BIOGRAPHY – Stiv Bators

One of the more controversial and overlooked artists to emerge from America’s punk scene during the 1970s was Stiv Bators, the notorious frontman from both The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church. Born Steven John Bators, Jr. on October 22rd 1949 in Youngstown, Ohio, Bators was a fan of Iggy Pop and the Stooges and, in 1975, decided to form his own band. He soon made the acquaintance of two young musicians, guitarist Jimmy Zero and his bassist friend Jeff Magnum, and together they formed a group called Frankenstein. The line-up would be completed by Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Blitz, both of whom had performed with Rocket From the Tombs, a local band who had enjoyed modest success. After only four shows Frankenstein split but Bators was determined and soon after re-formed the line-up as The Dead Boys, taking their name from the Rocket From the Tombs song Down in Flames.

At the encouragement of Ramones singer Joey Ramone, they relocated to New York, where there was a thriving punk scene. Ramone introduced them to Hilly Kristal, the owner of popular night spot CBGB, and in April 1977 they were hired as the opening act for a three-night residency for The Damned, who were performing in the United States for the first time. The two bands connected, particularly Bators and The Damned‘s guitarist Brian James, and soon afterwards The Dead Boys were approached by Seymour Stein of Sire Records, who had previously signed the Ramones, and were offered a record contract. Their live shows had already become legendary due to their intensity and Bators’ habit of mutilating himself onstage but now they had to translate that aggression onto an album. Joining forces with producer Genya Ravan, formerly a member of the first ever all-girl rock act, Goldie & the Gingerbreads, The Dead Boys commenced work on their debut album, entitled Young Loud and Snotty. This was followed in the winter of 1977 by a successful tour in England, once again in support of The Damned, who were promoting their second album, Music for Pleasure.

While the recording sessions for Young Loud and Snotty had been a relatively straightforward affair, production on its follow-up would prove to be the beginning of the end for the band. Working at Criteria Studios in Miami, tensions soon began to grow between the group and their producer, Felix Pappalardi, who had previously worked with Cream on some of their most famous albums. Yet unlike that more blues-orientated style, The Dead Boys were raw and aggressive and Pappalardi’s production would lack the bite of its predecessor. The album, titled We Have Come for Your Children, would include the band’s most known song, a reworking of the Rocket From the Tombs track Ain’t It Fun, as well as a cover of Tell Me by the Rolling Stones and Big City, co-written by the Runaways‘ former manager Kim Fowley. Yet while the making of the album had been a nightmare experience, this was nothing compared to the tour that followed, which resulted in drummer Johnny Blitz being stabbed while in New York. A benefit would be held over four days in May 1978 in an effort to raise money for his medical bills, which would see such celebrities as John Belushi taking the stage.

A disastrous performance at CBGB, in which Bators had intentionally sung away from the microphone, resulted in a planned live album being scrapped due to his vocals being too quiet. This was later rectified, however, when Bators was forced to re-record the vocals so the show could be released under the title Night of the Living Dead Boys. But by this point the band had split up and Bators had begun to seek other projects with which to distance himself from his sleazy and violent image. Bators decided to move from the east coast to the west and settled in Los Angeles, where he began working with Frank Secich, formerly of Blue Ash, on a series of demos. Having made the acquaintance of Greg Shaw, the head of independent label Bomp! Records, commenced work on his first solo album with producer Thom Wilson. Disconnected would be a radical departure from the sound he had explored with The Dead Boys but it would fail to gain the same kind of exposure of his previous band.

In the years since he had toured with The Damned, Bators had remained good friends with Brian James and the two had often discussed working on a project together. Their chance would come when, in 1981, he was invited to London by Tony Gordon, the manager of British punk group Sham 69, who had recently split from their singer, Jimmy Pursey, and were interested in collaborating with Bators. The result would be The Wanderers, consisting of Bators, Dave Parson and Dave Treganna, Sham 69‘s guitarist and bassist, respectively. This short-lived group would produce just one album, Only Lovers Left Alive, before disbanding. This would finally allow Bators and James, who had left The Damned in 1978 and had toured for a short time with Iggy Pop, to form their own band. James had already aroused interest of Miles Copeland, co-founder of I.R.S. Records (which had launched in 1979), and soon a new group was formed with Terry Chimes, who had performed with both The Clash and Generation X (fronted by a pre-fame Billy Idol) and Tony James, whom he had worked with on the latter.

Tony James left soon afterwards, prompting Bators to approach his Wanderers bandmate Tregunna. With Rat Scabies of The Damned replacing Chimes, the new line-up performed a show in London under the name The Dead Damned Sham Band. With Scabies’ involvement only being brief, they recruited Nicky Turner of The Barracudas as their new full-time drummer. All they needed now was a name. Copeland had suggested The Lords of Discipline but the band refused. Yet Bators liked the idea of calling themselves The Lords and, with a church having opened in the Portobello area called the New Church, they eventually settled on The Lords of the New Church. Their first album through I.R.S. would be self-produced and included a track called Russian Roulette, the sole contribution from Chimes and Tony James that would remain. But it would be their second release, 1983′s Is Nothing Sacred?, that would begin to generate interest in the band. The album would include the fan favourites Dance With Me and Live for Today (originally titled Let’s Live for Today and performed by the Rokes in 1966) and would see Bators moving further away from punk and further into new wave territory.

A third and final album, The Method to Our Madness, would follow a year later, while Illegal Records would release a compilation entitled Killer Lords in 1985. This “best of” would collect material from all of their studio albums (although only one track would be represented from The Method to Our Madness), while also including covers of Madonna’s Like A Virgin and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s Hey Tonight. Convinced that they were being exploited by Copeland, Tregunna decided to leave the band, to be replaced by his Sham 69 roadie Grant Fleming. A second guitarist, Alastair Symons, was also added but this new line-up would not last, with Tregunna rejoining the band after a spell with Cherry Bombz, founded by Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide, formerly of Hanoi Rocks. Proving that their appeal had gone beyond the alternative crowd, The Lords of the New Church were approached by ex-Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison, who was working on a new comedy called Tapeheads and asked if they would like to appear in the movie as a fictional band.

It was around this time that Turner decided he wanted to leave the group and was replaced by Danny Fury. The Lords of the New Church would remain silent for some time, during which Bators would relocate to Paris to recover from a back injury sustained during a show in Spain. But James soon expressed interest in a revival when he was approached about a concert, yet to his surprise Bators said he would not be able to take part. Determined not to lose out on the money they would earn from the show, James placed an advert in a music magazine for a new singer. Bators was informed by a friend what James had done and decided that he would take part in the gig, although this would culminate in an encore in which Bators would appear wearing a t-shirt with the advert that James had placed printed across the front. Bators fired his bandmates and walked offstage. This would be the last time that he would ever perform with The Lords of the New Church.

Following his contribution to a track on the second solo album from former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe, Bators headed to New York to record a live album with members of the UK Subs and Dr. and the Medics called Live at the Limelight. Heading back to Paris, he struck up a deal with Bondage Records to commence work on a new record, his first solo album since Disconnected almost a decade earlier. Despite working on a series of demos, Bators was killed before he was able to complete the album after being hit by a car. He was taken to a hospital following the accident but, after being forced to wait for hours, decided to head home without seeking medical assistance. He died soon afterwards.