Forming in Los Angeles in the late '70s, The Knack (Doug Fieger, vocals/guitar; Berton Averre, lead guitar; Prescott Niles, bass; and Bruce Gary, drums) were neither punk nor rock, but pure simple pop, standing out among the musical dross that littered the Sunset Strip. Signing with Capitol after a feeding frenzy of label offers, The Knack released their debut, 'Get the Knack', in 1979. With its leadoff single, "My Sharona," The Knack climbed both the album and singles charts (eventually selling millions of copies around the globe), gained wide commercial acceptance, and regenerated the power pop scene that had laid dormant for half a decade.
The Knack's image, or lack thereof, was often unfavorably compared to The Beatles, but their music relied on the rough punchiness of The Kinks and The Who rather than the Fab Four. Their refusal to do interviews turned critics against them, and by the time they released their second album, '...But the Little Girls Understand', less than a year after the debut, the backlash had already begun ("Knuke the Knack").
The Knack then began a quick spiral downward that they were never to recover from. Their third album, 'Round Trip', was adventurous and daring and received favorable reviews, but the band decided to split up soon after the album was released. Due to their continuing underground popularity, The Knack resurfaced almost a decade later (minus Bruce Gary) and recorded the abysmal 'Serious Fun' before hiding out once again to lick their wounds. The appearance of "My Sharona" on soundtracks and compilations caused The Knack to be thrown in the midst of a revival of sorts, reuniting and playing the occasional show in L.A. Bruce Gary temporarily returned to the fold, but by the time The Knack released their second "reunion" album, 'Zoom', during the summer of 1998, the drum stool had been filled by Terry Bozzio (formerly of Missing Persons and Frank Zappa's band). Still, the bandmembers hoped that a whole new generation of music fans would get The Knack with the release of 2001's 'Normal as the Next Guy', an album that found the group at its best when discarding old formulas. Fieger, however, died in 2010 after battling lung and heart cancer. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
What can you say about a scuzzy bunch of troublemakers, who used rock and roll as means of venting their seemingly endless frustration, boredom, and hatred upon an unsuspecting public? How about, "Cool, did they make any records?" The Electric Eels might well have been the biggest bunch of low-lifes to come out of the late pre-punk scene in Cleveland, which is saying something for a scene that contributed antisocial snotballs like The Pagans and substance-fueled art-punks like Rocket From the Tombs. They played a total of six gigs (all of which ended in violence and/or arrest) and recorded a handful of crudely played (and mostly bass-less) garage-punk that predicted the angry, fuzzed-out and revved-up sound of The Dead Boys and Rubber City Rebels. So it is safe to call the Electric Eels an influential band, but in a warped, disturbing kind of way.
They formed in 1972 after hulking John Morton and suburban Cleveland friends Dave E and Brian MacMahon saw a terrible band, with a recording contract no less, open for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. Convinced that they could suck as much as said opening act, the Electric Eels became a reality. The problem was that Morton and pals were prone to violence (generally among themselves), and this became a part of their approach to recording and, more notoriously, performing. The Electric Eels never employed a full-time bass player, and as a result their sound was fuzzy and grungy, but trebly and, at extreme volumes, capable of being quite irritating. So too was Morton's voice, which was more of a yelp and bark than anything that could be described as tuneful. Their gigs (all six of them) generally disintegrated into shouting matches and fights, especially when Morton would punctuate the songs by hammering a hunk of sheet metal, or start a lawn mower onstage. By late 1975, the Electric Eels' reputation for fighting and unstable (not to mention potentially dangerous) performances led to their being banned from virtually every club in Cleveland, signaling that the end was nigh. Loud, proud, obnoxious, and unapologetically incompetent, the Electric Eels were a great part of the great rock & roll tradition of expressing pure antisocial attitude. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Best known for his tenure fronting the Scottish pop revivalists Orange Juice as well as his international solo hit "A Girl Like You," singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer Edwyn Collins was born in Edinburgh in 1959. He spent his youth absorbing the pop music of the day and learning how to play guitar. In 1976, he formed The Nu-Sonics with guitarist James Kirk, bassist David McClymont, and drummer Steven Daly and began working on creating a sound that blended The Byrds, The Velvet Underground, and Chic with the energy, if not the snarling attitude, of punk. After the quartet renamed themselves Orange Juice in 1979, Collins and his friend Alan Horne formed the Postcard label to release the band's debut single. "Falling and Laughing," recorded for less than 100 pounds, was issued in 1980 to massive critical acclaim, and subsequent releases like "Blueboy," "Simply Thrilled Honey," and "Poor Old Soul" further established the group as a major new talent. Sessions began for a full-length album, but in the midst of recording, Orange Juice left Postcard to sign to Polydor. That label funded the completion of 'You Can't Hide Your Love Forever', which hit record store shelves in 1982. Also released that year, the group's second album, 'Rip It Up', was a more ambitious affair than its predecessor, veering from the buoyant Motown tribute "I Can't Help Myself" to the energetic pop of the title track, which reached the Top Ten of the U.K. singles charts. Another LP followed, 1984's self-titled affair, but the multiple lineup changes and lack of chart action led the group to disband.
A solo career seemed like the obvious next step, but Collins struggled to find a label willing to release his records. Only after a pair of sold-out London performances did Creation's Alan McGee sign him to the label's Elevation off-shoot in 1986. The singles "Don't Shilly Shally" and "My Beloved Girl" followed, but the label proved to be a short-lived venture, and when McGee decided not to shift Collins over to Creation, the singer was again left without a contract.
Some months later, Collins accepted the opportunity to record at a small German studio run by a group of devoted Orange Juice fans. Cut with the aid of old friends Dennis Bovell and Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame, the resulting LP, 'Hope and Despair' -a brooding, ambitious collection spotlighting Collins' smooth, soulful baritone- was eventually picked up by the Demon label and issued in 1989. The album proved quite successful on the independent charts, and soon Collins returned to the studio to record 1990's 'Hellbent on Compromise'; when the LP failed to repeat its predecessor's good fortune, Demon dropped him from their ranks, and another long sabbatical followed.
Collins spent much of the decade's first half in the producer's seat, overseeing sessions from artists including longtime pal Paul Quinn, The Rockingbirds, A House, and The Frank and Walters. He finally earned another shot as a performer when he signed with the U.K. indie Setanta, which released the album 'Gorgeous George' -a scathing, shimmering set of retro-pop highlighted by the single "A Girl Like You"- in 1994. Slowly, the song became a massive hit throughout Europe as well as the U.S. and returned Collins to the charts for the first time since the 1983 Orange Juice smash "Rip It Up," finally establishing the longstanding cult hero as something of a household name. The success of "A Girl Like You" also gave Collins the financial means needed to build his own studio, which he did in West Hampstead with the help of engineer Seb Lewsley. The duo recorded many artists at West Heath Studio, including Robert Forster, The Cribs, and The Proclaimers. Collins also used the studio to record his solo records. 1997's 'I'm Not Following' was the first; it featured the single "Magic Piper (of Love)," which reached the Top 40 of the U.K. singles charts and was also on the soundtrack for the film "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery". The album was recorded with his core band of drummer Paul Cook of Sex Pistols fame, bassist Clare Kenny, and keyboardist Sean Read, along with the inimitable vocals of Mark E. Smith on one track.
Collins turned mostly to producing other artists for the next few years, working on records by Vic Godard, Astrid, Terrorvision, and Space. When he did get back behind the mic, it was to work on the album 'Doctor Syntax'. Released in 2002, the record was built around samples culled by Seb Lewsley with almost all the instruments played by Collins. After its release, Collins moved back to the producer's chair. Albums by Little Barrie, HAL, and Dave Couse were recorded at West Heath between 2002 and 2005. He also began working on a more acoustic and introspective solo album, but the sessions were cut short when Collins suffered two severe cerebral hemorrhages that left him unable to walk, move his right arm, or remember words. His stubborn nature and the undying support of his wife (and manager), Grace Maxwell, kept him on the road to recovery as he learned to walk, then talk, and finally sing again. After a brief attempt to return to the studio to mix the album he had recorded, Collins took extended time off to recover. During that period, he worked on drawing, quickly becoming a master of depicting birds and woodland creatures. Eventually, he and Lewsley went back to West Heath (which had been used by Collins' friend Bernard Butler while he convalesced) and finished mixing what became 'Home Again'. The album, which showcased Collins' introspective side and soulful croon, was released on Heavenly Recordings in September 2007.
In 2010, Collins released 'Losing Sleep', his first new collection of songs since his illness. The album featured guest appearances from a wide range of collaborators -including members of The Cribs, The Drums, Franz Ferdinand, and Little Barrie- and showed that Collins was well along the road to recovery. As Collins continued to get stronger, he and James Endeacott, a former A&R man at Rough Trade, formed a new record label, Analogue Enhanced Digital, to release further records by Edwyn, new artists, and old chums like Roddy Frame. He also maintained a regular schedule of playing live shows, and in March of 2013 he released a new album for AED titled 'Understated'. The LP was made with the core band of multi-instrumentalists Carwyn Ellis and Sean Read, Rails' guitarist James Walbourne, and long-time drummer Paul Cook. At the same time, he and Maxwell were working with filmmakers James Hall and Edward Lovelace on a documentary that charted Collins' comeback. Titled "The Possibilities Are Endless", a phrase that Collins repeated over and over while in his hospital bed, it was released in 2014. A soundtrack album featuring old songs and newly recorded instrumentals was issued at the same time.
Around this time, Collins and Maxwell decided to leave London and West Heath behind and move to the Scottish Highlands, where they built a new studio complete with breathtaking views of the Moray Firth. Once constructed, it was used to record albums by bands like Hooton Tennis Club, Tracyanne & Danny, Spinning Coin, and many others. Collins himself also worked there, and with Ellis and Read assisting him again, he recorded his third post-stroke album, 'Badbea'. It was released in March 2019 by AED, after which Collins undertook some live shows to promote it. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Bob Mould began his career as one of the angry upstarts of the hardcore punk scene, and over several decades he's matured into one of the elder statesmen of alternative rock without giving up his integrity, his intelligence, or the fierce passion of his best music. In the early '80s, Mould emerged as one of the founding members of Hüsker Dü, a Minneapolis-based punk band who blended furiously fast tempos with melodic pop structures on influential, groundbreaking albums like 1984's 'Zen Arcade' and 1985's 'New Day Rising'. After the breakup of Hüsker Dü, Mould launched a solo career with 1989's introspective, largely acoustic 'Workbook', but soon returned to a hard, angry sound on 1990's 'Black Sheets of Rain'. In 1992, Mould formed another band, Sugar, who picked up where the pop-oriented sound of Hüsker Dü left off on albums like 1992's 'Copper Blue' and 1994's 'File Under: Easy Listening'. After Sugar split up in 1995, Mould returned to solo work, dividing his time between guitar-oriented efforts like 1998's 'The Last Dog and Pony Show' and projects like 2002's 'Modulate' that reflected his growing interest in electronic music. Mould walked a middle ground between the two styles on 2008's 'District Line', but with 2012's 'Silver Age', he recommitted himself to fluid but aggressive rock. It was the first in a series of albums that reaffirmed his status as one of indie rock's strongest talents, and 2019's 'Sunshine Rock' and 2020's 'Blue Hearts' were celebrated as some of the best music of his life.
Bob Mould was born in Malone, New York, on October 16, 1960. He cut his teeth musically listening to singles his father bought used from a jukebox distributor, and in his early teens he picked up the guitar. Mould got a copy of the Ramones' first album for his 16th birthday, and he soon immersed himself in punk rock. He moved to Minnesota to attend Macalester University in the St. Paul-Minnesota area, and there he met a fellow music fan named Grant Hart. Mould and Hart formed Hüsker Dü in 1979, and they released their first album, a loud and frantic live effort titled 'Land Speed Record', in 1981. After they signed to SST Records, Hüsker Dü became more musically ambitious, and musically and lyrically, 1984's 'Zen Arcade' was a major critical breakthrough that opened the band to an audience outside the hardcore underground. In 1986, Hüsker Dü became one of the first bands who came up from hardcore to sign to a major label when they inked with Warner Bros. for the album 'Candy Apple Grey'. 1987's 'Warehouse: Songs and Stories' helped expand their audience, but personal difficulties and strife within the group had taken a serious toll, and by the end of that year, Hüsker Dü fell apart.
After the band split up, Mould signed a solo contract with Virgin Records in 1988. The following year, he released his first solo album, 'Workbook', which represented a major shift in sonic direction. 'Workbook' was an introspective collection, featuring keyboards, acoustic guitars, and even strings. The record received excellent reviews and spent 14 weeks on the charts, peaking at 127; "See a Little Light" became a Top Ten modern rock hit. Mould returned to loud, guitar-driven rock on his second solo album, 1990's 'Black Sheets of Rain'. Featuring the Top Ten modern rock hit "It's Too Late," 'Black Sheets of Rain' received mixed reviews.
Frustrated with the business operations of major record labels, Mould left Virgin after the release of 'Black Sheets of Rain'; they would later release a compilation drawn from the two albums, 'Poison Years'. Mould then formed an independent record company, SOL (Singles Only Label), which released 45s from new, developing acts as well as cult bands. In 1992, he formed a new trio, Sugar, with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis; the band signed with Rykodisc in the U.S. and Creation in the U.K. Sugar's first album, 'Copper Blue', was released in the fall of 1992 to enthusiastic reviews and became Mould's most successful project to date. 'Copper Blue' nearly went gold and spawned several alternative radio and MTV hits, including "Helpless" and "If I Can't Change Your Mind." In the spring of 1993, Sugar released the mini-LP 'Beaster', a more abrasive collection than 'Copper Blue' that was recorded at the same sessions.
Mould wrote the material for the second Sugar LP during 1993. The band began recording in the spring of 1994, but the sessions ground to a halt and the tapes were erased. Mould decided to give the album one more try, and it was recorded quickly late that spring. The album, 'File Under: Easy Listening', appeared in the fall of 1994. Although it received good reviews and was moderately successful commercially, it didn't match the performance of 'Copper Blue'. In the spring of 1995, it was announced that Sugar were on hiatus. Besides, a collection of rarities and B-sides, was released that summer. By the fall, Mould had broken up the band and begun work on a third album entirely by himself.
He played all of the instruments on his self-titled third album, which was released in the spring of 1996. 'The Last Dog and Pony Show' followed in 1998, and Mould announced that after the supporting tour, he was giving up playing guitar-based rock music. In 2002, after a long period of musical inactivity, Mould returned with the electronics-heavy 'Modulate', followed by the more conventional 'Body of Song' in 2005. After Blowoff, a dance project with Richard Morel that grew from a DJ night they regularly hosted, Mould returned to his guitar roots and paired up with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty to record 'District Line' in 2008.
Mould inched back to alt-rock on 2009's 'Life and Times', then devoted himself to writing his autobiography with the assistance of Michael Azerrad. "See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody" was published in the summer of 2011. The following year, Mould returned to the sound of Sugar, playing the band's 1992 debut in its entirety while on tour, reissuing the band's catalog in deluxe editions, and, finally, reviving its sound on 'Silver Age', his first album for Merge Records. Recorded with Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster and Split Single bassist Jason Narducy, 'Silver Age' was greeted with strong reviews, as was its 2014 successor, 'Beauty & Ruin', which also appeared on Merge and featured Wurster and Narducy in Mould's favored power trio format. 'Beauty & Ruin' debuted at 38, Mould's highest chart placement to date. He once again worked with Wurster and Narducy for 2016's 'Patch the Sky', and for 2019's 'Sunshine Rock', the trio delivered an especially energetic, upbeat set that strongly recalled Sugar's most celebrated work. While 'Sunshine Rock' depicted Mould in a positive frame of mind, 'Blue Hearts', released in September 2020, was a raw, raging, politically charged set, with Mould speaking out against the rise of the right wing and the COVID-19 pandemic. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Dr. Feelgood was the ultimate working band. From their formation in 1971 to lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux's untimely death in 1994, the group never left the road, playing hundreds of gigs every year. Throughout their entire career, Dr. Feelgood never left simple, hard-driving rock & roll behind, and their devotion to the blues and R&B earned them a devoted fan base. That following first emerged in the mid-'70s when Dr. Feelgood became the leader of the second wave of pub rockers. Unlike Brinsley Schwarz, the laid-back leaders of the pub rock scene, Dr. Feelgood were devoted to edgy, Stonesy rock & roll, and their sweaty live shows -powered by Brilleaux's intense singing and guitarist Wilko Johnson's muscular leads- became legendary. While the group's stripped-down, energetic sound paved the way for English punk rock in the late '70s, their back-to-basics style was overshadowed by the dominance of punk and new wave, and the group had retreated into cult status by the early '80s.
Brilleaux (vocals, harmonica), Johnson (guitar), and John B. Sparks (bass) had all played in several blues-based bar bands around Canvey Island, England before forming Dr. Feelgood in 1971. Taking their name from a Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song, the group was dedicated to playing old-fashioned R&B and rock & roll, including both covers and originals by Johnson. John Martin (drums), a former member of Finian's Rainbow, was added to the lineup, and the group began playing the pub rock circuit. By the end of 1973, Dr. Feelgood's dynamic live act had made them the most popular group on the pub rock circuit, and several labels were interested in signing them. They settled for United Artists and released their debut, 'Down by the Jetty', in 1974.
According to legend, 'Down by the Jetty' was recorded in mono and consisted almost entirely of first takes. While it was in fact recorded in stereo, the rumor added significantly to Dr. Feelgood's purist image, and the album became a cult hit. The following year, the group released 'Malpractice' -also their first U.S. offering- which climbed into the U.K. Top 20 on the strength of the band's live performances and positive reviews. In 1976, the group released the live album 'Stupidity', which became a smash hit in Britain, topping the album charts. Despite its thriving British success, Dr. Feelgood was unable to find an audience in the States. One other American album, 'Sneakin' Suspicion', followed in 1977 before the band gave up on the U.S.
'Sneakin' Suspicion' didn't replicate the success of 'Stupidity', partially because of its slick production, but mainly because the flourishing punk rock movement overshadowed Dr. Feelgood's edgy roots rock. Wilko Johnson left the band at the end of 1977 to form The Solid Senders; he later joined Ian Dury's Blockheads. Henry McCullough played on Feelgood's 1977 tour before John "Gypie" Mayo became the group's full-time lead guitarist. Nick Lowe produced 1978's 'Be Seeing You', Mayo's full-length debut with Dr. Feelgood. The album generated the 1979 Top Ten hit "Milk and Alcohol," as well as the Top 40 hit "As Long as the Price Is Right." Two albums, 'As It Happens' and 'Let It Roll', followed in 1979, and Mayo left the band in 1980. He was replaced by Johnny Guitar in 1980, who debuted on 'A Case of the Shakes', which was produced by Nick Lowe.
During their first decade together, Dr. Feelgood never left the road, which was part of the reason founding members John Martin and John Sparks left the band in 1982. Lee Brilleaux replaced them with Buzz Barwell and Pat McMullen, and continued touring. Throughout the '80s, Brilleaux continued to lead various incarnations of Dr. Feelgood, settling on the rhythm section of bassist Phil Mitchell and drummer Kevin Morris in the mid-'80s. The band occasionally made records -including 'Brilleaux', one of the last albums on Stiff Records, in 1986- but concentrated primarily on live performances. Dr. Feelgood continued to perform to large audiences into the early '90s, when Brilleaux was struck by cancer. He died in April of 1994, three months after he recorded the band's final album, 'Down at the Doctor's'. The remaining members of Dr. Feelgood hired vocalist Pete Gage and continued to tour under the band's name. Former FeelgoodsGypie Mayo, John Sparks, and John Martin formed The Practice in the mid-'80s, and they occasionally performed under the name Dr. Feelgood's Practice. Wilko Johnson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013 and was expected to live no more than a year, but he responded well to surgery and returned to music in 2014, continuing to perform and record up until his death on November 21, 2022 at the age of 75. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Taking the same approach to hip-hop that funk maverick George Clinton took to his own projects, Afrika Bambaataa created the Time Zone project in the early '80s as another outlet for his projects. Despite the different name, their singles were essentially just Bambaataa productions, with various collaborators like Bill Laswell and James Brown included on certain tracks. Their first release was "Wild Style," a breakdancing single that employed the futuristic synth lines and tight funk instrumentation that he had pioneered on the massive "Planet Rock" 12". Next came the six-part "Unity" single, in which James Brown delivered verses while Bambaataa, bassist Doug Wimbish, guitarist Skip McDonald, and drummer Keith LeBlanc put together one of the funkiest beats of his career. The last '80s Time Zone project was "World Destruction", a rap/punk crossover that utilized Public Image Ltd.'s 'Album' lineup -producer Bill Laswell, organist Bernie Worrell, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, and drummer Aiyb Dieng- to deliver Bambaataa's angry duet with singer John Lydon. Although the track was a groundbreaking effort, Bambaataa retired the Time Zone name for almost ten years. In the fall of 1995, a number of Bambaataa's late-'80s/early-'90s singles and several new tracks were put together on 'Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You', a compilation credited to a new all-star version of Time Zone. Featuring many members of Bambaataa's Zulu Nation as well as several outside collaborators, it did share the same apocalyptic message and P-Funk-inspired music that made the original Time Zone singles so powerful, but it had a hard time connecting with rap audiences and proved to be the last release to use the Time Zone moniker. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Dirty Looks was formed in 1977 and began playing cover songs before writing a set of gritty pop songs inspired by the 1960s. The band consisted of singer/guitarist Patrick Barnes, drummer Peter Parker, and bassist Marco Sin. The band released two albums for Stiff Records in the UK (Epic Records in the US), 'Dirty Looks' and 'Turn It Up', along with several singles. Their debut album was Stiff's biggest album release in the United States, selling over 100,000 copies in 1980. 'Turn It Up' was originally produced and mixed by Nick Garvey (of The Motors), Epic Records decided they did not like the edgy approach and wanted a more mainstream sound.
The band was discovered by Squeeze bassist John Bentley at CBGB in New York. Bentley brought then Grand Funk Railroad manager Andy Cavaliere to the band's next show and he made the band sign a napkin promising to appear in his office the next day. Their first album, 'Dirty Looks', was first released in America and the band launched the record by appearing unannounced outside the New York offices of EPIC on a flat-bed truck complete with PA, drums etc., and a film crew. 52nd street became filled with lunch-time office workers all grooving to the band and a bunch of New York cops from the local precinct trying to fight their way through the crowd to stop the disturbance. The result was an arrest and a fifteen-minute movie of three Dirty Looks tracks.
In 1980, Dirty Looks came to the UK for the In the Son Of Stiff tour. With four other Stiff acts, Dirty Looks played 11 countries in 70 days and played 61 gigs. In Milan, they headlined in front of 6,000 fans and witnessed a fatal stabbing outside the concert hall. They are best known for the songs "Let Go" and "Tailing You", which were minor hits.vBoth videos were in rotation in the early days of MTV. By now Dirty Looks had released three singles: "Lie To Me", "Let Go" and "Tailing You".
In 1983, the group prepared demos for an unreleased third album, called 'Unsung Heroes'. Four tracks from it were included on '12 O'Clock High', an Italian career retrospective compilation, in 2002.
Bassist Marco Sin (born Marcus Robert Weissmann) died in 1995, following a lengthy history of substance abuse. In February 2014, drummer Peter Parker (Minucci) worked with Omaha band, Naive Filter, to record two Dirty Looks originals; "Love Crimes" and "Kiss of Death". [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Billy Idol is one of the first pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early '80s due to the advent of MTV. Sporting an appealing blend of pop hooks, punk attitude, and dance beats, Idol quickly rocketed to stardom before hard living briefly derailed his career. Having already established himself in the late-'70s London punk scene as the frontman for Generation X, Idol was primed for pop stardom and spent the next decade releasing huge hits like "Dancing with Myself," "White Wedding," "Rebel Yell," and "Eyes Without a Face." A near-fatal motorcycle accident kept Idol out of the spotlight for the latter half of the '90s, but he staged a comeback in the 2000s with well-received efforts like 'Devil's Playground' and 'Kings & Queens of the Underground'. At the start of the 2020s, Idol began issuing a series of EPs including 'Roadside' and 'The Cage'.
Born William Michael Albert Broad on November 30, 1955, in Middlesex, England, he relocated with his family for a brief spell to New York before returning to England. After a stint at Sussex University only lasted a year, Broad found himself part of a group of teen punk rockers who befriended and followed The Sex Pistols, informally known as "The Bromley Contingent". (Another member of the group was Siouxsie Sioux, eventual leader of Siouxsie & the Banshees.)
It wasn't long before Broad realized that he too could be the frontman of a punk band, and assumed the name Billy Idol shortly thereafter. After a stint playing guitar in a group called Chelsea (interestingly, the group featured future Clash guitarist Mick Jones and future Damned guitarist Brian James), Idol put down the guitar and picked up the mike; he then recruited bassist Tony James, drummer John Towe, and guitarist Bob Andrews to form Generation X in 1976. Named after a 1960s paperback, the band signed a recording contract with Chrysalis shortly thereafter (Towe was replaced with new drummer Mark Laff) and released the anthemic "Your Generation" late in 1977. An appearance on Top of the Pops helped propel the single and their 1978 self-titled debut into the spotlight; the latter was produced by Martin Rushent. The band released two more LPs, 'Valley of the Dolls' in 1979 and 'Kiss Me Deadly' two years later before splitting up.
Disappointed with Generation X's demise, Idol relocated to New York City, where he pursued a career as a solo artist. Hooking up with Kiss manager Bill Aucoin, Idol issued the 1981 EP 'Don't Stop' (comprised of a cover of Tommy James' '60s hit "Mony Mony" and a pair of remixed Generation X tracks), which helped the singer score another record deal with his former band's label, Chrysalis. Idol found the perfect collaborator and partner in guitarist and Johnny Thunders lookalike Steve Stevens, and issued a self-titled debut in July of 1982. A pair of eye-catching videos for the tracks "White Wedding" and "Dancing with Myself" (the latter a remake of a Generation X composition) scored major air time on MTV, with both clips focusing on Idol's spiky, peroxide-blonde hair and Elvis-like sneer. The debut eventually obtained gold certification, and set the stage perfectly for Idol's big commercial breakthrough, 1984's 'Rebel Yell'.
'Rebel Yell' became the best-selling album of his career (eventually going double platinum), spawning such big-time MTV/radio hits as the album's anthemic title track, "Eyes Without a Face," and "Flesh for Fantasy," establishing Idol as an arena headliner stateside. But with massive success came its many distractions, which prevented Idol from issuing a new studio album until three years after 'Rebel Yell'. 1987's 'Whiplash Smile' was another sizeable hit on the strength of such hits as "To Be a Lover" and "Sweet Sixteen," but failed to live up to the lofty expectations set by his previous releases. Stevens jumped ship shortly thereafter to launch his own band, Steve Stevens' Atomic Playboys (he was also eventually a member of Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil's solo band), leaving Idol to fend for himself.
An eight-track best-of set, 'Vital Idol', was issued later the same year, spawning one of the year's most heavily played MTV videos -a live version of the previously recorded cover of "Mony Mony"- which helped keep Idol in the spotlight. He spent the next few years working on his fourth studio release, but reappeared in the summer of 1989 as part of an all-star rendition of The Who's 'Tommy', with Idol playing the role of the sadistic character Cousin Kevin. Around the time of Idol's next release, 1990's 'Charmed Life', the singer was involved in a serious motorcycle accident (in which he almost lost his leg), forcing him to walk with a cane for a period of time; the video for the album's lead-off single, "Cradle of Love," featured him filmed from the waist up. The ploy worked, as the single (which was also used as the theme song in the failed Andrew "Dice" Clay movie "Ford Fairlane") was another smash hit, making 'Charmed Life' the fourth Idol album in a row to achieve at least reach platinum sales.
Expectedly, several years passed before the release of Idol's next album, during which time he tried his hand at acting with a bit part in Oliver Stone's motion picture "The Doors". By the time 1993's 'Cyberpunk' surfaced, Idol had dropped his spiky peroxide hairstyle in place of dreadlocks, and experimented with techno beats. The move proved to be an unwise one, as the album tanked and sank from the charts. At the same time, Idol was knee deep in drug addiction, resulting in another close brush with death when he overdosed and had to be treated at a Los Angeles hospital in 1994. Not much was heard from him until 1998, when he made a cameo appearance (as himself) in the hit Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore comedy "The Wedding Singer", which resulted in renewed interest. Idol teamed up once again with Stevens, was the subject of a VH1: Behind the Music special (as well as a VH1 Storytellers episode for the channel, which was ultimately issued as an album), and issued a more extensive 'Greatest Hits' set in 2001; the latter of which sold 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone. Next up was his first studio album since 'Cyberpunk', 'Devil's Playground', released on Sanctuary in 2005 and this was swiftly followed by the seasonal 'Happy Holidays' for which he retained Brian Tichy and Derek Sherinian from the previous album's sessions.
2008 brought 'The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself', which was notable for including two previously unreleased tracks: "John Wayne" and "New Future Weapon." A worldwide tour on the same bill as Def Leppard ensued before 2009 brought "In Super Overdrive Live", a video release of a performance in Chicago; Idol appeared at Donnington Park's Download Festival in 2010. A relatively quiet spell in his career was followed by a period of songwriting with Stevens and Circus Diablo frontman Billy Morrison. In time, recording sessions took place which led to the announcement of a seventh studio album of original material. Produced by Trevor Horn and preceded by Idol's New York Times best-selling memoir "Dancing with Myself", 'Kings & Queens of the Underground' appeared in October 2014. In 2020 Idol teamed up with Miley Cyrus for the song "Night Crawling," which appeared on her 'Plastic Hearts' LP, and in 2021 he released his first new song in seven years, the pensive "Bitter Taste," which served as the lead single from the four-track EP 'Roadside'. He continued working with the EP format on 2022's rousing 'The Cage'.
In 2023, Idol joined his former Generation X bandmate Tony James alongside former Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook in Generation Sex, a band that played the repertoires of the two classic punk bands. A year later, 'Rebel Yell' received a deluxe 40th anniversary reissue featuring a disc of demos and rarities. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
An anti-rock band founded in direct reaction to the pretensions and complacency of 1970s pop music, the Detroit-based noise deconstructionists Destroy All Monsters earned their greatest attention at the peak of the punk era, thanks to a lineup that included alumni of the MC5 and The Stooges. Named after a cult-favorite Japanese monster movie, Destroy All Monsters was formed in 1973 by art students Niagara (a former model), Jim Shaw, Mike Kelley, and Cary Loren; influenced by everything from underground comix to film noir to psychedelia, the highly visual group was experimental and abrasive, with Niagara's Betty Boop-vocals and squealing violin cresting atop waves of trance-like sonic dementia.
The original incarnation of Destroy All Monsters never widely released any official recordings, and by 1976 both Shaw and Kelley had exited to continue their graphic art careers, both later gaining considerable renown as underground talents. Niagara and Loren continued on, recruiting brothers Larry and Ben Miller (space guitar and saxophone, respectively); within six months, former Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton and onetime MC5 bassist Michael Davis had also signed on, pointing the group's sound in a more dynamic and energetic direction. Upon releasing their first-ever single, 1978's "Bored," Destroy All Monsters became darlings of the British music press, based largely upon the connection to the Stooges' legacy; "Bored" was soon set for U.K. release on the Cherry Red label, which licensed the record before ever even hearing it.
Even as a second single, "Meet the Creeper," was being readied for release, Destroy All Monsters was coming apart; tensions within the group had come to a head when Niagara left longtime boyfriend Loren to hook up with Asheton, and soon Loren, as well as the Miller brothers, left the band over creative differences. In response, Loren issued a 1979 live EP, 'The Days of Diamonds'; a year later, he, the Millers, and drummer Rob King formed Xanadu, recording an EP, 'Black-Out in the City', co-produced by Kelley and Shaw. Meanwhile, the remaining members of Destroy All Monsters carried on until 1985 before finally disbanding. In the wake of a 1994 box set, the original lineup occasionally re-formed to play live and record new material. A concert set, 'Live in Tokyo & Osaka', appeared in 2008. The discovery of a cache of unreleased Destroy All Monsters recordings led to the release of 2014's 'Hot Box', which featured rare and little-heard performances from both editions of the group. While Destroy All Monsters were inactive in 2015, Niagara could say she had an album in the charts -one of her paintings was used as the cover artwork for Kid Rock's album 'First Kiss'. Jim Shaw was also getting attention for his visual art in 2015, with a major retrospective of his work, "Jim Shaw: The End Is Near," receiving positive reviews after opening at the New Museum in New York City. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Beastie Boys crashed into the mainstream in the mid-'80s rapping about "The New Style" and yelling "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)," their brash hedonism striking a chord with hip-hop fans and suburban metalheads alike. This loud, obnoxious blend of hard rock and rap, showcased on their debut 'Licensed to Ill', wound up having a lasting impact, but the trio of Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz, and Mike Diamond were young punks and restless artists. They soon abandoned pounding, aggressive rap-rock for the dense sampladelic vistas of 'Paul's Boutique', their 1989 collaboration with The Dust Brothers. 'Paul's Boutique' stalled the trio's commercial momentum but it became an album revered by hip-hop aficionados, pointing the way to the genre-bending, self-referential pop culture of '90s pop. Beastie Boys played a vital role in that decade, starting with 1992's punk-rap-jazz fusion 'Check Your Head', which gave them another Top Ten album and established the group as alternative rock icons. 'Ill Communication' consolidated the group's comeback in 1994, thanks in no small part to the hit "Sabotage," accompanied by a campily retro video directed by Spike Jonze. Music videos, many directed by Yauch under his Nathanial Hornblower pseudonym, were a crucial component of Beastie Boys' popularity, as was their Grand Royal empire -it spanned a record label and a much-revered but short-lived magazine- and their activism, a social engagement spearheaded by Yauch co-organizing the Tibetan Freedom Concerts in the late '90s. After the 1998 chart-topper 'Hello Nasty', Beastie Boys' productivity slowed in the 2000s as the trio settled into an eccentric middle age, balancing the old-school salute 'To the 5 Boroughs' with the soul-jazz instrumental 2007 LP 'The Mix-Up'. As the trio worked on their eighth studio album, Yauch was diagnosed with cancer. The group finished and released 'Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2' in May 2011; he was dead a year later. Horowitz and Diamond stopped working as Beastie Boys, although they reconvened to tell their story through "Beastie Boys Book" in 2018, which was followed by the Jonze-directed documentary "Beastie Boys Story" in 2020.
All three members of the Beastie Boys -Mike D (b. Mike Diamond, November 20, 1966), MCA (b. Adam Yauch, August 5, 1965; d. May 4, 2012), and Ad-Rock (born Adam Horovitz, October 31, 1967)- came from middle-class Jewish families in New York and had become involved in the city's punk underground when they were teenagers in the early '80s. Diamond and Yauch formed the Beastie Boys with drummer Kate Schellenbach and guitarist John Berry in 1981, and the group began playing underground clubs around New York. The following year, the Beasties released the 7" EP 'Pollywog Stew' on the indie label Rat Cage to little attention. That same year, the band met Horovitz, who had formed the hardcore group The Young and the Useless. By early 1983, Schellenbach and Berry had left the group -they would later join Luscious Jackson and Thwig, respectively- and Horovitz had joined the Beasties. The revamped group released the rap record "Cookie Puss" as a 12" single later in 1983. Based on a prank phone call the group made to Carvel Ice Cream, the single became an underground hit in New York. By early 1984, however, they had abandoned punk and turned their attention to rap.
In 1984, the Beasties joined forces with producer Rick Rubin, a heavy metal and hip-hop fan who had then-recently founded Def Jam Records with fellow New York University student Russell Simmons. Def Jam officially signed the Beastie Boys in 1985, and that year they had a hit single from the soundtrack to Krush Groove with "She's on It," a rap track that sampled AC/DC's "Back in Black" and suggested the approach of the group's forthcoming debut album. The Beasties received their first significant national exposure later in 1985, when they opened for Madonna on her Virgin tour. The Beasties taunted the audience with profanity and were generally poorly received. One other major tour, as the openers for Run-D.M.C.'s ill-fated 'Raisin' Hell' trek, followed before 'Licensed to Ill' was released late in 1986. An amalgam of street beats, metal riffs, b-boy jokes, and satire, 'Licensed to Ill' was interpreted as a mindless, obnoxious party record by many critics and conservative action groups. That didn't stop the album from becoming the fastest-selling debut in Columbia Records' history, however, as it sold over 750,000 copies in its first six weeks.
Much of the album's success was due to "Fight for Your Right (To Party)," which became a massive crossover single. In fact, 'Licensed to Ill' became the biggest-selling rap album of the '80s, which generated much criticism from certain hip-hop fans who believed that the Beasties were merely cultural pirates. On the other side of the coin, the group was being attacked from various factions on both the left and the right, who claimed the Beasties' lyrics were violent and sexist and that their concerts -which featured female audience members dancing in go-go cages and a giant inflatable penis, similar to what the Stones used in their mid-'70s concerts- caused even more outrage. Throughout their 1987 tour, they were plagued with arrests and lawsuits, and were accused of inciting crime.
While much of the Beasties' exaggeratedly obnoxious behavior started out as a joke, it became a self-parody by the end of 1987, so it wasn't a surprise that the group decided to revamp its sound and image during the next two years. During 1988, the Beasties became involved in a bitter lawsuit with Def Jam and Rick Rubin, who claimed he was responsible for their success and threatened to release outtakes as their second album. The Beasties finally broke away by the end of the year and relocated to California, where they signed with Capitol. While in California, they met the production team The Dust Brothers, and they convinced the duo to use their prospective debut album as the basis for the Beasties' second album, 'Paul's Boutique'. Densely layered with interweaving samples and pop culture references, the retro-funk-psychedelia of 'Paul's Boutique' was entirely different than 'Licensed to Ill', and many observers weren't quite sure what to make of it. Several publications gave it rave reviews, but when it failed to produce a single bigger than the number 36 "Hey Ladies," it was quickly forgotten about.
Despite its poor commercial performance, 'Paul's Boutique' gained a cult following, and its cut-and-paste sample techniques would later be hailed as visionary, especially after The Dust Brothers altered the approach for Beck's acclaimed 1996 album, 'Odelay'. Still, the record was declared a disaster in the early '90s, but that didn't prevent the Beasties from building their own studio and founding their own record label, Grand Royal, for their next record, 'Check Your Head'. Alternating between old-school hip-hop, raw amateur-ish funk, and hardcore punk, 'Check Your Head' was less accomplished than 'Paul's Boutique', but equally diverse. Furthermore, the burgeoning cult around the Beasties made the album a surprise Top Ten hit upon its spring 1992 release. "Jimmy James," "Pass the Mic," and "So Whatcha Want" were bigger hits on college and alternative rock radio than they were on rap radio, and the group suddenly became hip again.
Early in 1994, they collected their early punk recordings on the compilation 'Some Old Bullshit', which was followed in June by their fourth album, 'Ill Communication'. Essentially an extension of 'Check Your Head', the record debuted at number one upon its release, and the singles "Sabotage" and "Sure Shot" helped send it to double-platinum status. During the summer of 1994, they co-headlined the fourth Lollapalooza festival with the Smashing Pumpkins. That same year, Grand Royal became a full-fledged record label as it released Luscious Jackson's acclaimed debut album, 'Natural Ingredients'. The Beasties' Grand Royal magazine was also launched that year.
Over the next few years, the Beasties remained quiet as they concentrated on political causes and the machinations of their record label. In 1996, they released the hardcore EP 'Aglio e Olio' and the instrumental soul-jazz and funk collection 'The In Sound from Way Out!' Also that year, Adam Yauch organized a two-day festival to raise awareness about the plight of Tibet, and the festival went on to become an annual event. The Beastie Boys' long-awaited fifth LP, 'Hello Nasty', finally appeared during the summer of 1998 and became their third chart-topping album. A longer wait preceded release of their next record, 'To the 5 Boroughs', which appeared in mid-2004. In 2005, Capitol issued 'Solid Gold Hits', a 15-track survey of the Beasties' lengthy career. One year later, the band released a concert film titled "Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That!", which had been pieced together from footage shot by 50 DV and Hi-8 cameras that had been distributed to fans. The DVD version appeared in July of that year.
An instrumental album, 'The Mix-Up', continued the band's prolific activity in 2007 and garnered a Grammy Award the following year. The Beastie Boys returned to rap with 'Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1', parts of which were previewed during the band's performance at the 2009 Bonnaroo Festival, but the album ended up unreleased in the wake of Yauch's announcement that he had cancer. He underwent successful surgery and radiation treatment, and the band announced late in 2010 that 'Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2' (including virtually all the material intended for the first volume) would be released in 2011. They made good on their promise; the album appeared in May, and was positively received both critically and commercially. One year later, however, in May of 2012, Yauch finally succumbed to cancer. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
