The Tubes · Photos

The spectacle

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On Stage · The Theater

Chainsaws, feather boas,
platform boots.

The Tubes on stage with horn section, full band lineup
Full band · Live
Fee Waybill as Quay Lewd — afro wig, feather boa, platform boots
Quay Lewd
Quay Lewd atop a stack of televisions
Quay on TVs
Mondo Bondage stage routine
Mondo Bondage
Dr. Strangekiss on stage with a chainsaw
Dr. Strangekiss
Fee Waybill singing with guitarist beside him
Fee & guitar · Live
The Tubes full band live on stage, late 1970s
Full band · On stage
The Tubes on a smoke-filled stage with Quay Lewd center — moody black and white
Dry ice · Quay in the beams
The Tubes on stage with white-suited dancers — theatrical routine
Dancers · White suits
The Tubes live — a stage sign appears to tip, Fee mid-performance
Live · Full chaos
The Tubes live in color — Prairie Prince on drums, Re Styles dancing, purple stage lights
Color · Prairie on drums
The Tubes performing 'White Punks on Dope' — Quay Lewd center stage in platform boots next to a giant Quaalude 300mg prop bottle, dancers flanking the stage
White Punks on Dope · Quaalude bottle
Quay Lewd in towering silver platform boots holding a Flying V guitar on stage, black and white
Quay · Platform boots
Quay Lewd on the mic stand with Bill Spooner beside him playing a white Flying V, black and white
Quay & Bill · Flying V
Mondo Bondage routine — a masked dominator figure in bondage harness standing on stage with a restrained figure below, color stage shot
Mondo Bondage · Color
The Tubes 'Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman'-style stage routine — dancers with prop assault rifles as Fee Waybill leaps mid-air
Stage routine · Mid-leap
Fee Waybill in a pith helmet on stage for a 'What Do You Want From Life' style routine, dancers with legs outstretched in chairs
Pith helmet · Stage routine
Bill Spooner alone on stage playing his white Flying V guitar under blue spotlights — color, September 1983
Bill · Flying V · Sep '83
Fee Waybill singing in a yellow t-shirt with Bill Spooner on white Flying V in the background — color live shot
Fee & Bill · Color · Live
The Tubes theatrical ensemble on stage — Fee Waybill in white wig and costume, band and dancers in golden brocade costumes, color
Theatrical ensemble · Full cast · Color
Promo · Portraits · Spectacle

A&M, MTV, Cher.

Bill Spooner on stage with a white Stratocaster
Bill · Color
The Tubes on tour with purple and red stage lighting
Big Stage · '81
Quay Lewd with confetti, flying-V guitar in foreground
Confetti
The Tubes full band on stage with Capitol Records branding
Capitol era · Live
The Tubes on stage in matching suits and ties
Love Bomb era
A&M Records promotional photo — band and dancers in white
A&M Promo
Fisheye group portrait of The Tubes
Fisheye
The Tubes with dancers, photo by Howard Barlow
Group · Barlow
The Tubes performing a skit with Cher on her TV show
With Cher · TV
The Tubes meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger — group color photo
With Arnold
The Tubes group portrait — nine people piled together in a San Francisco studio shoot
SF studio · Group
The Tubes on stage in color — Fee in a white suit, Re Styles kneeling center, Roger Steen on guitar at right
Stage · Color · Full band
The Tubes live in San Francisco, 1977 — Quay Lewd center stage in platform boots, a line of dancers in bikinis behind him
SF · 1977
The Tubes on stage with a motorcycle prop beneath banks of televisions
Motorcycle · TVs
The Tubes on a large theater stage — Quay Lewd in giant platform boots center, full band arrayed under purple and pink lights (photo: James Baldocchi)
Theater stage · Quay in boots
The Tubes live in color — full band on stage with Bill Spooner and Roger Steen on Flying V guitars, Prairie Prince on drums behind
Full band · Flying Vs
Archive

Bonus reels.

The Tubes in front of a TUBES sign, 1980
Backdrop · 1980
Fee Waybill as Quay Lewd on stage with platform boots
Quay · Close
The Tubes early promo photo — alphabet shirts
Early Promo
Group portrait
Group Portrait
Fee Waybill and Bill Spooner on stage
Fee & Bill
Newspaper review clipping — 'A Warning to Parents: Here Comes The Vile, The Horrifying, The Amazing, The Fabulous — Here Come The Tubes!'
Press · A warning to parents
The Tubes backstage — candid black and white
Backstage · Candid
The Tubes in a crowded backstage group photo — Bill Spooner, Fee Waybill, Roger Steen and others crammed in frame, black and white
Backstage · Young & crowded
The Tubes on an outdoor stage in 1985 — full band with cheerleaders in blue, crowd with hands raised
Outdoor stage · 1985 · Full band
Bill Graham's Winterland marquee showing KISS, Tubes, Rush, Elvin Bishop, and Leslie West — fans lined up on sidewalk, black-and-white
Winterland · Tubes & Rush on the bill
Collage of backstage and candid black-and-white photos of The Tubes
Backstage · Candid collage