(Thunders died after years of heroin addiction in 1991 Nolan passed away the following year.) That group became part of the by-then burgeoning scene around New York’s CBGB - a scene that owed much of its existence to the Dolls - before moving to London and being treated as heroes, before substance abuse dragged them down. (Songs from this era are documented in the live “Red Patent Leather” album.) Dropped by their record label, the band soldiered on through an unsuccessful tour before Thunders and Nolan, both heavy heroin abusers, left to form the Heartbreakers (not to be confused with Tom Petty’s band). Their sophomore effort, 1974′s farsightedly titled “Too Much Too Soon,” was produced by girl-group veteran Shadow Morton and lacked the punch and focus of the debut, although it did include several classic songs like “Babylon,” “Human Being” and their blazing take on Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Don’t Start Me Talkin’.”ĭispirited and arguing, the group joined forced with future Sex Pistols svengali Malcolm McLaren, who - in a foreshadowing of the outrage he would stoke a couple of years later - dressed them in red leather and gave them a communist theme. Not surprisingly, the American hinterland was not ready for this kind of group, and they teetered through the bookings they were able to obtain to support the album.
With songs like “Personality Crisis,” “Trash” and “Looking for a Kiss” and razor-sharp production by Todd Rundgren - with whom the group battled, although they later acknowledged he did a great job - it remains a monumentally exciting album, although the polarized opinions it produced at the time are evidenced by the fact that the group was famously voted both the Best New Group and the Worst New Group in a Creem magazine readers’ poll. The cover of the group’s self-titled album featured them in full drag, but the music inside was full-tilt rock and roll, showing an equal influence of hard-riffing predecessors like the MC5 along with the early ’60s girl-group pop that the members grew up on - and no shortage of New York attitude and accents. Shattered but determined, the group enlisted ace drummer Jerry Nolan - both future Ramones drummer Marc Bell and future Kiss drummer Peter Criss had also auditioned - and were signed to Mercury Records by A&R executive/ music writer Paul Nelson. Invited to open for Rod Stewart at a British concert in 1972, the group suffered its first major setback when Murcia died in a drug-related accident during the trip.
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