Been on a Richard Hell binge today. It was really more because I wanted to hear Robert Quine's playing. They were a pretty tight band but Quine kept it real. A bunch of his solos start out almost like regular solos then go all over the place in a matter of seconds. Not because be couldn't play. On the contrary, he most definitely could play, and probably knew more about music than most of his CBGBs contemporaries. When he wigged out it was his interpretation of haywire jazz in a rock 'n' roll setting. I would love to have seen how he developed as years went on, but he OD'd in 2004 after the death of his wife. A big loss.
As long as we're on a Richard Hell tack, I thought I'd post the cover of the first issue of Substitute, a fanzine I co-edited with my long time friend Jacqui Ramirez. That's Richard Hell on the cover. To give you an idea of how things worked back then, the photo was taken by Roberta Bayley, a photographer friend of Hell's that Jacqui had contacted to ask if she had a photo we could use. Not only did Bayley send the photo, but she asked for nothing in return other than a photo credit. Today her photos are famous for documenting the New York punk scene in its embryonic state. She took the cover photo of the first Ramones LP, so, yeah, she was there.
The fanzine came out in the pre-internet days. The interview that Jacqui did with Hell was done by mail. The questions were mailed from California and the answers were mailed back from New York. Hand written. Try that today. Just to get answers to questions took a couple weeks. Patience. Instagrammers take heed.
There is one oddball down there. A song by the Victors that the Probe posted, jokingly (I think) referring to it as "(Richard Hell's first record?)". It does sound a lot like a Richard Hell song, particularly the vocals and phrasing. I don't care if it is or not, I've come this far, I might as well like it.
As long as we're on a Richard Hell tack, I thought I'd post the cover of the first issue of Substitute, a fanzine I co-edited with my long time friend Jacqui Ramirez. That's Richard Hell on the cover. To give you an idea of how things worked back then, the photo was taken by Roberta Bayley, a photographer friend of Hell's that Jacqui had contacted to ask if she had a photo we could use. Not only did Bayley send the photo, but she asked for nothing in return other than a photo credit. Today her photos are famous for documenting the New York punk scene in its embryonic state. She took the cover photo of the first Ramones LP, so, yeah, she was there.
The fanzine came out in the pre-internet days. The interview that Jacqui did with Hell was done by mail. The questions were mailed from California and the answers were mailed back from New York. Hand written. Try that today. Just to get answers to questions took a couple weeks. Patience. Instagrammers take heed.
There is one oddball down there. A song by the Victors that the Probe posted, jokingly (I think) referring to it as "(Richard Hell's first record?)". It does sound a lot like a Richard Hell song, particularly the vocals and phrasing. I don't care if it is or not, I've come this far, I might as well like it.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen: Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Blank Generation mp3 at Plain or Pan (1976 Ork Records 45 version)
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Blank Generation mp3 (via Box.net) at Creuse ta Tombe (Sire LP version)
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Love Comes In Spurts mp3 at Snuhthing Anything Definitive Quine solo on this, especially the way it ends.
The Victors - We Struck A Match mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Visit:
Roberta Bayley
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