The Heavy Metal band now known as "The Vomit Eaters" have been entertaining its fans, in one form or another, since the early 1960's. They have suffered tragedies, both personally and publicly; but through it all they've remained true to their music. The group was first formed in 1960: initially they were called, "Leif and the Leprechauns." "The name never caught on," said Leif 'La-Rue' Liplock, "it was our first manager's idea. He thought it would make us more popular in Ireland. We went on-stage wearing green tights and little fedora's, it was bloody awful!" One year later the band renamed themselves "The Beatles." "It seemed like a good idea at the time, how were we supposed to know that it was already being used by those blokes in Liverpool?" asked Liplock with a laugh. "We got a phone call from John Lennon telling us to put a stop to it. At first we didn't think much of it. That is until those gits threatened to bring about a lawsuit. We figured it wasn't worth the hassle." "Cornelious was the one who first suggested that we name the group '"The Liplocks.'" I must admit that I didn't like the idea at the time. I was afraid people would think that I was being arrogant; but the rest of the guys liked the idea, and for the next four years we were the Liplocks." Fortunately for Leif, people paid more attention to the music than the name. The band's unique form of anti-establishment music spoke deeply to the Flower Power Generation. In a 1968 interview, legendary rock guitarist Jimmy Hendrix called the Liplocks "one of my major inspirations." In 1969, the band played at he original Woodstock. Before their performance, the group's lead tambourine player, Cornelious, got hold of some of the infamous "bad acid." "You could tell that there was something wrong with Corny before we even went on-stage," said guitarist James James. "I remember just shrugging it off. I figured that it was just the rain getting him down." At first everything went fine, but history was made during the performance of their multi-platinum hit, "I like Bacon." Halfway through the song Cornelious became ill and started his way off-stage. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. On his way he vomited all over several roadies- in full view of the audience. The whole concert came to a crashing halt. Stunned and embarrassed, Cornelious proceeded to actually try to eat the vomit. "I still don't know why he did that," said Liplock. "I think maybe that he was trying to hide the 'evidence'. The audience seemed to like it though." An understatement. The audience loved it and cheered Cornelious on. Realizing that they were on to something, the other band members began eating the vomit as well. "We were caught up in the moment," said James. "It kind of felt and tasted like oatmeal... you know, warm and mushy." After the performance Liplock declared that the band would now be known as "The Vomit Eater 5." During the 1970's the group had twelve number one hits and a total of forty songs broke into the top ten. The group's biggest hit was called "Time To Spew." Their stage show was one of the best ever. Other groups tried to duplicate it but could never completely hide their disgust for the practice of forcing themselves to vomit and then consume that self-same vomit. In fact, Stud Smith of the copycat group "The Spewers" claimed that the whole process led to his bouts with bulimia. Unfortunately for the group the 1980's wouldn't be so kind. The beginning of the end came early in 1981 when Cornelious was found dead before a big performance in the Catskills. An autopsy showed that he'd choked to death on a chunk of vomit: tests showed that it wasn't his. "It was an awful time for all of us. I'm the one that found him," said bass player Rick "Tiffany" Morgan. "I'll never forget the look on his face. He looked so... shocked. Killed by a practice he'd been participating in for a decade." The death was ruled an accident, but many questions still remain. Was it foul play, or just hi-jinx gone wrong? The death also raised many new questions about the practice of vomit eating. After a lot of legal wrangling Congress passed The Anti-Vomit Ingestion Bill in the winter of 1982. President Reagan signed it into law one month later, thus making it illegal to eat vomit during musical performances within the United States. "It was a knee-jerk response," said Liplock angrily. "Corny's death was tragic, but it was the only death ever linked directly to eating vomit. It was just another case of (President) Reagan cozying up to a popular issue." The group, now called "The Vomit Eaters", found that it was next to impossible to get bookings. "We couldn't get gigs, people were afraid to book us," said Liplock sadly. "In a way, Corny's death signaled the death of the group." In 1986 at a sparsely attended news conference, the band announced that they would be disbanding and going their separate ways. Drummer Jerome Stoyanovich A.K.A. "Slack Bastard," the group's only American member moved back to his hometown of Moscow, Idaho to fulfill his lifelong dream of running a hardware store. "It's something I've always wanted to do," said Stoyanovich. "There's something satisfying about helping people that's always appealed to me." The "Slack Bastard Hardware Store" is one of the most popular in Idaho. Lead guitarist James James became a televangelist in 1988 after claiming that he'd been "born again." "God just spoke to me. He told me that I must renounce my past life and build theme parks in his name," James said in a 1990 Barbara Walters interview. His estimated personal worth was reported to be at least $150 million, unfortunately it all ended in 1991 when a sex scandal brought his ministry down. "The bitch set me up!" James said in an interview two years later. The 19 year old "victim" claimed that she was drugged and forced to "perform unnatural sex acts and stuff," in an interview that accompanied a pictorial in Hustler Magazine. Bass guitarist Rick "Tiffany" Morgan announced that he was a homosexual (a fact that was well known by most). In 1987 he moved in with Elton John until a disagreement forced them to separate in 1992. "It was just apparent that we'd grown apart," said Morgan. Morgan sued for ten million in palimony and the case was settled out of court. "Let's just say that I'm not going to go hungry." But of all the group, none took it worse than Liplock. After being an entertainer for over twenty-five years he couldn't admit that it was over. "It was rough," said Liplock. "I tried a lot of stuff during those years; Several solo projects, but nothing that I did musically ever came close to the popularity that I once possessed. "I think that the thing really hit home in 1990 when Entertainment Tonight called to tell me they were doing a 'Where Are They Now' segment about me. As if that wasn't bad enough, about the same time People Magazine did a special 'TOP 1000 Celebrities' issue. I came in behind Rip Taylor! I knew then that it was time for me to get out of showbiz." In 1991 Liplock started up LEIF'S ENFORCERS, a personal security agency that provided protection to celebrities. Unfortunately, his trusting attitude caused him to hire several former child stars. Among them was Todd (Different Strokes) Bridges. The results were disastrous. Bridges ended up shooting Steven Spielberg in the knee caps when he didn't cast him in Schindler's List. Spielberg agreed not to press charges if Bridges would seek psychiatric counseling, and if Liplock closed down his security agency. By 1993 Leif had hit rock bottom. Twenty-eight years after forming his first band, he had been reduced to selling women's underwear on the streets. His former bandmates became increasingly worried about his state of mind. "I ran into Leif in July of '93," remembers Stoyanovich. "He barely recognized me. He also kept insisting that I refer to a dead worm he wore around his neck as 'Lefty,' claiming that this worm had saved his life in the Utah Alps. "I called James and Rick and the three of us forcibly took La-Rue to the funny farm. They let him out six months later. He seemed much better, but he insisted on keeping the worm." Liplock refuses to talk about his time in the hospital, he merely refers to it as his "dark period." After Liplock was released he managed to get himself a job selling Saturn cars. "It was terrific," said Liplock. "I was out among the public selling cars in a hassle free environment. For the first time in a long time I was content." In 1994, Leif was contacted by the organizers of Woodstock '94 and asked if he and the others could be persuaded to perform. "They were the biggest hit of the first concert, it wouldn't be right not to have them," Said one promoter. The band members were not exactly thrilled by the prospect of returning to their old ways, even for just one performance. "Woodstock '94 would have been thirty-four years since we first got together as a band," said Liplock. "We didn't want to be 'over the hill rockers' like "The Who," or "The Rolling Stones." But after talking it over amongst ourselves we figured, 'What the Hell, Let's have one last performance!'" When The Vomit Eaters went on-stage the audience roared. "Corny would have loved it," said Liplock, wiping away a tear. Their performance of "I Like Bacon" sent the crowd into a frenzy. It was apparent to all that The Vomit Eaters were re-born! "It was just like magic. We hadn't played together in eight years," said Morgan. "We knew at the end of our set that we had to get back together." In January of 1995 the group released, "Blood, Sweat, and Vomit: Three Decades Of Hits." It currently sits at number one on the Billboard charts. The album release coincided with the band's first tour since 1986. "The stage show is still pretty much like it used to be. We move a little slower and aren't allowed to eat vomit anymore, but it's still a damned good show!" said Liplock with a smile.