Living fast and dying young is one of rock's great clichés, but no phrase better describes the reasons for the demise of L.A. punkers the Germs.

Capable of creating a firestorm of noisy, confrontational music, they were ultimately undone by their perversely charismatic lead singer. He was a madman named Paul Beahm, better known to the world at-large first as Bobby Pyn, later and more famously as Darby Crash, who died Sid Vicious-style out on the mainline at age 22.

Taking musical cues from the Sex Pistols (and English punk in general), as well as the CBGB's scene, and adding the theatricality of Bowie, Iggy, and Lou Reed, Crash was the perfect frontman for the Germs. Backed by guitarist Pat Smear (later of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters), bassist Lorna Doom, and drummer Don Bolles, the Germs kicked up a hellacious racket that strayed from fast/loud punk into art damage and garage grunge.

On-stage, their gigs bordered on performance art, with Crash in full Iggy frenzy, diving into the crowd, adorning himself with whatever foodstuffs the audience provided, wearing less-and-less clothing, all done while the band cranked out noisy spasms of simple, but effective, rock noise. Never capturing this mania on record (how could they?), the Germs' recording career is based on the sole record made during Crash's short life.

Produced by Germs fan Joan Jett, (GI) was a fine hunk of early L.A. punk rock that was more literate and compelling that what was being offered by lesser local luminaries such as the Zeroes and the Weirdos. Smear's guitar playing is especially volatile, matching the mewling vocals of Crash note for note. It may not be life-changing music, but the white-hot, adrenal rush is a little bit of heaven.

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By the time Crash filled his veins with heroin in 1980, the Germs were pretty much over. Crash's behaviour had become increasingly unpredictable; he was spending time in England, and began performing as a solo act upon returning to L.A. Consequently, the valuable recorded work in this final period is spotty, but much of it shows up on the definitive Germs release Germs (MIA) The Complete Anthology. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide

Source: http://www.artistdirect.com/; Ryan Allen

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During the psychedelic haze of the late '60s, the grimy, noisy and relentlessly bleak rock & roll of The Stooges was conspicuously out of time. Like the Velvet Underground, The Stooges revealed the underside of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, showing all of the grime beneath the myth. The Stooges, however, weren't nearly as cerebral as The Velvets. Taking their cue from the over-amplified pounding of British blues, the primal raunch of American garage rock, and the psychedelic rock (as well as the audience-baiting) of The Doors, The Stooges were raw, immediate, and vulgar. Iggy Pop became notorious for performing smeared in blood or peanut butter and diving into the audience. Ron and Scott Asheton formed a ridiculously primitive rhythm section, pounding out chords with no finesse, in essence, The Stooges were the first rock & roll band completely stripped of the swinging beat that epitomized R&B and early rock & roll. During the late '60s and early '70s, the group was an underground sensation, yet the band was too weird, too dangerous to break into the mainstream. Following three albums, The Stooges disbanded, but the group's legacy grew over the next two decades, as legions of underground bands used their sludgy grind as a foundation for a variety of indie rock styles, and as Iggy Pop became a pop culture icon.

After playing in several local bands in Ann Arbor, MI, including the blues band The Prime Movers and The Iguanas, Iggy Pop (born James Osterberg) formed The Stooges in 1967 after witnessing a Doors concert in Chicago. Adopting the name Iggy Stooge, he rounded up brothers Ron and Scott Asheton (guitar and drums, respectively) and bassist Dave Alexander, and the group debuted at a Halloween concert at the University of Michigan student union in 1967. For the next year, the group played the Midwest relentlessly, earning a reputation for their wild, primitive performances, which were largely reviled. In particular, Iggy gained attention for his bizarre on-stage behavior. Performing shirtless, he would smear steaks and peanut butter on his body, cut himself with glass, and dive into the audience. The Stooges were infamous, not famous, while they had a rabidly devoted core audience, even more people detested their shock tactics. Nevertheless, the group lucked into a major-label record contract in 1968 when an Elektra talent scout went to Detroit to see the MC5 and wound up signing their opening act, The Stooges, as well.

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Produced by John Cale, The Stooges' primitive eponymous debut was released in 1969, and while it generated some attention in the underground press, it barely sold any copies. As the band prepared to record their second album, every member sank deeper into substance abuse, and their excess eventually surfaced in their concerts, not only through Iggy's antics, but also in the fact that the band could barely keep a simple, two-chord riff afloat. Fun House, an atonal barrage of avant-noise, appeared in 1970 and, if it was even noticed, it earned generally negative reviews and sold even fewer copies than the debut. Following the release of Fun House, The Stooges essentially disintegrated, as Iggy sank into heroin addiction. At first, he did try to keep The Stooges afloat. Dave Alexander left the band and after a spell in which Zeke Zettner and then James Recca took his place, Ron Asheton moved to bass as James Williamson joined as guitarist, but this incarnation wasn't able to land a record deal, despite recording a handful of demos. For the next two years, the band was in limbo as Iggy weaned himself off heroin and worked various odd jobs. Early in 1972, Pop happened to run into David Bowie, then at the height of his Ziggy Stardust popularity. Bowie made it his mission to resuscitate Iggy & the Stooges, as the band was now billed. With Bowie's help, The Stooges landed a management deal and a contract with Columbia, and he took control of the production of the group's third album, Raw Power. Released in 1973 to surprisingly strong reviews, Raw Power had a weird, thin mix due to various technical problems. Although this would be the cause of much controversy later on, many purists blamed Bowie for the brittle mix, its razor-thin sound helped kick-start the punk revolution. At the time, however, Raw Power flopped, essentially bringing The Stooges' career to a halt, with the band's disastrous final gig captured on the live album Metallic K.O.

In 1976, Bowie once again came to Iggy's rescue, helping him establish himself as a solo act by producing the albums The Idiot and Lust for Life and playing keyboards in Iggy's road band. In time, Iggy established an international following as one of rock's great renegades, but the other Stooges didn't fare quite as well. Dave Alexander died of pneumonia in 1975, aggravated by an inflamed pancreas. James Williamson returned to Iggy's circle as a songwriter and producer on the albums New Values (1979) and Soldier (1980), but in the 1980s he dropped out of music and began a successful career in electronics. Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton launched a band called the New Order (no relation to the successful British group), but it didn't fare well and soon split up. In 1981, Ron Asheton was recruited to join New Race, a short-lived side project formed by Radio Birdman guitarist Deniz Tek which also featured MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson and Radio Birdman alumni Rob Younger and Warwick Gilbert. However, the group (as intended) split after a single Australian tour and album. After returning to Michigan, Ron gigged periodically with Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival, acted in a handful of low-budget films, and in 1998 he recorded with the ad hoc band Wylde Ratttz, featuring Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, Mark Arm from Mudhoney, and Mike Watt, ex-Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Wylde Ratttz's cover of "TV Eye" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Velvet Goldmine, but the group's album remains unreleased. Following The Stooges breakup, Scott Asheton played with a few local groups in Detroit before joining Sonic's Rendezvous Band in 1974, with Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5, Scott Morgan of The Rationals, and Gary Rasmussen of The Up; the band earned a potent reputation as a live act, but record labels were wary and the group slowly faded out by the end of the decade.

In 2002, Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton joined J Mascis + the Fog for a tour in which they performed a handful of Stooges classics from the group's first two albums. The show's were enthusiastically received, especially in Europe, and word got back to Iggy Pop, who had been talking with Ron Asheton on and off for several years about a possible Stooges reunion. In 2003, Iggy was recording the album Skull Ring, which featured contributions from a number of noteworthy bands, and he decided to add The Stooges to the roster; the Asheton brothers backed Iggy on four cuts (with Ron handling both guitar and bass), and on April 27, 2003, The Stooges played their first concert in 30 years at California's Coachella festival, with Mike Watt sitting in for the late Dave Alexander. The reunited Stooges began hitting the road on a semi-regular basis for the next three years, playing major festivals in Europe and the United States, and in the fall of 2006 the group entered Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago, IL, with engineer Steve Albini to record The Weirdness, an album culled from 22 new songs written by Pop and the Ashetons. The Weirdness was released in March 2007, followed by a major world tour.

Albums:

Source: artistdirect.com

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This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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Zaine Griff created a minor club-circuit stir in the late seventies and early eighties, emerging less as an androgynous David Bowie imitator but more a divine Lady Stardust, genuinely beautiful, in the Tim Curry Rocky Horror mould. There was some Bowie influence in the songs, but you could have said that of most artists then and since. The set was high quality and Zaine Griff was supported by an excellent band, with well-crafted tunes, catchy Hard Rock in the New Wave style. They (and it was “they” as Zaine Griff fronted what was very much a band) invariably opened with the autobiographical “The Scandinavian” and the set usually featured Griff’s tribute to Lindsay Kemp for whom he’d performed in “Flowers”. Like Bowie, Zaine always delivered a command performance and his gigs were packed. His relative commercial failure is something of a mystery, particularly as he was thoroughly charming and interested as well as interesting.

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His fans on the club circuit adored him, and although surprisingly reserved off stage, he’d happily join them in the bar – “Half a lager thanks Doug”. I suspect there were two problems, and perhaps a third. Zaine Griff was genuinely intelligent, had a wide range of artistic interests, and perhaps lacked the drive to get to the top in rock’n’roll.  Another was that “Ashes And Diamonds” (1979), not a bad album, didn’t really do his live act justice. And perhaps this was the third problem – Zaine Griff was arguably a far greater showman than a musician. Whatever, the live act was superb, driven, raucous, and genuinely mesmeric.

The record when it came, produced by Tony Visconti was a shade too tinselly. The thing is it’s clear from his autobiography that Visconti liked Zaine Griff (as everyone did) but had doubts about Zaine’s voice, and perhaps this was exposed in the studio, but lost in the mix live. Given what Bowie treatments did for his mates Lou Reed and Iggy Pop one is left wondering what Bowie would have made of “Ashes And Diamonds” and he knew Zaine Griff well enough presumably to have realized that Zaine Griff was no Bowie imitator. Anyway, history should mark Zaine down as one of music’s beautiful people, and if you want a little rock’n’roll curio he plays bass on the “Heathen” (2002) David Bowie bonus track “Panic In Detroit”. It was a mark of Zaine’s courtesy that when I wrote a fan letter congratulating him on the release of “Ashes And Diamonds”, I received a personal handwritten thank you note by return. Zaine disappeared back to New Zealand (to run clubs, according to the internet) - goodness knows what they make of him there - a lovely man who missed far greater success by a whisker.

Albums:

With The Human Instinct:
The Hustler (Zodiac, 1974)
Peg Leg (recorded 1975, released 2002)
With Screemer:
"Interplanetary Twist" (Bell, 1976)
"In The City" (Arista, August 1977)

As solo artist:
"Tonight" - single (Automatic, February 1980)
"Ashes and Diamonds" - single (Automatic, May 1980)
"Run" - single (Automatic, August 1980)
Ashes and Diamonds - album (Automatic, October 1980)
"Figvres" - single (Polydor, July 1982)
"Flowers" - single (Polydor, September 1982)
Figvres - album (Polydor, October 1982)
"Swing" - single (Polydor, October 1983)

With Helden (as guest vocalist):
"Holding On" - single (1983)
'Spies' - album (unreleased)
With Yukihiro Takahashi:
"This Strange Obsession" on What? Me Worry? album

With Gary Numan:
"The Secret" on the album, Berserker (1984)

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop first joined bands as a drummer. He picked up the nickname Iggy while with the Iguanas(1964). In 1965 he joined Prime Movers, changing his name to Iggy Stooge. Inspired by seeing the “Doors”, he formed the Psychedelic Stooges with Ron Asheton. Iggy was vocalist and guitarist, Asheton played bass with Asheton’s brother Scott later joining on drums. They debuted in Michigan, October 1967. Dave Alexander joined on bass, and Psychedelic was dropped from their name.

Ron switched to guitar, leaving Iggy free to concentrate on singing and showmanship. The Stooges signed to Elektra Records in 1968 for two albums, The Stooges and Fun House, but the band broke up in the early 70s. Stooges fan David Bowie helped Iggy record “Raw Power” in 1972. When no suitable British musicians could be found, Williamson, Scott Thurston and the Ashetons were flown in. The resultant album included Search and Destroy. Bowie involvement continued as Iggy sailed through stormy seas. His live performances were legendary: self-mutilation, sex acts and an invitation to a local gang to kill him onstage.

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In the late 70s, Iggy signed to Arista Records, releasing rather average albums with occasional assistance from Glen Matlock and Ivan Kral. He went into vinyl exile after 1982s autobiography and the Chris Stein-produced Zombie Birdhouse. During his time out of the studio he cleaned up his drug problems and married. He also developed his acting career, appearing in Sid And Nancy, The Colour Of Money, Hardware and on television in Miami Vice. His big return came in 1986 with the Bowie-produced Blah Blah Blah and his first ever UK hit single, a cover of Johnny O’Keefe’s Real Wild Child. American Ceasar from its jokingly self-aggrandizing title onwards, revealed and continued creative growth. Avenue Bwas a stylistic oddity, a reflective, semi-acoustic set informed by the singer turning 50 and his recent divorce. Throughout he has remained the consummate live performer, setting a benchmark for at least one generation of rock musicians.

Mathew Jones

HAVE A LOOK AT THIS GREAT IGGY POP MERCHANDISE HERE

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

Why Not Check Out:

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The Higsons were active from 1980 to 1986. Their main creative driver, front man, and singer was Charlie Higson, now better known for “The Fast Show” and increasingly as the writer of the Young James Bond novels.

The Higsons were the best of a pretty good crop of Post Punk and New Wave bands that came out of the University of East Anglia in the late seventies and early eighties, many of whom were featured on the “Norwich, A Fine City” collection. There is a story that the greatest adoptive East Anglian of them all called them onto his show in frank amazement that any bands were active in Norfolk. John Peel championed The Higsons, and they had consistent Indie Chart success from the release of their first single “I Don’t Want To Live With Monkeys” in July 1981, through their excellent debut album “The Curse Of The Higsons” in October 1984, and right up to their eventual demise in 1986. Openly acknowledging a debt to The Talking Heads (something I myself only hear sporadically) The Higsons’s sound has echoes of Joy Division and Iggy Pop (if that isn’t a tautology), with some Ska blended into the mix which isn’t that surprising as they ended up on the 2 Tone label. If you haven’t heard any, download a couple of tracks at random – they’re all good.

The Higsons didn’t really do much wrong, had a loyal following both in London and amongst their many friends and fans from Norwich, and trod the boards with apparently sober professional well-rehearsed and packed gigs. They probably would have achieved commercial success to match their critical acclaim if they hadn’t got their timing exactly wrong. Looking back all those years as Punk descended Rome-like into the parody of Glam Rock it did so much to end, and music scratched around in the New Romantic void created by the death of the high priest of New Wave Ian Curtis, Switch, as we knew Charlie Higson then, seemed earnestly out of sorts with an eighties of big hair and covers. (Ironically this frustration contributed to his first taste of real fame, as the joint creator of “Loadsamoney”.)

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Three years earlier and they’d have been at ease alongside The Clash, and three years after they split The Stone Roses reinvented what was to become Brit Pop. The Higsons might have been another La’s. All we were left with is a most remarkable post-dissolution adieu in “The Attack Of The Cannibal Zombie Businessmen”(1987), a tantalising bazaar of the greatest of never to be hits.

Albums:

The Curse of The Higsons (October 1984)

©JD Shanks September 2009

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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