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Richard Hell
Hell in 2008
Hell in 2008
Background information
Birth name Richard Meyers
Born October 2, 1949 (1949-10-02) (age 58)
Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Genre(s) Punk rock, Rock n' roll
Occupation(s) Musician, singer, songwriter, writer
Instrument(s) Vocals, Bass guitar
Years active 1973 - Present
Label(s) Sire / Warner, Red Star, Matador, Rhino
Associated acts The Voidoids, Television, Neon Boys, The Heartbreakers, Dim Stars
Website richardhell.com

Richard Hell (born Richard Meyers; October 2, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist, and writer. Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lexington (officially Lexington-Fayette Urban County is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 68th largest in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Events January-February January 9 - Mick Jagger 's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug bust putting an abrupt end In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Red Star Records was an independent US record label founded by former New York Dolls manager A&R / Record producer Marty Thau in 1977 Matador Records is an Independent record label, famous for a roster of highly-respected Indie rock artists and bands Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty Record label and production company owned by Warner Music Group. The Voidoids, also known as Richard Hell and The Voidoids, were a New York City Punk rock band of the late 1970s and early Television, formed in New York City in 1973 is an American Rock music band The Neon Boys was a New York band during the early 1970s composed of Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, and Billy Ficca. This article is about the punk group For information on Tom Petty's backing band see The Heartbreakers. Dim Stars was an Alternative rock supergroup active briefly in the early 1990s Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms

Hell is probably best known as frontman for the early punk rock band Richard Hell & The Voidoids. The Voidoids, also known as Richard Hell and The Voidoids, were a New York City Punk rock band of the late 1970s and early Their 1977 album, Blank Generation, influenced many other punk bands. Its title song was named "One of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock" by music writers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listing, and, for instance, is ranked as one of the all-time top-ten punk songs by a 2006 poll of original British punk figures, as reported in the Rough Guide to Punk. [1]

Hell was an originator of the punk fashion look, the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins. Punk fashion is the styles of Clothing, Hairstyles, Cosmetics, Jewelry, and Body modifications of the Punk subculture. A safety pin is a simple fastening device a variation of the regular pin which includes a simple spring mechanism and a clasp [2] Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, has said Hell was an important inspiration for the Sex Pistols' look and attitude, as well as the safety-pin accessorized clothing McLaren sold in his London shop, Sex. Malcolm McLaren (born Malcolm Robert Andrew Edwards on January 22 1946 in London) is an English Impresario and musician The Sex Pistols are an English Punk rock band that formed in London in 1975 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. [3] (Some members of the Sex Pistols dispute this. )

Since the late 1980s Hell has devoted himself primarily to writing, publishing two novels, as well as several other books. He was the film critic for BlackBook magazine from 2004–2006. BlackBook magazine is a US publication It features photographs and articles geared toward Fashion, design and progressive culture

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Hell grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, in the 1950s. Lexington (officially Lexington-Fayette Urban County is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 68th largest in the United States. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive His father was an experimental psychologist, researching animal behavior. Ethology ( from Greek ἦθος ethos, "character" and λόγος logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of Animal He died when Hell was seven years old. Hell was raised by his mother, who, after her husband's death, returned to school and eventually became a teacher. In Education, a teacher is one who helps Students or pupils often in a School, as well as in a Family, religious or

Hell attended Sanford Preparatory in Delaware for one year (the 11th grade) where he became friends with Tom Miller (later Tom Verlaine). Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13 1949, in Morristown New Jersey) is a Singer, Songwriter and Guitarist [4] They ran away from school together and were arrested in Alabama for arson vandalism a short time later.

Hell never finished high school but moved to New York City to make his way as a poet. The City of New York In New York he bought a used table-top offset printing press and began publishing books and magazines under the imprints Genesis: Grasp and then Dot Books. A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Before he was twenty-one his own poems were published in numerous periodicals, ranging from Rolling Stone to the New Directions Annuals. Along with Tom Verlaine, Hell also published under the pseudonym Theresa Stern, a female poet who's photo was actually a combination of both he and Verlaine's faces superimposed over one another to create a new identity.

The Neon Boys, Television, and the Heartbreakers

In 1969, Verlaine joined Hell in New York and they eventually formed the Neon Boys. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Neon Boys was a New York band during the early 1970s composed of Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, and Billy Ficca. Their 1973 demo tracks of "Love Comes in Spurts" and "That's All I Know (Right Now)", later released by Shake Records, were arguably the first punk recordings. In 1974 the band added a second guitar player and changed their name to Television. Television, formed in New York City in 1973 is an American Rock music band

Television's performances at CBGB helped kick-start the first wave of punk bands, inspiring a number of different artists including Patti Smith, who wrote the first press review of Television for the Soho Weekly News in June 1974. CBGB ( Country, Blue Grass, and Blues) was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan Patricia Lee Smith ( born December 30 1946 is an American Singer-songwriter and poet She had an affair with Tom Verlaine, and formed a highly successful band of her own (the Patti Smith Group). Television was the band that convinced CBGB owner Hilly Kristal to book rock bands at his club, and they built its first stage. Hilly Kristal ( September 23 1931 &ndash

Hell started playing his song "Blank Generation" during his stint in Television. In 1975, Hell quit (or was fired from) Television after a dispute over creative control. Hell claimed that he and Verlaine had originally divided the songwriting evenly but later Verlaine favored his own songs. Verlaine remains characteristically silent on the subject.

Hell left Television the same week that Jerry Nolan and Johnny Thunders quit the New York Dolls and the three of them formed a band called The Heartbreakers (not to be confused with the later Tom Petty band). Jerry Nolan ( May 7, 1946 &ndash January 14, 1992) was an American Punk rock Drummer, best known for playing with Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale Jr ( July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991) was an Italian American Rock and roll For the self-titled debut album see New York Dolls (album The New York Dolls are an American Glam rock band formed in This article is about the punk group For information on Tom Petty's backing band see The Heartbreakers. Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20 1950 is an American singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist After a few shows Walter Lure joined The Heartbreakers as a second guitar player.

The Voidoids

A year later, in early 1976, Hell quit The Heartbreakers and started Richard Hell & the Voidoids with Robert Quine, Ivan Julian and Marc Bell. The Voidoids, also known as Richard Hell and The Voidoids, were a New York City Punk rock band of the late 1970s and early Robert W Quine ( December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004) was an American Guitarist, known for his innovative Guitar solos Ivan Julian (born June 26, 1955) is a guitarist and bassist founding member of the seminal Punk / New Wave group Richard Hell and Marky Ramone (born Marc Steven Bell, July 15, 1952 in Brooklyn New York) is an American Drummer. The band released two albums, though the second, Destiny Street, was a less successful lineup that retained only Quine from the original group, and suffered from Hell's distractions, narcotics especially, during recording, as he himself has described. Destiny Street is the second and last studio album by punk band Richard Hell and The Voidoids. Hell's best known songs with the Voidoids were "Blank Generation" (the title track of the group's original album), "Love Comes in Spurts", "The Kid With the Replaceable Head" and "Time".

Dim Stars and Hell's books, further life

Hell's only other album set to date was in the band Dim Stars, for which he came out of retirement for a month in the early 1990s. Dim Stars was an Alternative rock supergroup active briefly in the early 1990s Dim Stars was considered something of an indie rock supergroup, featuring guitarist Thurston Moore and drummer Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth and Gumball's guitarist Don Fleming, as well as some guitar playing by Voidoid Robert Quine. Indie rock is genre of Alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent Underground music scene SuperGroup is a Reality show on the channel VH1. The show puts together five Heavy metal musicians packed into a large mansion that must play a show after Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958 in Coral Gables Florida) is an American Musician best known as a Singer, Steven Jay Shelley (b 23 June 1963, Midland Michigan) is an American Drummer, best known as the drummer of Alternative rock Sonic Youth is an American Alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981 Don Fleming (born September 25, 1957 in Valdosta Georgia) is an American Musician, best known for being the frontman of bands such They formed only to record the one album, written and recorded in three weeks, and one EP, both called Dim Stars, and they never played in public. Hell played bass and sang lead vocals and wrote the lyrics for the album.

In 1996 Hell wrote a novel, Go Now, that was drawn largely from his own experience, and he released a collection of short pieces (poems, essays and drawings) called Hot and Cold in 2001. His second novel, Godlike, was published in 2005 on Dennis Cooper's Little House on the Bowery Series on Akashic Books. Dennis Cooper (born 1953 is a novelist poet critic editor blogger and Performance artist. All three books have been highly praised. His non-fiction has also been widely anthologized, including a number of appearances in "best music writing"[5] collections.

Hell's archive of his manuscripts, tapes, correspondence (written and email), journals, and other documents of his life was purchased for $50,000 by New York University's Fales library in 2003. New York University ( NYU) is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research University in New York City.

Hell has also appeared in several low budget films, most notably Susan Seidelman's Smithereens. (Other acting appearances include Uli Lommell's Blank Generation, Nick Zedd's Geek Maggot Bingo, Rachel Amadeo's What About Me?, and Rachid Kerdouche's Final Reward. Hell film trivia: he had a non-speaking cameo role as Madonna's murdered boyfriend in Susan Seidelman's 1985 Desperately Seeking Susan. Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16 1958 known as Madonna, is an American Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. ) In 2007 he started making a movie which he wrote and acts in as well as directs. It appears to deal with the experience of aging. Excerpts from it have been posted to YouTube (links can be found in the "Further reading" section below). citation needed//December 2007

Hell was married to Scandal's Patty Smyth for two years, 1985–86, and they have a daughter, Ruby. Patty Smyth (born 26 June 1957, New York City) first enjoyed mainstream success in 1982 as lead Singer of the band Scandal Hell married Sheelagh Bevan in 2002 and lives with her in the East Village, New York City.

Discography

Further reading

References

  1. ^ These British punk-scene figures were as follows: Glen Matlock, original Sex Pistols bassist and composer of most of their music; Mark Perry, founder and editor of the first British punk fanzine, Sniffin' Glue, as well as founder of punk group Alternative TV; Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade, the main British punk record shop and early label; and Kris Needs, editor of ZigZag magazine and its famous Rock Family Trees. "Blank Generation" was the only American song listed by all four polled.
  2. ^ “Kentucky born Richard Hell deserves credit (or blame) for originating much of the punk imagery and style associated with the London scene” --The New Rolling Stone Album Guide by Nathan Brackett, Simon and Schuster (2004), p 373. "He [Richard Hell] even gave an artistic spin to his torn shirt and cropped hair look, soon to be imported to England as the emblem of punk. " --Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avant-Garde By Bernard Gendron, University of Chicago Press (2002), p. 252. Extensive documentation of Hell’s ripped and drawn-on and safety-pinned clothing, spiky short hair, and “punk” musical style as it existed in 1974-1975 (one-two years before English punk existed), with descriptions of Hell by Debby Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, and Richard Lloyd of Television as well as the book’s author --From the Velvets to the Voidoids by Clinton Heylin, Penguin Books (1993), pp. 120-125.
  3. ^ "I came back to England determined. I had these images I came back with, it was like Marco Polo or Walter Raleigh. I brought back the image of this distressed, strange thing called Richard Hell. And this phrase, 'the blank generation'. [. . . ] Richard Hell was a definite, 100 percent inspiration, and, in fact, I remember telling the Sex Pistols, ‘Write a song like Blank Generation, but write your own bloody version,’ and their own version was 'Pretty Vacant’. ” --Malcolm McLaren in an interview in Please Kill Me, the Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, Grove Press (1996), p. 199.
  4. ^ "We'd met at a little school right outside of Wilmington. It was a mediocre boarding school, co-ed, called Sanford Prep. I'd been sent there because I'd been getting in trouble in school since I was fourteen, and things were looking pretty dire [. . . ] I arrived a little after the start of the school year of 1965–1966, when I was in the 11th grade. " --Richard Hell (describing how he and Tom Verlaine met) in the first chapter of Hell's autobiography-in-progress, as published in Vanitas magazine #2, 2006, p. 153.
  5. ^ such as The Penguin Book of Rock and Roll Writing (1992) and Best Music Writing 2007 (Da Capo)

External links

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