Obituary - Sylvain Sylvain

On Wednesday 13 January 2021, Sylvain Mizrahi, better known as Sylvain Sylvain, co-founder and guitarist of NEW YORK DOLLS, passed away at his Nashville home. The cause of death was cancer. He was aged 69. 

Sylvain was born on 14 February 1951 in Cairo, Egypt. His mother, Marcelle, was of Syrian descent while his father, David, a banker, was originally from Turkey. 

The Suez Canal crisis of 1956, precipitated when Egypt’s president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the canal, led to the family’s emigration, initially to France before heading to New York in 1961 - originally Buffalo before moving on the New York City borough of Queens.

Prior to joining the NEW YORK DOLLS, he had a band with school buddy and future Doll, Billy Murcia, called THE POX before ACTRESS which featured future DOLLS Arthur Kane and another school friend, the infamous Johnny Thunders. He also ran a clothing company with Murcia, Truth and Soul, in the mid-60s.  

It was the formation of and his participation in the NEW YORK DOLLS that Sylvain will be most remembered. The band made two classic albums in 1973’s self-titled debut and the successor, ‘Too Much Too Soon’, the following year. - both of which had very limited success on release. 

Much has been written about the NEW YORK DOLLS. There’s a great book written by Nina Antonia entitled Too Much Too Soon and a documentary, ‘All Dolled Up’, both of which tell the story far better than I can. However, the brash, gender-bending, unapologetic influence of the band should not be understated, least of all its influence on the early Punk Scene. Sylvain is quoted as saying to Brooklyn Vegan in 2006, “The reason why the Dolls got together was because of the boredom with the norm of the day, which was like the stadium-rock era. The 20-minute drum solos, songs that were a big operetta. They were sort of boring, they'd lost their sex appeal."

When the Dolls split in 1977, Sylvain was the only original member left in the band along with vocalist David Johansen, for whom he went onto play on a number of solo albums. The demise of the band was hindered by one Malcolm McLaren, who had the Dolls playing in front of a hammer and sickle flag and Johansen clutching Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. McLaren then tried to lure Sylvain to the UK for a band he was assembling. The band was SEX PISTOLS; Sylvain’s role never fulfilled. 

He started his own band, THE CRIMINALS, and then landed a solo recording deal with RCA which resulted in the 1979 self-titled album. 

Various one-off projects appeared - SYL SYLVAIN AND THE TEARDROPS in 1981, ROMAN SANDALS in 1984 and a CRIMINAL$ release in 1985. 

In the early 90s, he moved to the sunnier climes of Los Angeles and released another solo album, ‘Sleep Baby Doll’, in 1998. Around the same time he got involved with LA Punks, THE STREETWALKIN’ CHEETAHS for some live work. 

2004 saw big news in the reformation of The Dolls releasing another three albums between 2006 and 2011. During this time, he also hooked up with ex-DEAD BOYS guitarist, Cheetah Chrome, for the band BATUSIS which released an EP on Smog Veil in 2010.  

2013 saw him hook up with former SEX PISTOLS bassist Glen Matlock on the Sex Doll Tour before emerging with a new band in 2015, SYLVAIN SYLVAIN AND THE SYLVAINS. 

2018 saw the publication of his autobiography, There’s No Bones In Ice Cream on Omnibus Press. 

He lived in Atlanta for several years before moving to Nashville in 2015. On 27 April 2019, he announced he had cancer. 

He is survived by his wife, Wanda O’Kelley Mizrahi, his son Odell and his sister, Brigitte.

I never saw Sylvain live, but via the NEW YORK DOLLS, I have been listening to him for a clear 30 years. Sure, Mr Thunders and My Johansen may have got all the attention, hogging the spotlight as their egos demanded, but it was the solid, rhythm guitar of Sylvain that seemed to hold the band together - a band that could, and did, so easily devolve into chaos. If you haven’t heard his 1979 solo album, it’s worth trying to track down being a neat mix of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Power-Pop cool.
Another legend, and one that can firmly be described as such, has left us. RIP Syl and condolences to all those that knew you who have been left behind.  

Year-end Recommendations 2020

2020 huh? Pretty much a generation-defining, epochal year - and not for musical reasons.  COVID-19 has ravaged the musical spectrum, be it the live arena especially (and I don’t mean an ‘arena’ but the live, gig-playing band in general) or that of recordings. Oddly, it has also provided the opportunity for bands to record music in a new way, new bands springing up in an isolated digital world, and the ‘streaming’ of live performances on the likes of Facebook.  I’ve caught a few (too many) of those and saw lots that would have previously been a ‘new’ idea rejected within a band practice - even before any booze or substance-of-choice kicked in. I really think life as we knew it has changed; it might only be on the short-term (of years), but it’s changed. 
And you know what??  If you think COVID is a scam... a media-generated deployment to sell copy... a myth? Well - please - fuck off.  I know people who have contracted it, have died from it.  You disbelieve??  Leave ya message below so we know who you are - but please - move to north Greenland.  
Musically, it’s been a surprisingly great year.  THE DAMNED released a record that’s on par with ‘Black Album’ era stuff. I really hope that this line-up doesn’t lose momentum with the original line-up getting back together for some (money-grabbing) reformation gigs.  My most-played, indispensable album isn’t actually in the list below as it’s ‘not quite’ Scanner material.  BOB DYLAN’s ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ is the man’s most interesting and intriguing album since ‘Oh Mercy’ and maybe even ‘Slow Train Coming’.  That might mean nothing to most readers, but it means a lot to me. Anyway, let’s get on with the Punk Rock!!
Looking at the ‘Other Contenders’, especially the albums, shows a real depth of quality - and that’s considering the fact that I have not heard BOB MOULD’s ‘Blue Hearts’, X’s ‘Alphabetland’ (I have done the unthinkable and streamed it), either of the ARCHERS OF LOAF singles Merge has released, any of the recent Dirt Cult albums or the PARANOID VISIONS reissues and latest 10” set.  Gutted really as they seem to have got ‘lost’ in the mail - and that’s no disrespect to PV - easily one of the best and most genuine bands I’ve dealt with for many years.   
Anyway - waffle over.  Yes, I know I’ve missed YOUR favourite record - I probably haven’t even mentioned it. Boo-Hoo... Tell me what I’ve missed.  Here’s what go me rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’, movin’ ‘n’ groovin’, shakin’ ‘n’ quakin’, thinkin’ ‘n’ talkin’, inspired and generally thankful to a whole bunch of bands that just fucking NAIL IT.  

ALBUMS
1. SPECTRES - Nostalgia {Artoffact}
2. DIAZ BROTHERS - s/t {Boss Tuneage}
3. LITTERBUG - Abstract Melodies Saying Terrible Things {JSNTGM}
4. SCREECHING WEASEL - Some Freaks Of Atavism {Recess}
5. KNIFE CLUB - We Are Knife Club {TNS}
6. DUNCAN REID AND THE BIG HEADS - Don’t Blame Yourself {LBH}
7. FAZ WALTZ - Rebel Kicks {Spaghetty Town}
8. MOVING TARGETS - Humbucker {Boss Tuneage}
9. RUTS DC - 40 Years Of The Crack Live {Sosumi}
10. DEALING WITH DAMAGE - Ask The Questions {Little Rocket}
Other contenders: SENSIBLE GRAY CELLS - Get Back Into The World {Damaged Goods}; WYLDLIFE - Year Of The Snake {Wicked Cool}; JADED EYES - Call Of The Void {Boss Tuneage}; D.O.A. - Treason {Sudden Death}; DIRTY BURGER - Part Time Loser {Pure Lust}; GALILEO 7 - Decayed {Fools Paradise}; PERSONALITY CULT - New Arrows {Dirtnap}; RUTS DC - Electracoustic Vol. 1 {Sosumi}; ANSWERING MACHINE - Bad Luck {Wiretap}; FACE TO FACE - Live In A Dive, WESTERN ADDICTION - Frail Bray {Fat Wreck}; JADE HAIRPINS - Harmony Avenue {Merge}; COCKTAILS - Catastrophic Entertainment {Wizards and Potions/ Alien Snatch}; DON'T SLEEP - Turn The Tide {Mission Two}; LENNY LASHLEY'S GANG OF ONE - Lenny Lashley's Gang Of One Live, SEIZED UP - Brace Yourself {Pirates Press}; OFF WITH THEIR HEADS - Don’t Tell Me How To (Live) {Recess}; FONTAINES DC - A Hero’s Death {Partisan}

SINGLES/EPs
1. THE DAMNED - The Rockfield Files {Spinefarm}
2. FAZ WALTZ - Grown Up Guy {Spaghetty Town}
3. SENSIBLE GRAY CELLS - So Long {Damaged Goods}
4. MOVING TARGETS/ THE SWIPES - World Gone Mad {Mad Butcher}\
5. THE SCANERS - Alien Boy {Spaghetty Town}
6. KNIFE CLUB - Lockdown Acoustic EP {TNS}
7. DAVE SMALLEY AND THE BANDOLEROS - Ignited {Little Rocket}
8. THE SLACKERS - Nobody’s Listening {Pirates Press}
9. HAKAN - Drunk Dial #6 {Drunk Dial} 
10. FRANKIE STUBBS - Blood Orange Moon {Little Rocket}
Other contenders: SWINGIN’ UTTERS - Sirens {Fat Wreck}; FANG/ NO IDEA Split {Just4Fun}; DOMESTICS/ PIZZA TRAMP - Split {Kibou/ TNS}; VULPYNES - Dye Me Red {FOAD}; AN UNEASY PEACE - s/t {Dirt Cult}; COURETTES, THE - Want You... Like A Cigarette {Damaged Goods} 

RE-ISSUES/ COMPILATIONS
1. THE REPLACEMENTS - Pleased To Meet Me {Sire/ Rhino}
2. VARIOUS - Shellshock Rock {Cherry Red}
3. THE PRIMITIVES - Bloom! The Full Story 1985-1992 {Cherry Red}
4. DEE DEE RAMONE - The Deadline Demos {Overground}
5. VARIOUS - 1978 {Cherry Red}
6. REDD KROSS - Red Cross EP {Merge}
7. THE PARTISANS - 1981-1984 {Cherry Red}
8. PARANOID VISIONS - Bollox To Xmas {FOAD}
9. HAWKWIND - Roadhawks {Cherry Red}
10. HEAVENLY - A Bout De Heavenly {Damaged Goods}
Other contenders: TALULAH GOSH - Was It Just A Dream {Damaged Goods}; THE REPLY - The Complete Collection {Reply}; VARIOUS - Sweet Time RNR Comp {Sweet Time}; VARIOUS - Tnsrecords Volume 4: Broken Vans and Basement Bar Bands {TNS}; VARIOUS - Stay Home {Drink Dial}

Obituary - Mark Keds

In the early hours of Sunday 10 January 2021, Mark Myers, better known as Mark Keds - vocalist and guitarist in SENSELESS THINGS and DEADCUTS among others, passed away at his home. The news was confirmed by SENSELESS THINGS guitarist Ben Harding but the cause of death remains unknown. He was aged 50. 

It was at the age of 11, in Twickenham, West London, that Keds first hooked up with Morgan Nicholls to form WILD DIVISION before being joined by Cass Browne in THE PSYCHOTICS. Harding joined the band in 1987 and the definitive SENSELESS THINGS were formed. 

Playing a brand of pacey, melodic Punk, the band become leading lights in the late 80s/ early 90s UK Punk scene - along with the likes of MEGA CITY FOUR and SNUFF - with the release of their debut album ‘Postcard CV’ in 1989. 1991 saw the band sign to major label Epic Records and instantly scoring their first Top 50 hit with ‘Got It At The Delmar’. Two Top 20 hits followed along with performances on Top Of The Pops and The Word. 

In 1995, SENSELESS THINGS took a break and Keds joined UK rockers THE WILDHEARTS before forming JOLT and releasing the ‘Punk Jungle Rules’ album in 1997. 

Of his other projects, he received a writing credit on THE LIBERTINES single ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ and played with TRIP FONTAINE, THE LAMS and most recently DEADCUTS with his SENSELESS THINGS band mate Cass. 

SENSELESS THINGS had one final fling at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire in 2017. 

Although the cause of death is unknown, Harding stated, “"It’s no secret that he had struggled on and off with drug abuse and a pretty chaotic lifestyle for a long while, and his health suffered substantially over the years due to this. While this had sometimes created friction within the on-off workings of Senseless Things and his other projects, we choose to remember the friend, the brother and the talent we’ve lost today."

I saw SENSELESS THINGS frequently in Ipswich, UK. Thanks to both PERFECT DAZE and LOVEJUNK, the band would often be seen playing in small pubs through to larger halls. Tragically, the one time they really blew me away was a The Hanger - a larger hall at the rear of a pub called The Dove. Why tragic? The whole night was plagued with power cuts and, after about six incendiary songs, the power went off for a final time. They were always fun to see but that one short performance was next level.

I never knew Mark personally but recall him at these gigs. 

Thoughts go out to his family and friends.  

Obituary - Pierre Kezdy

On Friday 9 October 2020, Pierre Kezdy - bassist with the bands NAKED RAYGUN, PEGBOY and STRIKE UNDER among others - passed away at a Hospice in Glenview, Illinois. He was aged 58. The cause of death was Cancer. 

Born on 4 January 1962 in Chicago, Illinois, he was the younger brother of then-future EFFIGIES frontman, John Kezdy. 

In 1979, he formed the band STRIKE UNDER which released the ‘Immediate Action’ 12” on Wax Trax! in 1981 before forming TRIAL BY FIRE in the same year following the departure of STRIKE UNDER’s vocalist. In 1982, that band split and Kezdy went on to join NAKED RAYGUN for the band’s second album, ‘All Rise’. It was a band he stayed loyal to for ten years - writing fan favourites ‘Vanilla Blue’ and ‘Home’ among others - before joining PEGBOY in 1994 (just in time for the ‘Earwig’ album). The band that was formed by former NAKED RAYGUN guitarist, John Haggerty.

Throughout this time, Kezdy kept his day job of plumbing. 

NAKED RAYGUN started playing again in 2007 and in 2011 Kezdy fell victim to a stroke. Being forced to leave, he recovered sufficiently to rejoin the band for some live shows in 2013. 

In 2007, Kezdy was also interviewed for the film You Weren’t There, a film that looked at the Chicago Punk scene. 

Besides the bands mentioned, he also played in RAINBOW GIRLS (with his brother, John), THE INTECEPTORS and ARSENAL, which also featured Santiago Durango of BIG BLACK and NAKED RAYGUN fame. 

In addition to his brother John (who fronted THE EFFIGIES), Kezdy is survived by his wife Heather, children Nicole, Mary, Peter and Delphine and his brother Andre.

I never got to see Kezdy live. Much as I love NAKED RAYGUN, it is PEGBOY that had the biggest impact. I interviewed the band’s guitarist John Haggerty in issue two of Scanner, back in 1998 just after the release of the band’s third album, ‘Cha Cha Damore’. Kezdy did come up in conversation when I asked about his joining the band. Haggerty replied that original bassist Steve Saylors wanted to leave the band and, having thought they had exhausted all possibilities that, “it dawned on me that Pierre wasn’t really all that busy with Naked Raygun anymore, so we called him and he said yeah!”.  

Obituary - Walter Lure

On Saturday 22 August 2020, Walter Lure, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-songwriter in JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, passed away. He was aged 71. The cause of death was due to complications arising from liver and lung cancer.  

Lure was born Walter Charles Lurh Jr on 22 April 1949 in Floral Park, in the Queens borough of New York City, the son of Eillien Luhr (ne: Kealy) and Walter Lurh, a retail banker. He grew up in Queens Village while his teens were spent in Floral Park, Nassau County. 

On graduating from Fordham University - where he majored in English and minored in Chemistry - he tested safety products for the Food And Drug Administration in Brooklyn. 

In 1975, after playing in a number of cover bands, he joined THE HEARTBREAKERS. In his autobiography published earlier this year, To Hell And Back: My Life In Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers, he wrote of his meeting with the band at Richard Hell’s East Village apartment where his hair was cut off and Jerry Nolan cooked up a shot of Heroin: “Everything I would experience during that period, but especially throughout the life span of the Heartbreakers, would ultimately be refracted through the lens of my addiction.”

He had distinct opinions on how a Rock ‘n’ Roll band should sound, writing in the same autobiography: “It was as if everybody was so concerned about somehow sounding ‘unique’ that they forgot that, sometimes, the kids just wanna rock. That was the niche that the Heartbreakers slipped into, and that was why they’d excited me so.” That was directed to his NYC contemporaries TALKING HEADS and TELEVISION. 

Within THE HEARTBREAKERS, he performed on and wrote several songs on what became one of the late-70s most iconic, influential and down-right enjoyable albums, ‘L.A.M.F’ - this included taking over lead vocal duties on such classics as ‘One Track Mind’ and ‘All By Myself’. The band played all of the NYC hotspots of the era, plus the infamous ‘Anarchy’ UK tour of 1977 with SEX PISTOLS.  He left the band in 1978 but returned a number of times through to 1991.

Post-HEARTBREAKERS he scored a job as a stock broker on Wall Street running financial date for a computing company - a job he supposedly garnered via his father’s connections. This lead to a position at a brokerage firm overseeing a team of 125 and a long career in finance that lasted until he retired, in 2015.

In 1988, he managed to sober up and dry out after years of drug abuse. Throughout this time, he intermittently played several HEARTBREAKERS reunions, continued to work with JOHNNY THUNDERS on his solo work, augmented RAMONES on both ‘Subterranean Jungle’, ‘Too Tough To Die’, worked with the bands THE BLESSED, THE HURRICANES and THE HEROES  plus his own band, WALTER LURE AND THE WALDOS which released its debut album in 1994 with ‘Rent Party’ and a final album in 2018 entitled ‘Wacka Lacka Loom Bop A Loom Bam Boo’.

The last surviving member of the iconic HEARTBREAKERS line-up, Lure passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by family and friends. 

Lure is survived by his son, Damian Da Costa, a brother William Luhr, twin granddaughters and his partner, Mr Andy Le. 

I never got to see Walter Lure live. I am a massive Johnny Thunders fan and have watched a lot of videos, listened to a lot of records (official and bootlegged) and, without a doubt, Lure was the best accompaniment for the Thunders talent.  He seemed to provide a bit of grounding, with his centre stage position. It’s also clear that his tracks on ‘L.A.M.F’ gave it that extra dynamic that pushes it into a different league.  And let’s face it, if Johnny Ramone can allow him to cut guitar parts on three RAMONES albums, then the talent speaks for itself. 

Obituary - Tim Smith

On Tuesday 21 July 2020, Tim Smith, best known as vocalist, front man and main writer of CARDIACS passed away. He was aged 59. The cause of death was a heart attack. 

Born Timothy Charles Smith on 3 July 1961 in Carshalton, Surrey, England, he had formed his first band by 1975 with some school friends while 1977 saw the formation of THE FILTH with his brother Jim. 

By 1979, he had formed CARDIAC ARREST releasing its first single, ‘A Bus For A Bus On A Bus’, before taking over vocals the following year for the ‘The Obvious Identity’ cassette album. In 1981, the band had morphed into CARDIACS for the release of the cassette album, ‘Toy World’.

In 1983, Smith married Sarah Cutts, who had joined the band three years prior. 

Smith created the Alphabet Business Concern in 1984, a carefully constructed myth of an exploitative organisation that dictated CARDIACS activities and held them to account. It debuted with ‘Archive Cardiacs’ that compiled the two previous cassette only releases. All future CARDIACS material, bar a rare exception or two, was released on Alphabet Business Concern. 

CARDIACS was a unique band and virtually unparalleled in a live setting. Fusing the abrasiveness of Punk and the musical exploration of Prog Rock, the band created a truly original sound be it on the minor hit single, ‘Is This The Life’ (minor as in reaching #80), through the majestic ‘Heaven Born And Ever Bright’ album (which opened with symphonic ‘The Alphabet Business Concern {Home Of Fadeless Splendour}’) through to the epic double album ‘Sing To God’.

Smith had a few side projects also, including the solo album ‘Tim Smith’s Extra Special OceanLandWorld’ which was recorded between 1989 and 1991 and saw release in 1995, while THE SEA NYMPHS was a side project that featured his ex-wife Sarah and William D. Drake (both of whom had been in CARDIACS), and played a gentler, lighter sound featuring greater emphasis on keyboards, vocal rhythms and brass. 

Two lesser known roles included performing with Jo Spratley in SPRATLEY’S JAPS in 1995, playing on and producing the band’s 1999 album ‘Pony’, and touring solo in support of GINGER AND THE SONIC CIRCUS in March 2006.

Outside performing, he also owned the recording studio, Apollo 8 in Wiltshire, producing several artists including LEVITATION, EAT, OCEANSIZE, SIDI BOU SAID and former WILDHEARTS frontman Ginger. 

He was also recognised as a video editor, working with bands as disparate as SEPULTURA and THE FRANK AND WALTERS, along with CARDIACS. 2008 saw the film, ‘The Wildhearts Live In The Studio: A Film By Tim Smith’ which featured THE WILDHEARTS performing their self-titled album along with some surreal intervals.   

A final CARDIACS album, ‘LSD’, remains unfinished. 

Tragedy struck on 25 June 2008 when Smith suffered a heart attack and stroke (after a MY BLOODY VALENTINE concert) and underwent a long period of rehabilitation, which included a second stroke in hospital. He experienced a lack of oxygen to the brain during cardiac arrest and was diagnosed with dystonia, which causes muscles to contract uncontrollably. To aid his on-going recovery, three events named The Alphabet Business Convention were staged in 2013, 2015 and 2017 while in 2016 a one-off gig in Preston named The Whole World Window was staged. 

A fundraiser set up for his care in 2018 read: “This condition has affected Tim’s movement, his dexterity, his ability to speak, and it has added painful muscle tone and spasms that are a permanent feature of his life these days.” Just the year before, Smith is quoted as saying of his condition, “Imagine if you were wearing a skintight bodysuit made of fishnet all around you, with electrical pulses going all the time. This is what my body feels like unless I fall asleep.”

On 25 October 2018, Smith received the degree Doctor Of Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which brother Jim accepted on his behalf. 

Smith’s passing was announced by his brother Jim and bandmate Kavus Torabi stating Smith had “passed away peacefully at around 10.30pm”. 

My memories of CARDIACS go back to seeing them on Channel Four’s The Tube in 1987, when the programme aired the ‘Tarred And Feathered’ video. I didn’t have a clue what it was, whether I liked it or hated it. The Tube, from memory, played more CARDIACS stuff - and I got a taste for them. 

I finally got to see the band when they played Ipswich Caribbean Club in March 1992. The Caribbean had a reputation for bad sound but CARDIACS made the place sound awesome - the only band I ever saw that managed it.  I caught them again at Colchester Arts Centre around 1996 on the ‘Sing To God’ tour and a final time at the, I think Highbury Garage (although it might’ve been the Camden Falcon - I know it was cold though!) in early 1999.  

CARDIACS gigs were joyous, distinctly British (as in fusing hymns and music hall into their sound), chaotic, celebratory and frequently laden with make-believe cruelty (witness Tim’s goading and near bullying of his bassist brother, Jim). But never once was I not impressed, or even amazed that such complex songs could be played so efficiently and when the jarring, fractured sounds exploded into a joyous, heavenly symphony of sound, it was a truly beautiful thing.  

Where Smith’s muse came from, I cannot begin to imagine but I feel intensely fortunate that it touched me deeply and I got to experience The Leader Of The Starry Skies in all of his fadeless splendour.

Obituary - Ken Chinn

On Thursday 16 July 2020, Ken Chinn (also known as Mr Chi Pig), best known as the frontman of Canadian Punk band, SNFU passed away. He was aged 57. No official cause of death has been announced. 

Born Kendall Stephen Chinn in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 19 October 1962, he was the son of a German mother and Chinese father and the second youngest of 12 children. His childhood was traumatic, much of it related to an unstable family life and which would later be diagnosed as schizophrenia. According to Chinn’s early-teen friend, Cameron Noyes, who lived with Chinn at the infamous down-town Edmonton house, Nosedive, they were also the last family in Edmonton to have no running water. 

In 1981, along with brothers Marc and Brent Belke, he formed a band called LIVE SEX SHOWS. This was a short-lived band, but the trio would soon form the band that has become synonymous with Chinn, SOCIETY’S NO FUCKING USE - better known as the acronym SNFU.

Chinn was renowned for high-octane, enigmatic, rather mischievous and frequently airborne performances which often included masks, puppets, outfits and other props and this helped lead the band to release its first records on YOUTH BRIGADE’s BYO label before a splitting in 1989 due to exhaustion and in-fighting. 

Chinn moved to Vancouver, Canada and fronted another short-lived band in THE WONGS which released a solitary EP in 1990 and then split the following year. An even more short-lived band in LITTLE JOE soon followed. Vancouver also provided Chinn’s gateway to a long battle with a number of hard drugs and his coming out as homosexual. 

Late 1991 saw SNFU reform and sign to Epitaph Records in 1993 - producing what was the band’s highest-profile period. However, the label didn’t renew the band’s contract in 1997 and by 2001, there was another hiatus. 

As before, Chinn formed another short-lived project in SLAVECO before SNFU returned to action in 2003 before another split in 2005. This time, Chinn had a down-turn with periods of depression, poverty, addiction and homelessness leading to a complete mental breakdown at the time his mum passed away. Somehow, he also managed to work on an as-yet unreleased solo album. 

2007 saw SNFU reform again and generally stay active from that point on. 

In March 2010, Chinn was the subject of a biographical film in Open Your Mouth And Say... Mr Chi Pig (review here).  The following year Chinn suffered extreme pneumonia along with bouts of cachexia, a wasting syndrome related to chronic alcoholism and malnutrition. The band also became the subject of a book - Chris Walter’s ...What No One Else Wanted To Say - which is pretty much the defining, in-depth analysis of the band and Chinn as a person. 

2013 saw Chinn perform some solo shows as DNFU (Distortion’s No Fucking Use). 

Most recently, Chinn inspired the Edmonton event, Mile Zero Dance Society’s Second-hand Dances for the Crude, Crude City in January - an exploration of what it means be to Punk or alternative in today’s world. In the work, choreographer/dancer Gerry Morita channelled the frustration, violence and catharsis of the early Punk scene.

Outside of the band, he often held court at Vancouver’s Pub 340 or perhaps The Cambie Pub, liked steak tartare, loved to travel, and had read chef Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential repeatedly.

It was reported in November 2019 that Chinn had been medically diagnosed as having only one month to live.  

In the wake of Chinn’s passing, childhood friend Noyes is part of a small Edmontonian group (which includes local venue the Starlite Room) that is working on a pitch to the city to have a mural painted and a statue erected in honour of Chinn, and also to organize an online memorial for him.

I got to see SNFU twice - both crackers - one with a younger Chi, the other with an older version of the same man.  First time was down in Brighton at, I think, the Richmond back around 93/94. It was December, cold and I missed the band’s gig at the George Robey (with SNUFF...). I’d long had at least the first two of those three classic debut albums - it was a time the band was already on Epitaph if I recall. Chi was stunning - energised is one word but not sufficient.

The second was way more memorable - in the band’s home town of Vancouver, Canada during a visit in 2016.  I saw a flyer in a local record shop, got directions (and it was a ten minute walk from where I was staying!) so off I went.  I recall it was an awesome venue with typical Canadian hospitality.  The band blazed, but Chi looked old, damaged but still enthralling.  On the merchandise stand was that biography mentioned above.  Given I was on holiday, I bought it and the seller suggested that, if I hang around after the gig, Chi might sign it - “no promises... Depends on his mood.”  I’m not really an autograph seeker but, SNFU in their hometown and only a ten minute walk home? OK... I waited.

Chi finally appeared and the seller on the merchandise stand (who had retained my book during the gig), pointed me out and gave Chi a pen.  A big signature was scrawled (and on the flipside of the page, so was Chris Walter’s). Chi suddenly grabbed my head, kissed (a bit too noisily) my ear, drawled “thanks man,” and off he went.  It was quite a moment (Good? Bad? You decide!) - both touching, engaging and surprising - just wish I had got a photo somehow!!

Mr Chi Pig - a legend in every circle of Punk Rock and one that set the bar high while succumbing to just about every low imaginable. 

Obituary - Steve Hanford

On Thursday 21 May 2020, Steven Hanford (also known as Thee Slayer Hippy), best known as the drummer in Portland based band POISON IDEA, passed away.  He was aged 50. The cause of death was a heart attack.
Hanford was born in Walla Walla, Washington in 1969 before moving to Portland with his family at the age of two. He was playing drums by the age of eight - the same age he allegedly started smoking pot. After playing in a few bands (including Portland’s MAYHEM), he joined POISON IDEA at the tender age of 15, making his recording debut two years later with the album ‘War All The Time’ which not only featured Hanford’s drumming but was also produced by the then-teen.
Come 1990, ‘Feel The Darkness’ heralded what is arguably the greatest of all POISON IDEA albums featuring classics like ‘Taken By Surprise’ and the monumental ‘Just To Get Away’. Again, Hanford produced, this time with aid of the band. It was with this album that the band’s reputation for excess became legendary, with Hanford not being left behind!
Following another intense album in 1993’s ‘We Must Burn’, the band split.  Hanford soon formed a new band, GIFT, with POISON IDEA’s vocalist Jerry A, which released a single album in ‘Multum In Parva’.
He also lended his production skills to albums by Portland post-Hardcore band HEATMISER and indie two-piece CARDINAL.
His addiction, both to drugs and alcohol, lead to a failed suicide attempt and to him spending over seven years in jail (at Oregon State Penitentiary and then Pendleton Correctional Facility) following a succession of pharmacy robberies.  This was in October 2008 and followed an abortive attempt at rehab in which private information was made public by one of the staff.  It wasn’t exactly wasted time though as Hanford joined various inmates and apparently recorded 13 albums with various bands, including two on which he sang lead vocals. 
On release, he collaborated with fellow inmate Sam Redding who started a music programme at Pendleton, on a BLUE OYSTER CULT tribute record and in 2016 went on tour as a hired sticksman with Chicago doomsters, SKULL. More importantly, he stayed clean following his release.  
Coming right up to date, Hanford’s latest project, FETISH, released its debut album ‘World Eater’ in 2019 and included ex-POISON IDEA members, Eric Olsen and Brandon Bentley.
A mere month after that album’s release saw Hanford join THE ACCUSED AD as touring drummer and produce Nick Oliveri;s MONDO GENERATOR’s latest ‘Fuck It’.

It’s kind of a tragedy that I saw POISON IDEA just twice - once at the London Astoria in, I think, 1994. I’m pretty sure the ball of flying hair behind the drumkit was Hanford - surely sounded like it! The second time was several years later at the Highbury Garage - around five years later I guess.
A truly stunning drummer with a fine ear for sound quality, hence his production credits.

Joe Strummer Foundation

I’m sure everyone reading has heard of JOE STRUMMER, the legendary frontman of THE CLASH, solo artist, short-term POGUE, writer and actor. Many have had the tag ‘legendary’ attached to their name, but few deserve it more than Strummer.
What you might not have heard of is a charitable collective in East Sussex, England called JOE STRUMMER FOUNDATION. Its aim is to provide opportunities to musicians and support to projects around the world that create empowerment through music. 

This is achieved via various projects and fundraisers, the latest of which is a rather smart split digital single of CLASH tunes.
The Foundation has three main objectives, being:

1. The prevention or relief of poverty, particularly of young people, anywhere in the world by providing: grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.
2. To promote, improve, develop and maintain the education of the public in the art, culture and science of music in all its aspects for the public benefit, in particular young musicians, including by the provision of funds for the purchase of musical instruments and studio rehearsal.
3. To promote, improve and advance the arts, including music, for the public benefit including by the presentation of exhibitions, public events and concerts.

Their latest project in raising both funds and awareness is a split digital single featuring DIY stalwarts NOSEBLEED and THE ZIPHEADS, both of which cover a CLASH song. It was released on 8th May as a joint venture with Joe Strummer Foundation and Bomber Music, raising funds to support musicians in these incredibly difficult times.
You can get the digital single via Bomber’s bandcamp page with all proceeds going to the JSF, and find out more about the Foundation HERE.

Obituary - Dave Greenfield

On Sunday 3 May 2020, Dave Greenfield, keyboardist with legendary British band, THE STRANGLERS, passed away. He was aged 71. The cause of death was COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
Greenfield was born David Paul Greenfield on 29 March 1949 in Brighton, England.
On leaving school, he played with various bands on American airforce bases in Germany, and also played in UK bands while working for his father’s printing business, and as a piano tuner. 

In 1970, one of his early bands, THE BLUE MAXI released a single on Major Minor Records entitled ‘Here Comes Summer’. Other early bands included prog rockers RUSTY BUTLER and CREDO.
Things changed massively when he auditioned for THE STRANGLERS in 1975 and replaced Hans Warmling as the band’s keyboardist. He stayed with the band through to his passing playing on all 17 studio albums and a multitude of live albums, be they official or otherwise.
The story of THE STRANGLERS is well documented and, it is often said the band was influenced by THE DOORS. At the time of joining the band however, Greenfield had hardly heard Morrison and co, and was said to be more influenced by Rick Wakeman of YES and DEEP PURPLES’s Jon Lord.
His most notable contribution to the band was the baroque-influenced 1982 single ‘Golden Brown’ which started off as a piece of waltz-time harpsichord music during the recording of ‘The Gospel According To The Meninblack’ album. With added lyrics, the song became a number two hit single in the UK, also winning an Ivor Novello award.
He frequently sang backing vocals for the band, and in places used a vocoder. His lead vocals can also be heard on the tracks ‘Dead Ringer’, ‘Peasant In The Big Shitty’, ‘Do You Wanna?’ and ‘Four Horseman’.
Outside of the band, Greenfield had an interest in the occult, which was evident from his wearing a pentagram in many early photos of the band.
Besides THE STRANGLERS, Greenfield released an album with the band’s bassist, Jean-Jacques Burnel, in 1983 entitled ‘Fire And Water (Ecoutez Vos Murs)’ which was used for the soundtrack to the film Ecoutez Vos Murs, directed by Vincent Coudanne. He also tried his hand at production with the 1981 single ‘Back To France’ by Boys In Darkness.
On 26 April 2020, he was diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus during a stay in hospital for heart-related issues before succumbing to complications related to it on 3 May 2020. 
He is survived by his wife, Pam.

My journey on the road to a life with the music of THE STRANGLERS started either late ‘79 or mid 1980 when I saw them play ‘Duchess’ on (I imagine) Top Of The Pops. I managed to score the 7”, even though it had been out a while by that stage.  Still got it too.
I saw the band live just four times, with the most memorable event being on the ‘Dreamtime’ tour in 1986. It was in my home town of Ipswich and someone had been spitting at the band. Vocalist/ guitarist Hugh Cornwall asked them to stop, which was immediately ignored as a great phelgm-ball headed his way. Cornwall stopped the band, dived into the crowd and pulled Mr. Gobber onto the stage. The band then removed his trousers, and undies and stuff a peeled banana on his wiener before throwing him to the roadies.
The last time I saw the band was 2018 at the Auckland Town Hall here in New Zealand. The abiding memory I have of that was during the keyboard solo in ‘Walk On By’, which Greenfield played one-handed while downing a pint. On completion, and still playing one handed, he scrunched the cup and headed it away!! Biggest cheer of the night? Possibly only ‘Get A Grip’ surpassed it.
It’s without a doubt that it was Greenfield’s keyboard skills that set THE STRANGLERS apart from the rest of the Punk throng. His swirling arpeggios and dramatic swell of sound gave their music not just a greater melodic structure and even accessibility, but they also added something much darker and muscular.
It’s tragic that the very disease that prevented THE STRANGLERS completing their farewell tour should be the virus that took the life of the band’s mercurial keyboardist and one of the two pivotal members remaining.
Greenfield maybe gone, but the sound and memories of those who saw and listened to THE STRANGLERS will live forever.

Obituary - Andy Gill

On Saturday 1 February 2020, Andy Gill - best known as guitarist and co-founder of GANG OF FOUR - passed away at a hospital in London, England. He was aged 64. The cause of death was pneumonia.
Gill was born Andrew James Dalrymple Gill on 1 January 1956 in Manchester, England.
It was while at school in Sevenoaks, Kent that Gill met the co-founder of the band he would become infamous with: future GANG OF FOUR vocalist Jon King. Finding a love of art, they both moved to Leeds to attend the progressive Fine Arts Department at the University. While there they both ran the student film society and adopted the guise of Situationists - a radical French group from the 60s which focused on the alienating effects of mass media and entertainment.
The seeds of an idea of forming a band were sown when the pair visited New York City and experienced the then fledgling Punk scene at CBGB’s (a trip actually funded by grants intended for their studies!). However, it was at the infamous Leeds pub, The Fenton, where the band took shape with the addition of bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. By 1977 the band had fully formed and were soon signed to Scottish independent Fast Product for the release of the ‘Damaged Goods’ single.
To get the band’s political message out there, they then signed to EMI for the single ‘At Home He’s A Tourist’ and the classic debut album, ‘Entertainment!’. Over the successive years, various members left, got replaced, and came back, while Gill remained the only constant on the following nine studio albums. He was reputedly working on mixes of a new album from his death bed, and planning another tour.
Throughout this period, Gill was also a record producer, and produced or co-produced all of the band's albums. He also produced albums for artists such as the THE STRANGLERS, KILLING JOKE, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, JESUS LIZARD And THERAPY? among others.
Gill is survived by his wife, journalist Catherine Mayer who he married in 1999, his brother Martin and "many family and elective family members who will miss him terribly" said the band in a press statement.

In all honesty, GANG OF FOUR didn’t quite resonate with me in the same voracious way that many of their contemporaries did. I have the first three albums and can see their influence throughout a myriad of bands (notably two disparate bands in FUGAZI and FRANZ FERDINAND), can appreciate that welding of politics, Punk, Funk and Dub and find Gill’s guitar playing to be not just inventive but iconoclastic in style. All of that considered, I still didn’t go and see the band play in Auckland, New Zealand in November 2019. Now, there is one gig I regret not attending...

Year-end Recommendations 2019

There were some truly stunning records released in 2019, especially when it came to albums.  GALILEO 7 was a band I had never been aware of before hearing 'There Is Only Now' and it would have walked away with the Best Album title had BOB MOULD not returned to stunning form to deliver the best work he's done since 'Copper Blue'. Sad to hear Portland's ABOLITIONIST has split up too, especially in the wake of the band's best two releases (and that's no disrespect to the older stuff - which is great).  The ever-reliable CHANNEL 3 easily got Best EP with 'The Bellwether' while Dirt Cult Records cranked out three stunning 7"s. Not really had a chance to listen to the three albums listed yet, so that Top 10 could change when I do. Add to that, I haven't heard either of THE MUFFS or THE FREEZE albums that were released in 2019... they'd be contenders for sure.
As for gigs, what a fail!!  2019 was the first year in decades where I never saw a live band at all.  I missed the New Zealand Punk It Up! festival as I left it too late to get tickets and FUCKED UP played Auckland when I was in the US! Oh well... might have been good to give the old ears a break!!
Anyway - hope you agree, and disagree, with my Top Tens of 2019. Have a peruse, take a chance on something you've not heard - and enjoy!!

ALBUMS
1. BOB MOULD - Sunshine Rock {Merge}
2. GALILEO 7 - There Is Only Now {Damaged Goods}
3. PARANOID VISIONS - Adverse Reality {FOAD}
4. ABOLITIONIST - Ugly Feeling {1859}
5. GOOD RIDDANCE - Thoughts And Prayers {Fat Wreck}
6. SUBHUMANS - Crisis Point {Pirate's Press}
7. MEMBRANES - What Nature Gives... Nature Takes Away {Cherry Red}
8. SNUFF - There's A Lot Of It About {Fat Wreck}
9. SPERMBIRDS - Go To Hell... {Boss Tuneage}
10. SIGNAL CRIMES - Perfidious Albion {Network Of Friends}
Other Contenders: BRACKISH EDGE - The Cruel Dark Sea {DIY}; REDD KROSS - Beyond The Door {Merge}; STEVE IGNORANT'S SLICE OF LIFE - Don't Turn Away {Overground}; LONG RYDERS - Psychedelic Country Soul {Cherry Red}; DANGER!MAN - Weapons Of Mass Distraction, MOVING TARGETS - Wires, PANDEMIX - In Condemnation {Boss Tuneage}; WARP LINES - Human Fesh, MORE KICKS - S/t, BOTHERS - s/t {Dirt Cult}; PERSONALITY CULT - New Arrows, STEVE ADAMYK BAND - Paradise {Dirtnap}; LAGWAGON - Railer, CJ RAMONE - The Holy Spell {Fat Wreck}; CANDY SNATCHERS - Moronic Pleasures {Hound Gawd}; CASUAL NAUSEA - Demons {TNS}; HIP PRIESTS - Stand For Nothing {Digital Warfare}; JONNY MANAK AND THE DEPRESSIVES - Anybody Wanna Skate {God's Candy}; LENNY LASHLEY'S GANG OF ONE - All Are Welcome {Pirate's Press}; SWEET THINGS - In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time, JORDAN JONES - s/t {Spaghetty Town}; FONTAINES DC - Dogrel {Partisan}

SINGLES/ EPs
1. CHANNEL 3 - The Bellwether {Hostage}
2. ABOLITIONIST - A New Militance {1859}
3. KIRA JARI - Spooky Freak {Dirt Cult}
4. SUSPECT PARTS - You Know I Can't Say No {Dirt Cult}
5. WEIRD NUMBERS - Minotaur Dreams {Dirt Cult}
6. MYSTERY GIRL - Heart Breaker {Brain Slash}
7. VULPYNES - Dye Me Red {FOAD}
8. CLEVELAND STEAMERS - Maga Maga Maga {Smog Veil}
9. FAST EDDY - Toofer One {Spaghetty Town}
10. DEVILS ELBOW - ID {DIY}
Other Contenders: WET SPECIMENS - Haunted Flesh {Brain Slash}; CTMF - Marc Riley Session 2019, JOHNNY MOPED - Hey Belinda {Damaged Goods}; KONTACT - Life In A Cage {Militant Tendencies}; THE OUTCASTS - Stay Young {Violated}; GIGLINGER - Money Power And Corruption {DIY}

RE-ISSUES/ COMPILATIONS
1. VARIOUS - 1977: The Year Punk Broke {Cherry Red}
2. THE REPLACEMENTS - Dead Man's Pop {Sire}
3. THE DAMNED - Black Is The Night {BMG}
4. JOHNNY THUNDERS - Madrid Memory {Cleopatra/ MVD}
5. D.O.A - 1978: Unreleased Tracks/ Singles {Sudden Death}
6. VARIOUS - Optimism/ Reject {Cherry Red}
7. ADRENALIN OD - The Wacky Hi-Jinx Of... {Beer City}
8. LEFTOVER CRACK - E-Sides And F-Sides {Fat Wreck}
9. EARTH MOTHER FUCKER - I Fuck Therefore I Am {Antigen}
10. REVILLOS - Compendium Of The Weird {Damaged Goods}
Other contenders: DINOSAUR JR - Where You Been {Cherry Red}; BILLY CHILDISH - Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot!, REVILLOS - From The Freezer {Damaged Goods}; RAMONES - It's Alive {Sire}

Obituary - Kim Shattuck

On Wednesday 2 October 2019, Kim Shattuck - best known as founder and vocalist in THE MUFFS - passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles, America. She was aged 56. The cause of death was due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease - a nerve condition), a disease she had been fighting for the last two years.
Shattuck was born Kimberly Dianne Shattuck on 17 July 1963 in Burbank, California. Her parents, Kent and Betty, raised Shattuck and her siblings (brother Kirk and sister Kristen) in Orange Country, California. While at Orange Coast College, she began playing guitar while studying photography.
Shattuck’s first band of note was as bassist for the all-female band THE PANDORAS from 1985 through to the 1990.  The band’s sound mutated from Paisley Underground-esque Garage Rock through to Hard Rock. Judging by Shattuck’s comments, she had little influence on the band’s direction.
In 1991 she switched to guitar and formed the band with which she would be most known for, THE MUFFS. The band released six albums, achieving peak popularity in 1995 with the ‘Blonder And Blonder’ album and a cover of Kim Wilde’s ‘Kids In America’ which was included in the Clueless soundtrack. 
In 2001, Shattuck formed side project, THE BEARDS with Lisa Marr and Sherri Sollinger, releasing ‘Funtown’ in 2002.
In 2013, Shattuck replaced Kim Deal as bassist in THE PIXIES; however she was dismissed after a mere five months, a decision she has said she was “super disappointed” with. No reason was given, but it has been cited that that she thought it was possibly because the rest of the band were ‘more introverted people.’
Shattuck also guested on a number of other releases; when NOFX recorded ‘Punk In Drublic’ she sang on ‘Lori Meyers’, BOWLING FOR SOUP’s 2009 track ‘I’ve Always Remember You (That Way)’ and THE DOLLYROTS ‘Some Girls’.
THE MUFFS reformed in 2014 with the come back album ‘Whoop Dee Doo’. A new album entitled ‘No Holiday’, was recorded while Shattuck was fighting the disease that ultimately took her life,  and is due for release late in October 2019.
Only this past July, another project was announced in THE COOLIES which reunited Shattuck with original MUFFS member, Melanie Vammen. With a six-track EP released the same month, ‘Uh Oh! It’s...The Coolies’, Shattuck announced that all proceeds would go to ALS - although she abstained from revealing she was suffering from it herself.  Asked why they had chosen an ALS research charity, Shattuck responded, “Sadly, it runs in my damn family, and that disease is a mystery to just about every scientist! We are definitely interested in finding a cure for ALS! Cure it already!” Other interviews also mentioned that ALS had afflicted her father’s side of the family.
Shattuck is survived by her mother, two siblings and husband of 16-years, Kevin Sutherland.

Somehow, I missed out on ever seeing THE MUFFS live. I’ve loved the band ever since the self-titled debut from 1993, revelled in the mastery of the band’s ability, and more specifically Shattuck’s writing ability, to fuse raging guitars to near-perfect Pop moments and be constantly astounded at that wild, guttural scream that infuses every MUFFS album.
It’s well known Shattuck had a genuine and abiding love of THE BEATLES, and the influence can be directly heard on that debut album.  The very fact Shattuck’s songs are being talked about in the same breath as those of Lennon and McCartney without sounding trite is testament to the quality and originality of her songs.
To read a really intimate and sincere obituary about Shattuck, I’d like to send you to the LA Times where MUFFS drummer, Roy McDonald, has penned a deeply personal account of their friendship and experience recording the soon-due album.

Obituary - Damien Lovelock

On Saturday 3 August 2019, Damien Lovelock - best known as the vocalist of Australian band CELIBATE RIFLES - passed away at his home on the northern beaches of Sydney, Australia. He was aged 65. The cause of death was cancer.
Lovelock was born Damien Richard Lovelock on 21 May 1954 in Amersham, England, the son of Australians Joan Wilton (a Jazz singer) and Bill Lovelock (a television producer and musician). The marriage dissolved when Bill moved to New York while Joan returned to Sydney with Damien ,who was still but an infant.
Following the move to Australia, Damo (as he became known) joined a band named STREET NOISE. At the age of 26, he answered a ‘Vocalist Required’ notice and joined both Dave Morris and Kent Steedman in 1980 to form the band that became recognised as CELIBATE RIFLES - a band which started as a high-energy Garage Punk band and matured into a streamlined Alt. Rock band that retained that high-energy feel of the earlier years. Although Lovelock was ten years older than the rest of the band, he had no problem matching their energy.
Following the self-released EP, ‘But Jacques, The Fish?’, the band was signed to Hot Records for the release of the 1983 debut album, ‘Sideroxylon’. Following the album’s release Lovelock started a side-project with the acoustic NO DANCE which featured members of Australian luminaries NEW CHRISTS and DIED PRETTY and released a single in 1984 entitled ‘Carnival Of Souls’.
While Lovelock returned and remained the frontman of CELIBATE RIFLES through nine studio album, two live albums, a flurry of EPs, compilation albums, a video album (which included five solo Locklock tracks) and several international tours, he continued with solo projects. In June 1988 Lovelock released his debut solo album, ‘It's a Wig Wig Wig Wig World’, which was followed by the single, ‘Disco Inferno’, in April 1990. His second solo album, ‘Fishgrass’, was released in December 1991 following a single, ‘The Dalai Lama’, the previous October.
Lovelock had an interesting life outside music also, being a fan’s-perspective commentator on the Sunday afternoon sports programme The World Game that aired on SBS in Australia. In the 2000s, he was a regular member of the football panel on Sky News in Australia and also co-hosted ABC Radio Grandstand for a short period.  Another programme he co-hosted was Football Fever on Sky Sports Radio, the final episodes of which aired in March 2010.
Continuing the sports theme, he wrote two books about soccer (plus a cookery book!), was also a known Yoga instructor in Newport, Sydney (and was proficient to such an extent he was hired by the likes of Central Coast Mariners, Sydney FC and the NSW State of Origin team) and had a love of Southampton FC.

Lovelock is survived by his son, Luke. 

I discovered the CELIBATE RIFLES quite late on - somewhere around 15 years ago after I’d already made the move to New Zealand.  I had heard of the band often but crossing paths only occurred on the purchase of ‘Blind Ear’, a late 80s album but one which impressed me enough to search out more. It was also this album which features my favourite CELIBATE RIFLES song - and one very fitting to be an epitaph for Lovelock - ‘Wonderful Life’. For those curious to hear the band, a great place to start is the 23-track compilation, ‘Platters Du Jour’, which collects all of the band’s early singles. Grab it and enjoy.

Year-end Recommendations 2018

2018 was a rather interesting and bountiful year in terms of good records. In fact, my Top Three albums all came from totally unexpected sources, with two of the bands being totally new to me, and the other not having released a record in five years or so.  Even taking the Top Ten out of matters, there was still a lot of good gear - and especially when you consider some of the releases I still haven't heard like the new albums by both THE DAMNED and THE DWARVES to name but two, and the TOYS THAT KILL/ IRON CHIC split. 
Also discovered Dirt Cult Records this year. The Portland label hasn't put out a bad release from the multitude I've heard and there is great variation among them too. Genuinely inspiring stuff. Great people to deal with too.
There were some stunning compilation boxsets released too with Cherry Red in particular pulling out all the stops on their ever-continuing run of thoroughly enjoyable collections. The Damaged Goods 30th Anniversary double set is also essential - varied sounds, all special.
Live events were restricted to older acts - THE STRANGLERS, RUTS DC, PETE MURPHY playing BAUHAUS and BOB DYLAN! RUTS DC was easily the highlight, although DYLAN was surprisingly satisfying and among the top three times I've seen him (and that's a few!). No apologies for the fact that that's not very 'Punk Rock'; if that's a problem for you then that really is your problem - not mine.
2018 was also the first year in many during which I never made an overseas trip, so no overseas gigs or record cratedigging experienced!
And of course, there were the sad passings of some legends - Pete Shelley and Steve Soto being the two most notable.  Both massive loses from two gents that gave us so much.
Anyway - 2018 Top Sounds as follows...

ALBUMS
1. CLEVELAND STEAMERS - Best Record Ever {Smog Veil}
2=. SKEPTIC?- Hornet’s Nest {DIY}
2=. SONGS FOR SNAKES - Crystal Vapour Figure {Timid Crusher}
4. SWINGIN’ UTTERS - Peace And Love {Fat Wreck}
5. NEIGHBORHOOD BRATS - Claw Marks {Dirt Cult}
6. CASTRO - Infidelity {Boss Tuneage}
7. NIGHT BIRDS - Roll Credits {Fat Wreck}
8. FUCKED UP - Dose Your Dreams {Merge}
9. FUTURE VIRGINS - Doomsday Raga {Recess}
10. ABOLITIONIST - The Instant {DIY}
Other contenders: YOUTH AVOIDERS - Relentless {Destructure}, CLOWN SOUNDS - Preacher Maker {Recess}, RUBELLA BALLET - Danger Of Death {Overground}, PRETTY FLOWERS - Why Trains Crash, HARD FEELINGS - Side Ways, RADON - More Of Their Lies {Dirt Cult}, LAST GANG - Keep Them Counting {Fat Wreck}, D.O.A - Fight Back {Sudden Death}, SPOILERS - Roundabouts, NATTERERS - Head In A Threatening Attitude {Boss Tuneage}, BAD SPORTS - Constant Stimulation, MIND SPIDERS - Furies {Dirtnap}, DOWN AND OUTS - Double Negative {DIY}, SHADRACKS - The Shadracks {Damaged Goods}, ADOLESCENTS - Cropduster {Concrete Jungle}, THE HOLDOUT - The Things That Brought Us Here {Grafton}

SINGLES
1. CHARACTER ACTOR - s/t {Dirt Cult}
2. VANILLA POD - Goodbye My Love... {Brassneck}
3. NUMBER ONES, The - Another Side Of The Number Ones {Sorry State}
4. CASTRO - Personal EP {Boss Tuneage}
5. HARD SKIN - Not Messing Around {JT Classics}
6. BLANKZ- White Baby {Slope}
7. CORNER BOYS - Love Tourist {Dirt Cult}
8. ABOLITIONIST - The Pinnacle EP {DIY}
9. CHAIN WHIP - s/t {Dirt Cult}
10. BOMBPOPS - Dear Beer {Fat Wreck}
Other contenders: FAZ WALTZ - Julie {Spaghetty Town}, THE LURKERS - Electrical Guitar {Damaged Goods}

RE-ISSUES/ COMPILATIONS
1. VARIOUS - Burning Britain {Cherry Red}
2. PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED - The Public Image Is Rotten {Virgin}
3. NEW YORK DOLLS - Personality Crisis {Cherry Red}
4. THE JAM - 1977 {Polydor}
5. JOE STRUMMER - 001 {Ignition}
6. VARIOUS - Damaged Goods 1988/2018 {Damaged Goods}
7. MARKED MEN - On The Other Side {Dirtnap}
8. REDD KROSS - Hot Issue / Teen Babes From Monsanto {Merge}
9. MOVING TARGETS - The Other Side: Demos And Sessions Expanded {Boss Tuneage}
10. JILTED JOHN - True Love Stories {Boss Tuneage}
Other contenders: HERESY - Face Up To It! {Boss Tuneage}, LAWRENCE ARMS - We Are The Champions Of The World {Fat Wreck}, REVENGE OF THE PSYCHOTRONIC MAN - That Was Just A Noise 2004 - 2018 {TNS}

Obituary - Pete Shelley

On Thursday 6 December 2018, Pete Shelley - best known as founder, singer and songwriter of British Punk band, BUZZCOCKS - passed away at his home in Tallinn, Estonia. He was 63. The cause of death was due to a heart attack.
Shelley was born Peter Campbell McNeish on 17 April 1955 in Leigh, Lancashire. His mother Margaret was a former mill worker in the town while his father, John, was a fitter at Astley Green Colliery. He was the eldest of two, with a brother named Gary John McNeish.
From an early age Shelley read BEATLES sheet music and wrote his first song in 1971. Two years on from that, he formed his first band, JETS OF AIR, whose set included early proto types of songs that would later find home in BUZZCOCKS’ set list.
By 1974, he had written and recorded a set of electronica and although virtually unlistenable, Shelley released it as ‘Sky Yen’ on his own label in 1980.
It was a January 1974 meeting with one Howard Trafford at the Bolton Institute Of Technology (where the young Shelley was Vice-President of the Student’s Union) however that would change the path of both individuals’ future. The pair rehearsed some STOOGES material but due to the two living in different towns, the project - at this stage - came to nothing.
What followed is the stuff of legend. In February 1976, they read a review of EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS at The Marquee, London. The support band was the SEX PISTOLS. With their interest piqued by the mention of an IGGY POP cover, the pair went to London to see the SEX PISTOLS for themselves. They saw two shows, which changed their musical horizon, adopting their now more familiar Punk names (Trafford became Devoto) and so the legend of BUZZCOCKS begins. This is incredibly well documented, so I’ll leave you to do your own research about the band should you wish to.
In 1981, Shelley called time on BUZZCOCKS, informing band mate Steve Diggle by post - an action which created friction between the two that lasted years. Shelley, however, scored an immediate solo hit with ‘Homosapien’ and the album of the same name released in 1981. Two years later, he released his second solo album in ‘XL1’. It was another three years before he released the ‘Heaven And The Sea’ album.
During BUZZCOCKS’ absence their influence and legend had grown to such a stage that, in 1989, they were offered a lucrative US reunion tour. The band continued from then on, with the final BUZZCOCKS album being 2014’s ‘The Way’.
2002 saw Shelley reunite with Devoto for the ‘Buzzkunst’ album while in 2005, following the death of the DJ John Peel, Shelley recorded a tribute version of the BUZZCOCKS classic ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ with a multi-star lineup including Elton John, Robert Plant, David Gilmour and Roger Daltrey.
Although Shelley was open about his bisexuality, he did marry in 1991 and had a son in 1993. In 2002, he got divorced. In 2012, he moved to Tallinn, Estonia with his second wife, Greta, to live a less hectic life than that in London. It was here, on the morning of 6 December 2018, that he suffered a heart attack and passed away.
He is survived by his wife Greta, his son from his first marriage and his brother, Gary.
In accordance with Pete Shelley's wishes, a private funeral was held in Maardu, Estonia on Thursday 13 December. It was attended by his wife and a few close family friends. As noted in his eulogy, "However we knew Pete, we will miss him sorely in all his shapes and guises, but his legacy will live on in our memories and in the ways he has touched our lives."  

I only ever got to see BUZZCOCKS the once, back around the time they got back together and released ‘Trade Test Transmissions’, at the Norwich UEA - 1994 I think and THESE ANIMAL MEN supported. Oddly, they played here in NZ a year or so ago; my thinking was I’d catch them next time - which obviously ‘next time’ now means never again.
The first time I became aware of the band was around 1982/83. I’m not sure which came first but it was either via the ‘Burning Ambitions’ comp which featured ‘Boredom’ or getting a copy of the ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ 7” from someone at school - it might even have been a freebie as it’s housed only in a plain white cardboard sleeve. I’ve still got it too (ditto for the ‘Burning Ambitions’ comp). I’m pretty sure I must have heard the band on the John Peel show, or even on Top Of The Pops prior to either of those, but they are the first definite memories of Pete Shelley’s wonderful songwriting appearing on my horizon. It didn’t take long from there to gravitate to the classic ‘Singles Going Steady’ compilation and then those first three stunning studio albums. 
I think it’s fair to say that BUZZCOCKS was a universally liked band within Punk. Be it the adrenalin rush of ‘Orgasm Addict’ and ‘What Do I Get’, the primitive yet revolutionary ‘Spiral Scratch EP’, through to the Indie-scene inspiring ‘Everybody’s Happy Nowadays’ and onto the epic ‘Why Can’t I Touch It?’, we all have our favourites. The band’s latter work should not be ignored either as both ‘Trade Test Transmissions’ and 2003’s ‘Buzzcocks’ are both well worth a listen and  indicate that of all the 77 bands to reform, BUZZCOCKS’ reformation birthed the best new material of the lot.
R.I.P Pete and thanks for being part of the sound track to not just our youth, but of our lives.

Show Time

BEYOND AND BACK: WAR STORIES AT THE ROXY

Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, USA - 7th October 2018

By Matt Powell - Photos by Dianne Carter
This is no place
To be addicted
To another pace

Only the occasional green-haired weirdo or leather dominatrix crawls along the Sunset Strip and into the Roxy Theatre this night, their scant numbers a faint reminder of a time when the streets of Hollywood were flooded with freaks peacocking their membership in a special, sacred order.
A glorious sunset sprawls across the October sky, orange and pink and baby blue, so clean and bright. Like the emerging poshness of the new Sunset Strip itself, it is almost too pretty for tonight.
Such is the modern world.
And in some ways the modern world hovered over the event held within the Roxy’s black walls Sunday evening. War Stories is just as described: "Tales of ‘70s and ‘80s punk mayhem told by the perpetrators themselves." Seated across the Roxy stage where so much sweat and blood and beer was spilled, eight seminal musicians and documentarians sat on folding chairs (the audience did as well — folding chairs in the Roxy!) and shared tales of the vibrancy and debauchery of Los Angeles’ brief but bright punk days.
This was the second War Stories evening, following a February appearance at El Cid featuring a slightly different lineup. The ringleaders are Pleasant Gehman and Theresa Kereakes, who co-founded the punk fanzine Lobotomy in 1978 combining Kereakes’ photography, Gehman’s high school typing class skills, and a shared limitless lust for punk life.   
Sunday’s Roxy show featured Gehman, Kereakes, Abby Travis (THE GO-GO'S, THE LOVEDOLLS, KFMDM) Chip Kinman (THE DILS, RANK AND FILE), Dave Catching (THE MODIFIERS, TEX & THE HORSEHEADS, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL), Jennifer Finch (L7), Mike Watt (MINUTEMEN), and Flea. 
It was an event steeped in nostalgia and remembrance of a movement born from a rejection of traditional norms. Yet there was a pervading reminder that this could simply never happen again.
As with all scenes (musical, artistic or otherwise) you had to be there. War Stories was designed to celebrate a vibrant and now-dead scene that took place in a particular window of time in a particular place among a nebulous but ultimately limited group of participants.
In a tradition as old as recorded history, one purpose of such remembrances is the passing on of what once was for those who weren’t there, in the hopes that some part of the way the people on this stage and their cohorts lived their lives and made their art can seep a little into the consciousness of younger generations.
The crowd, mostly, seemed to have been there, peppered with a few of the young and hip and curious: those who can never know the feeling of sneaking into a club with a bad ID, or no ID (barcode technology makes that impossible now. Travis observed how the crackdown on underage club-going in Los Angeles really began in earnest with the arrival of the 1984 Olympics, a seminal moment that split Los Angeles into the clearly defined pre and post), or of wandering rows of cars in Hollywood parking lots looking for an unlocked Cadillac in which to fornicate, fog the windows for a few minutes, and be gone before the owner, none the wiser, returned (everything is locked today and cameras capture all). There were stories of crash pads like Gehman’s infamous Disgraceland left unlocked for days or weeks on end, or landlords removing apartment doors altogether in a futile attempt to get Flea and his deadbeat degenerate cohorts to vacate.
Before technology and ubiquitous surveillance, one could get away with all manner of crazy shit.
Kereakes, who self-identified as "punk rock’s designated driver," pulled these seemingly hedonistic remembrances together into a poignant observation: her and her merry band were virtually, if not literally, unemployable. While many see punk as a movement of destruction, in Los Angeles’ first wave at least, it was an artistic movement of creation and, perhaps unintentionally to some, of entrepreneurship.
"We had to rely on word-of-mouth, calling people on the phone, talking to them at social gatherings and making the commitment to be somewhere at a given time and place," says Kereakes. "Once you left the house, you expected someone to show up. Your only recourse was to find a payphone. We were analog and happily so. We were entrepreneurs and didn't realize it. We invented a new way of doing business."

Who were these punks? Some were freaks and wannabes and hangers on, for sure. There were drunks and junkies and dropouts and dealers. There were musicians foremost. And there were scribes and photographers, or fans and scenesters who were addicted to the energy and had access to a Xerox machine. It didn’t matter; collectively they built an infrastructure faced with the dual rejection of and rejection by mainstream society. They built their own magazines, record labels, bands, and even venues (Many punk clubs began as Chinese restaurants. Chip Kinman recalled an early DILS gig at a pizza parlor in Garden Grove). "If you’re in a band you’re an entrepreneur whether you like it or not," Kereakes observed.
It was a time of total freedom and lack of judgement, of unfettered creativity born from the cultural desert of 1970s Los Angeles. Bands as seemingly disparate as THE GERMS, THE BLASTERS and BLACK FLAG shared bills and, eventually, fans. There was diversity of style, of presentation, and of influence. "I think that without being the ‘politically correct police’ we were a much more accepting group," says Kereakes. "We were misfits and outcasts to begin with and that was our bond. We appreciated other weirdos and their output, their lifestyle, their fashion. Although, if someone was displaying bonafide unacceptable behavior, we would most definitely call them out."
Flea, the baby of the group (along with Finch), recalled his initial disinterest in the punk scene that was flowering in Hollywood. Flea explained that, although he was a troubled kid with a drug problem, musically he was into jazz and classical at the time, and punk seemed to him like "another thing with an arbitrary set of rules." But then he saw a FEAR show while on acid, and shortly thereafter auditioned for the band when it was announced they had fired bassist Derf Scratch. Flea got the FEAR gig and his friends, including many sharing the stage this night, celebrated with an 18-day party because one of their own had actually joined a "real band."
As with Angeleno R and B, blues, jazz and, to a certain extent, country music, Los Angeles’ indigenous punk music has always been given short shrift by unapologetically ignorant eastern critics. (This phenomenon continues into the present day with regular, unintentionally hilarious articles from New York based writers failing, or even trying, to grasp Angeleno culture.) London claimed punk’s origins and New York claimed the higher artistic ground. What did a bunch of pretty kids in the land of sunshine railing against their perceived petty problems have to say?
But to dismiss Los Angeles punk is to miss the point of Los Angeles altogether, ground zero of the detective novel and film noir — a bright and guilty place where dark things happen in harsh light. Gehman has written about the two Hollywoods that existed at the time, one of the Tinsel Town Dream Factory, and the other of her Hollywood Boulevard: "a seedy carnival midway... its pink-and-black granite "Walk of Fame" was dull and littered with beer cans, used condoms, and fast-food wrappers and dotted with spit and chewing gum."
There is a kind of surrealism in the juxtaposition of these outcasts carving their way in a company town where Old Hollywood was ageing but still very much alive. Gehman recalled smoking a joint with Tony Curtis. Catching, who briefly held a legitimate vocation as a pizza delivery driver, recalled delivering pizzas to stars like Anthony Perkins.
The very unique nature of Los Angeles, and Hollywood specifically, helped shape and fuel the theatrics and debauchery and tone of the scene. "The intersection of Old Hollywood, film noir, bright sunshine and punk rock is what gave L.A. punk and new wave its distinctive personality," says Kereakes, "just as every town imprints itself on its art."
So what if L.A.’s punk scene was born from relatively harmless kids making noise from no deeper motivation than their own boredom and an urge to party until the days change at night, change in an instant. Surely there is no more noble a deed than creating something from nothing. Locked out of the stale Hollywood establishment, these latchkey kids chose to build their own empire out of nothing more than their energy, some safety pins, and rudimentary typesetting skills as a testament to the great Angeleno tradition of invention and reinvention.
Sunshine be damned.
The prevailing theme of the night, reinforced from all who spoke, was the sense of true community. The community was healthier, more vibrant and robust in a time before social media. Camping out for concert tickets was social media. The level of superficial connectivity in the 21st century has killed the ability of true local scenes to develop.
"You had to be engaged in real life, not virtual life, on an interpersonal level, face to face," says Kereakes. "Scenes could grow and develop in their own world on their own timeline, organically."
Another theme that emerged is that the participants, despite the blur of endless parties and mayhem, knew at the time that they were a part of something special. Even as it was unfolding, musicians and scenesters alike were cognizant of which bands were "first wave," (Flea mentioned the SCREAMERS, an early L.A. punk band who never made an official recording, calling them "the Buddy Bolden of punk rock," a reference to the pioneering New Orleans jazz cornetist whose music was never captured on wax) versus "second wave," (quintessential L.A. punk band, X) and the skeptical "new wave" (Mike Watt recalled an existential crisis on a pivotal night when he was forced to choose between X opening for DEVO in Long Beach or the GERMS at the Masque. He chose the GERMS).  

Despite the name of the event, and the accessory baggage that comes with the term "punk," the war stories this evening weren't especially deranged. Some petty crime, sure. Lots of booze and drugs and public sex. But these hi-jinx seem almost quaint from today’s vantage.
The evening was nostalgic, but it was funny, charming and in some ways inspiring. Perspective is a funny thing. Looking back at a wild burst of energy and art, of the perfect people in the perfect place at the perfect time, one is faced with both the thought that it can never be duplicated and the thought that it should never be. It is up to the artists of today to make their own way. The eight people on the Roxy stage this night proved you can build anything you want, so long as there is a will. Skills are helpful but not required. Don’t ask for permission. Don’t give anyone the opportunity to stand in your way. Just roll right through the noise and do your thing, and do it righteously. 
War Stories will continue, incorporating themed nights (the all-women "L.A. Woman" panel is in the works now) and the show plans to hit the road, featuring a regular lineup augmented by local punks wherever the stories may take them. While War Stories focus on the L.A. scene, punk was a universal explosion.
"Scenes developed a personality and identity that gave all the bands strength and power once one of them broke through," says Kereakes. "It gave long-time local fans of these bands ownership and a sense of family and community pride."