I Need A Freak

2023 Repress

Dark Entries is pleased to announce a deluxe reissue of Sexual Harrassments 1983 opus I Need A Freak. Lynn Tolliver, DJ/Program Director at Clevelands WZAK, adopted the pseudonym David Payton in order to keep his musical endeavors separate from his public persona. Sexual Harrassment (misspelled deliberately) was formed as a concept band, with members selected based on appearance and choreographic skill rather than musical ability. Tollivers explicit lyrics focused on the central themes of desire and sexual relations. Working at a studio in Akron, he recorded an album of quirky-yet-lurid electro funk, which was released on Heat Records. Tolliver remarks, I learned as a youngster, sex sells! The things that are rated the worst violence, horror and sex are the things people want to see or hear about. I Need a Freak was a surprise hit, selling over 100,000 copies.

I Need A Freak is presented here for the first time on double LP, pressed at 45 rpm for maximum DJ-friendliness. While the albums naughtier moments seem quaint by contemporary standards, the fusion of lo-fi funk and disaffected vocals still stuns today. On the eternal electro-raunch anthem I Need a Freak, minimalism serves to highlight the lasciviousness of the deadpan lyrics, which were inspired by Lourdes Figueroa, Tollivers girlfriend at the time. Tollivers whimsy shines on tracks like If I Gave You a Party and K.I.S.S.I.N.G., which contrast nursery rhyme structures with decidedly R-rated lyrics. Exercise Your Ass Off lampoons the home exercise craze, but with a more-than-suggestive sexual bent. Also included are two bonus cuts, We Want Prince and These Are The Things That I Like, previously released as singles in 1984 and 1986, respectively. We Want Prince is both a homage to the Purple one and a gentle satire of obsessive fandom.

I Need A Freak has been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The album comes in a gatefold sleeve featuring the original artwork. Included are lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Lynn Tolliver and drummer Dale Jackson. Tollivers sly provacateurship is best captured by the quote: Its funny without sex, mankind is dead, yet we hide the very thing we need.