The Dead Boys
Encyclopedia
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock
band from Cleveland
, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.
and were originally called Frankenstein. When the band members relocated to New York City in July 1976, they adopted the Dead Boys moniker which came from the RFTT song "Down In Flames".
Moving to New York City at the encouragement of Joey Ramone
, the Ramones
' lead singer, the Dead Boys quickly gained notoriety for their outrageous live performances. Lewd gestures and profanity were the norm. On more than one occasion, lead singer Stiv Bators
slashed his stomach with his mic stand. They frequently played at the legendary rock club CBGB
and in 1977 they released their debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty
, produced by Genya Ravan
. Their song "Sonic Reducer
" is often regarded as one of the classics of the punk genre, with Allmusic calling it "one of punk's great anthems."
Sire Records
pressured the group to change their look and sound to appeal more to the U.S. mainstream (which had yet to embrace punk on the level seen in the UK) and this contributed to Dead Boys breaking up in 1979. Several 1979 performances were featured in the 1980 film, D.O.A.
. A few months after the breakup the band had to reunite to record a live album and thus fulfill their contractual obligations. To exact revenge on the label, Bators purposely sang off mic and the resulting recording was unusable. When the material eventually surfaced on Bomp! Records
, Bators had re-recorded the vocals in a studio.
with Brian James from The Damned and Dave Tregunna from Sham 69
. They released several albums on IRS Records, including the keyboard-laden hit single "Open Your Eyes" and a cover of "Like A Virgin
".
played around New York City (mostly at Max's Kansas City) doing shows with the Stilettos, as well as his own band Cheetah Chrome and the Casualties. He recorded a single for ORK Records, "Still Wanna Die/Take Me Home", recorded by Atlantic Records co-founder Herb Abramson. Shortly thereafter, he played on Ronnie Spector's debut solo album Siren. He appeared on several recordings during the 1980s, most notably his own "Cheetah Chrome and the Ghetto Dogs" (Get Hip) and Jeff Dahl's " I Kill Me" (Sympathy For The Record Industry). He also rejoined the Dead Boys for the ill fated reunions of the late 1980s.
In the 1990s, Chrome moved to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded a live album Alive in Detroit (DUI) at Lili's in Hamtramck, Michigan. In the 2002, he played guitar on several track for False Alarm's Fuck ‘Em All We've All Ready (Now) Won!.
In 2003, after the release of The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs, he reformed Rocket From The Tombs with David Thomas, Craig Bell, with Steve Mehlman (Pere Ubu) on drums and Richard Lloyd (Television) replacing the late Peter Laughner. [1] The reincarnation of the group toured in 2003 and 2006. In 2004 it entered the studio to record some of the band's old material for the first time. The recordings were released as Rocket Redux (SmRogVeil).
Chrome continues to play live shows both in the United States and Europe.
(John Madansky) moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with his wife "B Girl" Lucasta Ross. He hooked up with singer/guitarist/song writer "Leo DeLyon" (Leonard Nieberg) and bassist Tommy "Gun" Keating from power punk trio "The Blitz" (no association to Johnny's acronym "Blitz") . Johnny and Leo later formed a band called "Slaughterhouse" with Mark Crosley on Bass playing Toronto's top club and concert venues with a large fan following that guaranteed a packed audience at every gig. Johnny's band "Slaughterhouse" and Cheetah's band "Cheetah Chrome and Skells" headlined on Saturday, August 6, 1983 at New York City's CBGB's. "Dead Boy" bassist, Jeff Magnum came to see his old bandmates and at the end of the night, he, Cheetah and Blitz encored the show with some "Dead Boys" songs that brought the house down. After Johnny and Lucasta split, he married Lynn Hansen and fathered 3 boys Luke, Jake and Cole. Johnny recently achieved "grandfather" status with the arrival of "Hannah" care of his eldest son Luke and his wife. Johnny and Leo went on to form "The Tribe" with keyboard player Pauline Groen and bassist Tommy "Gun" Keating recording originals that were a little more mainstream. After taking a few years break to focus on family, Johnny, Leo, and Tommy regrouped back to their "power pumk" 3 piece hard core roots to form "Raw Dog". Over their twenty five years together as band mates, co-wrote and arranged all original material together. They recorded a number of unreleased songs at Comfort Sound,and Metalworks Studios
; "In From the Cold", "I like Girls", "Television Religion", "Call of the Wild", "Anxiety" and "Kill 'Em All" and many more. Johnny returned to Cleveland for the "Dead Boys" reunion gig in 2004 at the Beachland Ballroom in Clevelands including a "question and answere" session at the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". And a benefit concert at NYC's CBGB's in 2005. Johnny and Leo went their separate ways in 2007 Johnny still actively plays, writes and arranges with his band "The Highschool Hookers" and currently lives with his gilfriend in Toronto, Canada. Updated: 2011-01-23
, a studio assistant at the time.
In 1990, Bators died in France due to injuries sustained after having been hit by a taxi. In September 2004, the remaining members of the band re-formed for a one-off gig in Cleveland. In 2005, they played a benefit show for CBGB and another reunion show on Halloween.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band from Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.
Formation and 1970s punk rock era
The Dead Boys evolved out of the band Rocket From The TombsRocket From The Tombs
Rocket From the Tombs is an American rock music band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio.Heralded as an important protopunk group, they were little known during their lifetime, though various members later achieved renown in Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys...
and were originally called Frankenstein. When the band members relocated to New York City in July 1976, they adopted the Dead Boys moniker which came from the RFTT song "Down In Flames".
Moving to New York City at the encouragement of Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
, the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
' lead singer, the Dead Boys quickly gained notoriety for their outrageous live performances. Lewd gestures and profanity were the norm. On more than one occasion, lead singer Stiv Bators
Stiv Bators
Stiv Bators , was an American punk rockvocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands, The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.- Music and film career :...
slashed his stomach with his mic stand. They frequently played at the legendary rock club CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
and in 1977 they released their debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty
Young, Loud and Snotty
Young Loud and Snotty is the debut studio album of the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, with Genya Ravan serving as producer.-Track listing:...
, produced by Genya Ravan
Genya Ravan
Genya Ravan, aka Goldie Zelkowitz is an American rock singer and producer. She is the former lead singer of The Escorts, Goldie & the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive....
. Their song "Sonic Reducer
Sonic Reducer
"Sonic Reducer" is a punk rock song written by Gene O'Connor and David Thomas during their tenure in Rocket from the Tombs, which made its debut on the Dead Boys 1977 album Young, Loud and Snotty...
" is often regarded as one of the classics of the punk genre, with Allmusic calling it "one of punk's great anthems."
Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
pressured the group to change their look and sound to appeal more to the U.S. mainstream (which had yet to embrace punk on the level seen in the UK) and this contributed to Dead Boys breaking up in 1979. Several 1979 performances were featured in the 1980 film, D.O.A.
D.O.A. (1980 film)
D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage is a 1980 rockumentary film directed by Lech Kowalski about the origin of punk rock. The rockumentary takes interview and concert footage of some of punk rock's earliest bands of the late seventies scene...
. A few months after the breakup the band had to reunite to record a live album and thus fulfill their contractual obligations. To exact revenge on the label, Bators purposely sang off mic and the resulting recording was unusable. When the material eventually surfaced on Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...
, Bators had re-recorded the vocals in a studio.
Bators' subsequent career
Bators recorded a solo album, Disconnected, on Line Records. Bators later formed Lords of the New ChurchThe Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were an English/American post-punk supergroup with a line-up consisting of four musicians from prominent 1970s punk bands...
with Brian James from The Damned and Dave Tregunna from Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...
. They released several albums on IRS Records, including the keyboard-laden hit single "Open Your Eyes" and a cover of "Like A Virgin
Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. It was re-released worldwide in 1985, with the inclusion of the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. Records released a remastered version with two bonus...
".
Chrome's subsequent career
After the Dead Boys break up, Cheetah ChromeCheetah Chrome
Cheetah Chrome is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket From the Tombs and the punk rock band, The Dead Boys....
played around New York City (mostly at Max's Kansas City) doing shows with the Stilettos, as well as his own band Cheetah Chrome and the Casualties. He recorded a single for ORK Records, "Still Wanna Die/Take Me Home", recorded by Atlantic Records co-founder Herb Abramson. Shortly thereafter, he played on Ronnie Spector's debut solo album Siren. He appeared on several recordings during the 1980s, most notably his own "Cheetah Chrome and the Ghetto Dogs" (Get Hip) and Jeff Dahl's " I Kill Me" (Sympathy For The Record Industry). He also rejoined the Dead Boys for the ill fated reunions of the late 1980s.
In the 1990s, Chrome moved to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded a live album Alive in Detroit (DUI) at Lili's in Hamtramck, Michigan. In the 2002, he played guitar on several track for False Alarm's Fuck ‘Em All We've All Ready (Now) Won!.
In 2003, after the release of The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs, he reformed Rocket From The Tombs with David Thomas, Craig Bell, with Steve Mehlman (Pere Ubu) on drums and Richard Lloyd (Television) replacing the late Peter Laughner. [1] The reincarnation of the group toured in 2003 and 2006. In 2004 it entered the studio to record some of the band's old material for the first time. The recordings were released as Rocket Redux (SmRogVeil).
Chrome continues to play live shows both in the United States and Europe.
Blitz's subsequent career
After leaving the Dead Boys and New York City in 1980, Johnny BlitzJohnny Blitz
John Madansky, known as Johnny Blitz, is a punk rock drummer from Cleveland, Ohio, best known as being a member of the bands The Dead Boys and Rocket From The Tombs. With the Dead Boys he helped pioneer the punk rock sound, look and attitude of the mid to late 1970s.A Boston Globe retrospective...
(John Madansky) moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with his wife "B Girl" Lucasta Ross. He hooked up with singer/guitarist/song writer "Leo DeLyon" (Leonard Nieberg) and bassist Tommy "Gun" Keating from power punk trio "The Blitz" (no association to Johnny's acronym "Blitz") . Johnny and Leo later formed a band called "Slaughterhouse" with Mark Crosley on Bass playing Toronto's top club and concert venues with a large fan following that guaranteed a packed audience at every gig. Johnny's band "Slaughterhouse" and Cheetah's band "Cheetah Chrome and Skells" headlined on Saturday, August 6, 1983 at New York City's CBGB's. "Dead Boy" bassist, Jeff Magnum came to see his old bandmates and at the end of the night, he, Cheetah and Blitz encored the show with some "Dead Boys" songs that brought the house down. After Johnny and Lucasta split, he married Lynn Hansen and fathered 3 boys Luke, Jake and Cole. Johnny recently achieved "grandfather" status with the arrival of "Hannah" care of his eldest son Luke and his wife. Johnny and Leo went on to form "The Tribe" with keyboard player Pauline Groen and bassist Tommy "Gun" Keating recording originals that were a little more mainstream. After taking a few years break to focus on family, Johnny, Leo, and Tommy regrouped back to their "power pumk" 3 piece hard core roots to form "Raw Dog". Over their twenty five years together as band mates, co-wrote and arranged all original material together. They recorded a number of unreleased songs at Comfort Sound,and Metalworks Studios
Metalworks Studios
Metalworks Studios is a music recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1978 by Gil Moore of the Canadian rock group Triumph.-Music Artists:*Alexisonfire*Adriana Lombardo*Jason Dawson*Kate Voegele*Demi Lovato*Fair to Midland...
; "In From the Cold", "I like Girls", "Television Religion", "Call of the Wild", "Anxiety" and "Kill 'Em All" and many more. Johnny returned to Cleveland for the "Dead Boys" reunion gig in 2004 at the Beachland Ballroom in Clevelands including a "question and answere" session at the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". And a benefit concert at NYC's CBGB's in 2005. Johnny and Leo went their separate ways in 2007 Johnny still actively plays, writes and arranges with his band "The Highschool Hookers" and currently lives with his gilfriend in Toronto, Canada. Updated: 2011-01-23
Reformation
The Dead Boys reformed for several gigs in the 1980s. They re-released their first album as Younger, Louder and Snottier in 1989, mastered from a cassette tape of rough mixes, attributed to a young Bob ClearmountainBob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...
, a studio assistant at the time.
In 1990, Bators died in France due to injuries sustained after having been hit by a taxi. In September 2004, the remaining members of the band re-formed for a one-off gig in Cleveland. In 2005, they played a benefit show for CBGB and another reunion show on Halloween.
Members
- Stiv BatorsStiv BatorsStiv Bators , was an American punk rockvocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands, The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.- Music and film career :...
(Steve Bator) – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Cheetah ChromeCheetah ChromeCheetah Chrome is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket From the Tombs and the punk rock band, The Dead Boys....
(Gene O'Connor) – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Jimmy Zero (William Wilden) – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Jeff Magnum (Jeff Halmagy) – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Johnny BlitzJohnny BlitzJohn Madansky, known as Johnny Blitz, is a punk rock drummer from Cleveland, Ohio, best known as being a member of the bands The Dead Boys and Rocket From The Tombs. With the Dead Boys he helped pioneer the punk rock sound, look and attitude of the mid to late 1970s.A Boston Globe retrospective...
(John Madansky) – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Discography
The Dead Boys only have two official full length studio releases, however many labels have released rough material and outtakes in the years following their initial 1979 breakup.Studio albums
- Young Loud and Snotty (1977, Sire RecordsSire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
) - We Have Come for Your ChildrenWe Have Come for Your ChildrenWe Have Come for Your Children is the second and final studio album by the American punk rock band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1978, on Sire Records. The recording of album was troublesome for the group and lead to a break because of tensions with Felix Pappalardi...
(1978, Sire)
Later releases
- Night of the Living Dead BoysNight of the Living Dead BoysNight of the Living Dead Boys is a 1981 live album by The Dead Boys. It was recorded in March 1979 at CBGB. Since Stiv Bators purposely did not sing into the microphone at this show, the vocals were overdubbed later, causing mixed opinions on this album....
(1981, Bomp! RecordsBomp! RecordsBomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...
) - The Return of the Living Dead Boys DVD (1987, Revenge Records) (Import/France)
- Liver Than You'll Ever Be (1988, Various Labels) (Import/Various)
- Younger, Louder and Snottier (1997, Bomp!)
- Twistin' on the Devil's Fork: Live At CBGB's (1998, Hell Yeah Records / Bacchus Records)
- All This and More (1998, Bomp!)
- 3rd Generation Nation (1999, Bad Boy Production)
- Live At CBGB's 1977 (2009, MVD Audio)
7" singles
- "Sonic ReducerSonic Reducer"Sonic Reducer" is a punk rock song written by Gene O'Connor and David Thomas during their tenure in Rocket from the Tombs, which made its debut on the Dead Boys 1977 album Young, Loud and Snotty...
" (1977, Sire) - "Tell Me" (1977, Sire)
- "Search and Destroy" (1977, Revenge) (Import/France)
- "Buried Gems" (2000, Cold Front Records)
- "Paul Sherry goes Back – The Paul Sherry Sessions" (2007)
12" singles
- "All The Way Down/Nights Are So Long" (1987, Relativity RecordsRelativity RecordsRelativity Records, often branded just Relativity, is an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distribution in metro New York. Early on, as an indie label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk, and...
8165) (never released on CD)
Further reading
- Wolff, CarloCarlo WolffCarlo Wolff is a prolific freelance journalist who writes for publications including the Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the The Plain Dealer and the Christian Science Monitor. He specializes in music criticism, book reviews and feature articles about popular...
(2006). Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-886228-99-3