Nightmares In Wax has been played on NTS in shows including Abiu, featured first on 5 February 2026. Songs played include Shangri-La.

An early version of what would later become new wave band Dead or Alive, English singer-songwriter Pete Burns returned to music in February 1979, after the demise of the aborted group Mystery Girls, with Nightmares In Wax. Said band mined the fertile depths of the dark and kinky post-punk movement of the time. Nightmares In Wax's sole aim was, reportedly, to be the worst group in history.

"We started the group because we had a stolen keyboard and thought we had to do something with it", Burns recalls. Despite its continually changing line-up, the group was asked by Pete Fullwell to record a single, "Black Leather" - an homage to leather-clad motorcyclists - for his Inevitable label.

The record only sold moderately, despite being released a total of three times. 1983 saw 'Black Leather' included on a three track EP entitled 'Birth Of A Nation' and in its original format once again in 1985 at the peak of Dead or Alive's success.

Despite Burns feeling ambivalent towards the record, he was quite happy to sign copies whenever asked and these crop up from time to time in online auctions.