Dry retch – ‘Cultural Backslidin’’ (Self Release)

Dry retch – ‘Cultural Backslidin’’ (Self Release)

The Merseyside Garage punks are getting out the starting gates early for 2021 with yet another solid mini-album release, fleshing out the previous single ‘12,000 miles from new’ with five new tracks. 2020’s ‘12,000….’ is a grinding ordeal with an L7-esque bassline that will seep into your subconscious, a welcomed guest that will never leave.

Like previous releases the lads have cranked out the Big Muff in spades, delivering their sonic assault of Proto-Punk. The second track ‘I never washed it’, sounding as dirty as it’s proclaiming all while channeling a masterful Lux Interior.

Stand out track here undoubtedly ‘condition 19’, painting a picture all too familiar for everyone in the past year. Whether you’re hitting the bottle or trying to appease yourself by learning Spanish, cabin fever is setting for all of us. The Covid theme continues with the fantastic Mudhoney tongue in cheek number ‘(Don’t) touch me, you’re sick!’.

Thrown into the mix, as if a cherry was even needed on the cake, a stripped-down cover of New York Doll’s ‘Vietnamese baby’. A much starker version delivered here with a little cheeky riff from other Dolls classic ‘Jet Boy’ tacked on at the end, a great tribute to the recently departed Dolls guitarist Sylvan Sylvan. Go get yourself a copy.

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Author: Dan Kasm

UNIQUE GUITAR TO RAISE FUNDS FOR NEW YORK DOLLS LEGEND SYLVAIN SYLVAIN

UNIQUE GUITAR TO RAISE FUNDS FOR NEW YORK DOLLS LEGEND SYLVAIN SYLVAIN

ROCK ACTS SIGN UP TO CREATE UNIQUE GUITAR TO RAISE FUNDS FOR NEW YORK DOLLS LEGENDSYLVAIN SYLVAIN

GUITAR AUCTION STARTS 8.00am FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223904966300

Rock musicians including Keith Richards, Slash, Myles Kennedy, Michael Monroe, Taime Downe, and Jizzy Pearl have come together and signed a unique Gretsch guitar, hand-painted by TylaJ Pallas, to raise funds for New York Dolls’ legend Sylvain Sylvain who has been undergoing cancer treatment in the US.

 

In April 2019 New York Dolls’ guitarist Sylvain Sylvain confirmed that he had been diagnosed with cancer, was undergoing treatment, required further surgery and would be unable to work for some time. As an original member of the New York Dolls, who had inspired a generation of rock musicians, this was devastating news to many within the rock community. Given the costs of medical care in the US, a Go Fund Me page was set up and fans of the New York Dolls, including musicians, have been donating and raising funds to support him. To date $69,860 out of the $80,000 target has been raised.

In the UK an idea was born. One of our own legends, Tyla (of Dogs D’Amour fame) and his friend/business partner, Alan Hampton (at whose bar both Sylvain Sylvain and Tyla had played in recent years), decided they wanted to do something. Alan had the idea of buying a Gretsch guitar, as played by both Sylvain and Tyla, getting Tyla to paint it and then auctioning it off to raise money. Tyla went one stage further, sourced a new guitar generously donated by Mike Taft at Gretsch, hand-painted an original New York Dolls design on it and asked his friends within the international rock community to sign it. And they did … and then some.

 

The painted guitar (a new Gretsch Electromatic) is stunning. A unique one-of-a kind piece of rock memorabilia that reads like a Who’s Who of ’80s and beyond debauched rock music in all it’s finest glory. A full list of the artists who have signed the guitar (along with images of the guitar) can be found at the foot of this release.

 

Tyla, said,

“I was gutted when I heard about Sylvain. Cancer’s horrific for anyone, but most musicians struggle to get insurance and in the US it’s even worse. The Dolls inspired so many of us and we just felt we wanted to do something. It was Alan’s idea. The least I could do was do one of my paintings on it and get in touch with a few old mates. I never expected so many to get involved. It’s great, innit? We’ve set a reserve, but to be honest I hope it’ll go for a lot more and it may come close to helping him hit his target. He’s almost there”.

 

Due to the logistical difficulties, the cost of shipping the guitar around the world and the tour schedules of those who wanted to contribute, Tyla and Alan’s plans nearly didn’t happen. But, not to be put off, an alternate plan was conceived involving another musical contact of Tyla’s – this time in Canada. Bruce Hotchkies, The Deadly Romantics, has a specialist printing business, and all artists wishing to sign the guitar would provide authenticated handwritten signatures that would then be process-printed on to the back of the guitar, and the handwritten signatures would be included along with the guitar and case when auctioned. To enable this to happen the signatures made their way across the Atlantic.

 

 

Alan Hampton, Owner, 10 Bar, Forfar, said, 

“I’ve been a huge fan of punk, rock and particularly the Dolls for years. I also put on some music and I’ve been in the amazing position of having had both Sylvain and Tyla, along with other acts, play 10 Bar in recent years. I felt I wanted to do something, spoke to Tyla and it took off from there. It’s been great to see the rock community come together like this and want to pay back to one of their own”.

 

Amongst the signatories is a fellow New York Doll, Steve Conte (guitarist, Michael Monroe Band, and solo artist), who said,

 

“I have spent many years with Sylvain, living in NYC, writing songs and playing in the New York Dolls together and I can honestly say – this guy is a national treasure. It’s heart warming to see that so many of these other great musicians who I know and play with have signed the guitar for Syl as well. Thank you all”

 

The auction will take place on ebay.co.uk[ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223904966300]. The item will include the one-off guitar, guitar case and the original handwritten signatures. Given the charitable nature of the item, and it’s value to those in the rock community, a reserve of £3000 has been set.

 

Tyla’s Dogs D’Amour has also recorded a cover of the New York Dolls’ classic “Pills” (featuring Rich Jones (guitarist, Michael Monroe Band) and Alan Hampton (formerly guitarist, Courtesan) available to purchase and download from Bandcamp. All proceeds from this will also be donated to the Sylvain Sylvain Go Fund Me campaign. People can donate as much as they want when they download the song.

Guitar Signed by:

THE ROLLING STONES:
Keith Richards

WHITE LION:
Mike Tramp

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS:
Slash
Myles Kennedy
Todd Kerns
Brent Fitz

Frank Sidoris

THE QUIREBOYS:
Spike

MICHAEL MONROE BAND:
Michael Monroe
Steve Conte
Rich Jones
Sami Yaffa
Karl Rockfist

TYLA’S DOGS D’AMOUR
Tyla
Gary Pennick
Simon Hanson
Matty James

SKID ROW:
Dave Sabo
Rachel Bolan
Scotti Hill
Rob Hammersmith
ZP Theart

WEDNESDAY 13:
Wednesday 13

LOVE/HATE:
Jizzy Pearl

ENUFF Z’NUFF:
Donnie Vie

FASTER PUSSYCAT:
Taime Downe
Xristian Simon
Danny Nordahl
Chad Stewart

BACKYARD BABIES:
Nicke Borg
Dregen
Johan Blomqvist
Peder Carlsson

 

 

The Claws – No Connections (Dead Beat Records)

The Claws – No Connections (Dead Beat Records)

Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, The Quireboys, The Dogs D;Amour, The Jacobites, Diamond Dogs, Keif N Mick when they were looking through the ‘Fingerprint File’ and some well-timed Faces. Come with me on this one folks. Slip into your favourite shirt, undo a few buttons..one more.  Pull on your black jeans and slip into a pair of your favourite cowboy boots or creepers.  Put some ice in the glass, pour a shot or two of your choice. Now ruffle your hair and turn the stereo up.

Right, let’s commence take off and let the Claws be your guides for the next thirty minutes. ‘No Connection’ certainly has a connection with all of the above they all share the same blood group and were fed on the same steady diet and it shows throughout the seam of this LP.

I always appreciate a well-groomed Rock and Roll record that’s borrowed off some of my favourite albums and The Claws have done that here.  They’ve not aped their forefathers or just ripped them off they’ve learnt from them and taken the lesson and put them to the correct use. The opening couple of tracks are quite restrained and not the Dolls struttin’ you might expect at all and by the third track, ‘Wastin Time’ they are cruising around the hood of Those Black Crowes brand of Rock ‘n Roll from the laid back groove to the underlying organ swirl but up from is a croaky well oiled vocal and a sweet sweet overdriven lead guitar.

 

Hailing from the City of Angels and fronted by the one and only Rock ‘n’ Rolla Chad Cherry (of the Last Vegas!); the Claws play from the heart. They exude confidence in what it is they’re doing and as a result, people who hear it will be delighted.

They have some time for a bit of harmonica honkin’ as they cruise down to the crossroads with this upbeat shuffle ‘Devil Of Choice’.  They’re not intimidated or put off by playing out a cliche or two like the acoustic opening ‘Ghost Blood’ with its more dreamy Hangmen like tempo complete with swirling keys and castanets. They do just cut loose as well like on ‘Stumblin Around’ of course it sounds like a morning after the night before no regrets tune but hey we’ve all been there.

Gotta love the harmonica honk of ‘California M.I.A’ as the band just roll around on a traditional twelve-bar groove but it’s timeless and classy so I’m on board.  I’m a sucka for some sloppy Rock and Roll and when its done properly then it hits the spot so its a bullseye for me from The Claws.  oh and of course they sign off with a slowey with picked acoustics and lush piano bombs and hell they’ve gone full in with rim shots and bottleneck – Amen brothers, I’ll raise a glass to you for a really cool album full of timeless Rock and Roll that hits the spot ply after play after play.

 

Buy ‘No Connections’ Here

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Author: Dom Daley

The Cavemen – Night After Night (Slovenly Records)

The Cavemen – Night After Night (Slovenly Records)

Probably the sleaziest band on the planet right now taking on all comers and turning up the fuzz and writing essential Rock and Roll at every turn. These cats are the alpha males of dirty garage rock and roll and I’m saying right here from the off that had this bad boy not been released so late in the year it would have steamed into the top ten with ease.

They’ve been causing trouble since 2015 and now reside in the seedy underbelly of London Town after escaping their native New Zealand to reach a wider audience.  If you’re asking me what do they sound like well, they play dirty filthy punk rock ‘n’ garage real old school fuzzed-up garage Rock n roll like Iggy ‘n’ Ron used to play with some Brain James licks thrown into the mix They’re wild and reckless like Ron ‘n’ Wayne played in the MC5.  They stole from Lux and Ivy and they took it all and consumed the lot and became The Cavemen. When ‘Snakeskin’ bursts through the speaker I can sit back and take it all in as the fearless foursome just kick the living shit out of their Rock and Roll and sling in some well-timed cliched guitar licks for good measure. But wait, ‘Boyfriend’ even with its fuzzed guitar-slinging and bad boy lyrics its got rhythm and handclaps it’s like the Ramones badly-behaved cousins who just drink beer and fight have turned up and this time they’re getting serious.

Man, I thought it was impossible for these cats to get any better then they turn up with an acoustic guitar and throw out ‘I Don’t Know Why’.  Its a bit soppy maybe it’s their age or they’ve run out of spite and bile and its time to settle down. what a tune but wait, agh! normal service is resumed as ‘Can’t Resist’ is spat out like only a bunch of angry young men can do.

The title track is like a dirty filthy power-pop ditty with great backing vocals it would seem the Cavemen have stolen Los Pepes crown for penning rapid chunks of garage power pop. ‘Night After Night’ is a banger from its Jam like chord changes and bass thump to the melodic chorus and Bv’s and uptempo pace these guys are on fire!

They take it back down and dial back into the acoustic-electric Ramones theft of ‘Belgian Holiday’ because this could have fallen off the back of ‘End Of The Century’ easily. (Minus the Spector wall of sound obviously) “oooh, I wanna Be Your Boyfriend” who cares anyway The Ramones stole it anyway.

‘Slave’ sounds like Jim Jones having a blast on some 70s glitter but the trashy glitter that the Dolls peddled.  But there’s so much going on within this record, the variety of tunes and the change of gears is a masterstroke. Of course, the songs pretty much hover around the two-minute mark so they’re never going to get boring that’s a given.

the two singles that they’ve made videos for show how varied they get and how strong the melodies are.  ‘Knife fight’ is rapid and a lot of fun whilst ‘Are You Lonely?’ delves further back into the 60s for their inspiration before blasting off toward the album’s conclusion and the penultimate track sounds exactly how you’d imagine someone like The Dead Boys would sound if they were just starting out in 2019 – exciting – energetic – confident and essential. Which leaves their stab at slide filled cowboy rock and roll ‘Death Will Never Change’ which just about wraps up a stunning record.  A headfuck of an album that will leave you reeling – one that kicks you then gives you a hug and shares its beer with you but only if you’re 100% in.  Me I’m there. Someone get me a beer I’m going back in, ‘Night After Night’ is a crazy roller coaster ride of Rock and Roll unoriginal as shit but fuck me it sounds so damn good!

Buy ‘Night After Night’ Here

Author: Dom Daley

 

Happy Birthday Blackie

Happy Birthday Blackie

Happy Birthday Steven Edward Duren born on this day in 1956 Better known to you and me as Blackie Lawless of the Rock band WASP.  His first break was replacing Johnny Thunders when New York Dolls toured Florida when we remained for the rest of the tour.  He was first known as Blackie Goozeman.  

Lawless is best known as bass player and singer (cough) in WASP which he started with Randy Piper who he played in previous bands before settling on the classic line up of Holmes, Piper, Lawless, and Tony Richards the band signed to Capitol Records but it was their single ‘Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)’ that caused a right stir partly due to the lyrics (obviously) and the PMRC who were on a collision course with Rock music after the bands label refused to include the track on their debut album so it was released by Music For Nations and became an instant classic.

 

Lawless has sort of distanced himself from the track and hasn’t played it for a number of years however the band went on to enjoy great success with subsequent releases ‘The Last Command’, ‘Inside The Electric Circus’ and almost twenty albums since. He’s courted controversy with canceled shows and line up changes and the use of tapes but regardless of all that Happy Birthday Blackie that debut album is a belter.

 

Gone But Not Forgotten – Johnny Thunders

Gone But Not Forgotten – Johnny Thunders

John Anthony Genzale would have been 67 today.  Who knows what really happened at St. Peter House New Orleans I guess we’ll never ever know.  What we do know is the former New York Doll and leader of the Heartbreakers was a unique legend who influenced so many and continues to touch the lives of so many through his music HEre at RPM Online we will never forget Johnny Thunders – Happy Birthday Johnny Wherever you might be cheers!

Gone But Not Forgotten – Arthur Killer Kane

Gone But Not Forgotten – Arthur Killer Kane

Arthur Harold Kane Jr.  Born February 3, 1949  was best known as the bass guitarist for the Legendry New York Dolls. Kane was an integral part of the band until he was kicked out in 1975., Following the departure of Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan.

In 2004, Kane rejoined the surviving Dolls (Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain) to rehearse and play a reunion concert in London, which was the subject of the 2005 documentary New York Doll.

After leaving the Dolls Kane collaborated with Blackie Lawless in Killer Kane, which resulted in the single “Mr. Cool.” Lawless was an old friend from New York City and had replaced Johnny Thunders during the ill-fated Florida tour in 1975.

After the Dolls, Kane was involved in several bands that included: playing bass in the band formed by Sid Vicious, The Idols (with Jerry Nolan), and The Corpse Grinders (with Rick Rivets); and joining Johnny Thunders on a few tours in the 1980s.

In the early 2000s, Kane met filmmaker Greg Whiteley through his work with the Latter-day Saints, and the two became friends. Whiteley commented that all Kane ever talked about was how he wished that he could somehow get the Dolls back together.  The idea of doing a film on Kane’s life followed. Coincidentally, in 2004 Morrissey a high-profile fan of the Dolls—offered Kane an opportunity to perform a reunion show with the surviving Dolls (David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain) at the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of his Meltdown Festival.

 

When Kane called Whiteley to ask for a ride to the pawn shop to retrieve his bass guitar, Whiteley asked if he could bring along a camera. From there Whiteley filmed Kane’s experiences preparing for the reunion, rehearsing with the Dolls in New York, and reconciling with Johansen, culminating in two sold-out shows in London; which for Kane was all a fulfillment of a nearly thirty-year dream. Whiteley’s footage resulted in the 2005 Sundance featured documentary, New York Doll.

On July 13, 2004, just 22 days after the reunion concert, Kane thought that he had caught the flu in London and checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital, complaining of fatigue. He was quickly diagnosed with leukemia and died within two hours. He was 55 years old. Johansen described Kane as “nonjudgmental, bawdy and holy.”

In 2009 Kane’s autobiography was published entitled, I, Doll: Life and Death with the New York Dolls, with the foreword and epilogue written by Barbara Kane.

Kane met Barbara when he was with the Dolls, and they were married in 1977. Although they were separated for many years, their divorce never became finalized. She was interviewed for the New York Doll documentary, portions of which are interspersed within the film’s narrative.

In 2005 the documentary, New York Dolls: All Dolled Up, was released on DVD. The directors, rock photographer Bob Gruen, and his then-wife, Nadya Beck, owned an early video camera and shot many hours of footage of the Dolls in the early 1970s. Edited down to 95 minutes, the black and white film shows the Dolls in different locales, such as backstage or at an airport, and documents several of the Doll’s live performances in New York City and California. Kane appears in some of the footage wearing a plaster cast on his left arm. This was the result of his volatile girlfriend Connie attempting to cut off his thumb so that he would be unable to play bass anymore. In his autobiography, fellow bass player and Dolls fan Dee Dee Ramone mentioned Kane when discussing Connie, whom he himself later dated. Dee Dee and Connie’s similarly violent and tumultuous relationship would inspire the 1977 Ramones song “Glad to See You Go”. Kane passed away on this day in 2004.  If you’ve never seen the Documentary then go see it its funny, enlightening, sad yet uplifting.  Arthur Killer Kane RPM salutes you.  One of the good guys Gone but not Forgotten.

The Sweet Things ‘In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time’ (Spaghetty Town Records)

The Sweet Things ‘In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time’ (Spaghetty Town Records)

 

To say I have been looking forward to this album would be a massive understatement, their early singles over the past two years should have been blasting on every rock radio station in the world, and these guys should already be huge from the likes of ‘Love to Leave’ and ‘Slather.’ To be clear, my anticipation for the album would have made it easy to be disappointed in it, but my faith has been rewarded with an album that could very easily be my album of the year and is sure to be one that will remain in constant rotation for years to come. The Sweet Things have distilled the essence of rock n roll’s primal ingredients and then added their own secret spices to make it all their own. Comparison points definitely include the Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses, but those are not the only ones, for example, as I would say the spirit of Chuck Berry is essential to the band as well.

Lead video ‘Liquor Lightning’ kicks off the album in fine style as we hear the sound of bottles clinking together before a riff that encompasses the shambolic spirit of something like the Black Crowes ‘Thick n Thin’ gives way to Dave Tierney frantically spilling the words from the first verse over the riff in a race to the finish line. Everything then falls perfectly in time as the band is in fine form with the addition of some excellent piano work included behind them to give the song even more flavor. The reprieve in the pre-chorus provides even more urgency to the chorus as the horns explode in the background. The guitar solo is razor sharp and captures the Chuck Berry spirit before the band slam the chorus at us again. If someone asks for a song in the spirit of rock n roll, this can be it. Follow up ‘Dead or Worse’ slows the beat a bit and features some excellent harmonica work. Sam Hariss (also bass) provides the first verse on this one with his rasp being a perfect fit, similar to Izzy’s vocals in GN’R. The production gives the music plenty of space with Tierney taking over for the second verse before they combine vocals at the end. I hate to think how many times I have heard the live version of this on YouTube. The excitement and the vibe have translated over to the vinyl in remarkable fashion.

The title track takes us on a mid tempo journey with a timeless classic rock epic that immediately grabbed me with the band again receiving support from piano, horns, and some harmonica. Simply put, I do not understand how fans of early Black Crowes, Dogs D’amour, Quireboys, Faces, Rolling Stones could not be drawn in with this song. I have this urge to lift a glass in the air and singalong with this one every time it plays.  Another of the early release songs follows with ‘Almost Faded’ being another perfect rock n roll song with some horn work that would do 80’s era Hanoi Rocks proud. It is not a stretch to think Tierney (also guitar), Hariss, Lorne Behrman (guitar/ vocals), and Darren Fried (drums) had a cryptic meeting with someone down at the crossroads to come up with this album. The time that has gone into creating these songs and this album has paid dividends. If you are not singing along with ‘Almost Faded,’ I really do not know what to tell you other than your rock n roll spirit is apparently dead. Hyperbole? Give it a listen and find out for yourself. Wrapping up the first half of the album is ‘Dr. Crazy Girl’ whose guitar riff slowly builds before the song starts moving and conjuring the spirit of the New York Dolls. While perhaps not as monumental as the first four songs, this one keeps the momentum going nicely.

Flipping the record over introduces the classic rock infused ‘Drained.’ Again the band has really thrown in all the bells and whistles…. Okay, maybe it is all the horns and piano to create something really special that will still kick butt in the live setting without them. The chorus begs for a singalong from all of us listening. ‘Coke’n’ has been one they have played live which was originally done by Izzy Stradlin back on his 2002 ‘On Down the Road’ album and fits the Sweet Things like it was written with them in mind.  The groove is timeless and shows in terms of the songwriting the heart and soul that Izzy provided GN’R. This is another one just made for blasting out the windows wherever you are as everyone around you should be listening to it too. ‘Through the Cracks of the City’ is another I am familiar with as the band originally released it a couple years ago and have played it live. The hook simply sticks to you and does not shake loose, and the guitar riffs throughout the song are awesome.

‘Fix to Kick’ brings us to the final stretch of the album with the band making another timeless riff look effortless. The Sweet Things simply rawk in all the right ways with this being another classic chorus that they smartly do not use to overwhelm the music. It falls right in line with the music in the mix, giving it a great live feel. This has future single written all over it. Finale ‘Feed My Dog’ slows things down a touch with another slow burner that does not waste one second of its five minutes. The guitar licks are perfectly done and the extended musical section in the song gives me chills before the vocals come back to wrap up the album.

I wrote in another piece here on the site how several huge albums have come out in May between the Wildhearts, the Darts, Glam Skanks, and the Sweet Things. I only have the Glam Skanks yet to hear, but every album in that group has simply killed. This stands tall as an Album of the Year contender and beyond that really as the album is simply a timeless piece of art and a testament to the band. World dominance should be next for them as long as you give this a listen, buy it, and then let your friends, acquaintances, and even your enemies know about it as everyone needs this rock n roll in their lives.

 

Buy ‘In Borrowed Shoes On Borrowed Time’ Here

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Author: Gerald Stansbury

 

 

Sylvain Sylvain needs your help

Sylvain Sylvain needs your help

 

Hi Everybody:
I know there has been some curiosity, speculation and, yes, rumor about why I haven’t been Rampaging songs on FB or, more importantly, out on tour promoting my book “There’s No Bones in Ice Cream” and playing in a town near YOU.
First the BAD news: For about a year now, I have been battling cancer.
Then the GOOD news: I have an upcoming surgery with a great doctor that may do the TRICK.   There will, however, be a somewhat lengthy recovery period (at least a year).  I have not been able to work since last year and have more surgery scheduled.  I love life! As hard as life has been to me these past 2 years I want to live and I know with your love & support I’ll have the best chance that I could ever have,  
Love
Sylvain Sylvain

Please, if you can click the link below at Sylvains Go Fund Me Page –

Donate Here 

 

I guess another way to help a rock and roll brother would be to buy his Book Which is a fantastic read ‘There’s No Bones In Ice Cream’ Here

Gone But Not Forgotten – Johnny Thunders

Gone But Not Forgotten – Johnny Thunders
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock

John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991) Otherwise known as the legend that was Johnny Thunders.  What could possibly be said that hasn’t already been said.  He was the lead guitarist in the New York Dolls.  He fronted possibly the finest of all American ’77 punk bands and went on to have varying degrees of success in his own rite with some amazing backing bands and releasing some of the best records ever from any decade. ‘Que Sera Sera’, ‘Hurt Me’, ‘So Alone’ do I need to go on?  If you don’t own them why don’t you own them?.  His solo shows ranged from car crash but amazing to religious experience and amazing to simply just being out there one of a kind guy and amazing.

 

There have been several films about Johnny from the aborted and dark ‘Born To Lose’ The Last Rock And Roll Movie with its numerous cuts to the wonderful ‘Looking For Johnny’, with a fantastic array of stars talking about their friend and fellow musician to the recent drama about his last days in New Orleans that’s yet to hit the shops.  Johnny met a tragic end on this back in ’91 and I can remember where I was when I heard the news that almost broke my heart.

An autopsy confirmed evidence of advanced leukemia which might just have finished Thunders off anyway but to go the way he did was an absolute tragedy and at such a young age as well, he seemed to cram so much in such a short space of time.  Leaving behind a couple of Dolls records – One Heartbreakers classic – a couple of solo records and a covers album along with a plethora of bootlegs and demos and who could forget Gang War a much-underrated record he co-wrote with Wayne Kramer.

 

We can argue and debate all day and night about what period of his career was best; was it the Dolls and their trailblazing crossdressing rock ‘n’ roll or was it the Noo Yawk swagger of the Heartbreakers who didn’t give two flying fucks and lived every day like it was their last leaving behind one of the finest albums ever put to tape in ‘L.A.M.F’.  I loved Gang War and I loved his acoustic balladeering of ‘Hurt Me’ as much as I loved his rock and roll excess of ‘So Alone’ with its cast of Rock and roll legends from Marriott to Lynott to his comrade in Rock n Roll Gerry. What about  ‘Que Sera Sera’ (it just had a fine RSD make over). Some of those covers on ‘Copy Cats’ were superb interpretations of what made Johnny tick at the time and a bunch of tunes that were coursing through his veins.  I only wish the Oddballs had gotten to record their album with his as those demos they were working on could have eclipsed everything that went before it but sadly we’ll never ever know.  I miss going to his shows which when he played the Marquee were more like events than shows wondering which Johnny would turn up but he never let me down and was always memorable and backed by some amazingly talented people that he always surrounded himself with no matter what the situation he found himself in.

Thunders should have been a huge huge superstar but circumstances and choices probably meant this would and could never happen but he will always be my favourite and if I’m happy or sad feeling up or down Johnny Thunders always had a tune for me from that incredible back catalogue.  Johnny rest in Peace and today raise a glass to his brilliance and if you ever picked up a yellow Jr and curled your top lip or flicked your head because you wanted to be as cool as Johnny Thunders well done and always keep his memory alive.