Wall Of Voodoo was a New Wave/Alternative Rock group from Los Angeles, California, mostly known for their 1983 hit, “Mexican Radio”.

The band’s original lineup consisted of: Stan Ridgway (vocals, harmonica), Marc Moreland (guitar), Bruce Moreland (bass, keyboards), Chas Gray (keyboards), and Joe Nanini (drums, percussion). The band had a sound which was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.

The group issued its self-titled debut EP in 1980. A year later, the band’s sound crystallized on their 1981 LP, Dark Continent, which couched Ridgway’s highly stylized and cinematic narratives in atonal, electronically based settings.

In 1982, following the exit of Bruce Moreland, Wall Of Voodoo released Call Of The West, which featured “Mexican Radio”, their biggest hit. After an appearance at the 1983 US Festival, Ridgway and Nanini would soon leave the group. The remaining members (including a returned Bruce Moreland) enlisted singer Andy Prieboy, and drummer Ned Leukhardt. The band resurfaced in 1985, with the LP, Seven Days In Sammystown. Happy Planet followed two years later, while 1988’s live effort, The Ugly Americans In Australia* (the asterisk denoting that a few tracks were recorded in Bullhead City, Arizona) effectively closed out the Wall Of Voodoo story.