience and rhythmic stability, debuted Feb 1,2,3,4,1979, and quickly gelled into a strong live band with a striking visual presence. Mike Nightmare, of The Ugly, quipped that seeing Tyranna was like looking in a candy store window.
An opportunity to help The Edge's famous Two Gary's fill a last minute opening slot for The Dils began an unofficial management relationship. Throughout 1979 Tyranna opened for many local bands as well as touring acts like The Members and Jayne County. Tyranna's climax was two sold-out nights at the Danforth Music Hall opening for Iggy Pop's all-star New Value's tour. Tyranna proved their power by gaining an encore, a point further emphasized when the second slot act did not. Wilder Penfield III, in the Toronto Sun, awarded Tyranna a strong review, and eventually listed the concert in his Top Ten gigs of 1979, pointedly crediting the openings acts' contributions.
On the recommendation of Forgotten Rebel Mickey de Sadist, Tyranna recorded five tracks at Hamilton's Basement Studio. Micky joined in the back-ups on Neighbour. The Gary's promoted the tape, Tyranna declined a suspect English record offer, then accepted an invitation to the "No Pedestrians" compilation. Ironically, the offer inflamed internal conflicts, Bubblegum was not invited to the recording and he promptly quit the group, and Tyranna soon disbanded. Shades Magazine called for someone to release the original Tyranna demos, but it took thirty years for an EP to finally appear, in 2008.
In February 2011, RaveUp! Records from Italy will release the Tyranna LP featuring all of the bands studio recordings plus two live songs from Tyrannas last gigs at The Edge January 1980.