Stiv Bators
Encyclopedia
Stiv Bators was an American punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...


vocalist and guitarist from Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He is best remembered for his bands, The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...

 and The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were an English/American post-punk supergroup with a line-up consisting of four musicians from prominent 1970s punk bands...

.

Music and film career

In the course of his career Bators was involved with a variety of bands beyond those for which he was best known. These short-term bands included Hormones, with Dennis Comeau and Andre Siva, Frankenstein, The Wanderers and The Whores of Babylon (with Dee Dee Ramone
Dee Dee Ramone
Dee Dee Ramone was an American songwriter and musician, best known as founding member, bassist and main songwriter of the punk rock band the Ramones....

 and Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...

). He also recorded as a solo artist with Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...

.

It was as the lead singer and driving force of the Dead Boys, however, that Bators helped pioneer the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 sound, look and attitude. The band quickly became a popular staple at CBGB's, the music club in New York City's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...

. The Dead Boys were featured in the independent punk rock film Punking Out (1978), Live at CBGB's (1977) and Crash 'n' Burn (1977).

Following the demise of the Dead Boys in 1979, Bators began a tumultuous relationship with Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...

 and its president, Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw was a Los Angeles-based fanzine publisher, music historian and record label owner. He grew up near San Francisco, California.It was as a young teenager that he started writing about rock and roll music...

. According to Shaw: "[W]hat he craved most was to escape the fetters of his Dead Boy image and win respect as a singer of contemporary pop rock. . . . in other words, he wanted to be 'the thinking punk's Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...

.'" To this end, and usually with first-wave punk rock veterans in tow, he recorded several singles, many of which were unreleased, and an LP, Disconnected, which was released in 1980. A retrospective album released in 1994, L.A. L.A.
L.A. L.A.
L.A. L.A. is a compilation album of the best of the music recorded by Stiv Bators at the Bomp! Records studios before and after his involvement with the Lords of the New Church when he was attempting to reinvent himself as a pop singer.-Release history:This album was released in the CD format by...

documented Bators' efforts as a pop-punk singer.

After England's Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...

 disbanded, Bators, now located in London, formed the Wanderers with Dave Tregunna, the Sham 69 ex-bass-player. This under-appreciated band came up with a concept album, called Only Lovers Left Alive (released in May 1981), along with two singles.

Bators formed The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were an English/American post-punk supergroup with a line-up consisting of four musicians from prominent 1970s punk bands...

 later in 1981 with Brian James of The Damned and Dave Tregunna of Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...

. (Bators and Tregunna had also been in the Wanderers together). The Lords became notorious for their live shows. A devotee of Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

, Bators had developed a fearless reputation in his Dead Boys days and continued such antics with The Lords, the most famous being the time he reportedly hanged himself during a show. Bator's stunt went awry and he was pronounced clinically dead for several minutes. Nonetheless, Bator survived and The Lords recorded two more successful albums.

Later, the punk vocalist gained additional exposure through more mainstream film. In 1981, Bators co-starred in the satirical John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...

 film, Polyester
Polyester (film)
Polyester is a 1981 comedy film directed, produced, and written by John Waters, and starring Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, and Mink Stole...

. Seven years later, Bators made a memorable cameo appearance as "Dick Slammer", lead singer of "The Blender Children", in the offbeat comedy, Tapeheads
Tapeheads
Tapeheads is a 1988 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman. The film stars John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Sam Moore, and Junior Walker. The movie was produced by Michael Nesmith, who is seen briefly in the film as a bottled water delivery man.-Plot:...

, starring John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...

 and Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...

.

In December 1985 Bators flew to New York with his best friend Michael Monroe
Michael Monroe
Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm , best known by his stage name, Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician, and multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23...

 to work Artists United Against Apartheid
Artists United Against Apartheid
Artists United Against Apartheid was a 1985 protest group founded by activist and performer Steven Van Zandt and record producer Arthur Baker to protest apartheid in South Africa...

 music video.http://kauhajokinyt.fi/~jplaitio/inter/monroe.html

The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were an English/American post-punk supergroup with a line-up consisting of four musicians from prominent 1970s punk bands...

 broke up in 1989, when Bators injured his back and guitarist Brian James secretly began advertising for a replacement singer. When Bators found out he played the encore of the band's final show donning a T-shirt with James' newspaper ad printed across the front, he then proceeded to fire the remaining members on-stage.

Personal life

In the late 1970s Bators dated and lived with model / singer Bebe Buell
Bebe Buell
Beverle Lorence "Bebe" Buell is an American fashion model and singer, and Playboy magazine's November 1974 Playmate of the Month. She is also known for dating rock musicians. She is actress Liv Tyler's mother from a brief relationship with Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler...

, mother of the then infant Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...

 and temporarily set up home with the pair in Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...

. (A photograph of Bators and Buell is included in the package insert for the L.A. L.A.
L.A. L.A.
L.A. L.A. is a compilation album of the best of the music recorded by Stiv Bators at the Bomp! Records studios before and after his involvement with the Lords of the New Church when he was attempting to reinvent himself as a pop singer.-Release history:This album was released in the CD format by...

CD). He subsequently moved to England and married Anastasia Maisoneuve. Some years after their divorce he relocated to Paris where he lived until his death.

Death

In the summer of 1990, Bators was struck by a taxi in Paris. He was taken to hospital but reportedly left before seeing a doctor, after waiting several hours and assuming he was not injured. Reports indicate that he died in his sleep as the result of a concussion. Dave Tregunna said that Bators, a fan of rock legend Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...

, had earlier requested that his ashes be spread over Morrison's Paris grave and that his girlfriend complied.

In the director's commentary of the film "Polyester," (starring Bators) with John Waters; regarding Bators' death, Waters stated that Bators' Parisian girlfriend Caroline confessed to him years later that she snorted a portion of Stiv's ashes to be closer to him.

Tribute

Demolition 23
Demolition 23
Demolition 23. was a rock band formed in 1993 in New York by former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe and ex-Star Star guitarist Jay Hening, following the ending of Monroe's Jerusalem Slim project with Steve Stevens....

 dedicated a song titled "Deadtime Stories" (written by Michael Monroe
Michael Monroe
Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm , best known by his stage name, Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician, and multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23...

, formerly of Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979, whose most successful period came in the early 1980s. The band broke up in 1985 after the death of their drummer, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley...

 and Jude Wilder) to Bators on the band's 1994 album called Demolition 23. The lyrics of the song contain several references to Bators and his music.Demolition 23
Demolition 23
Demolition 23. was a rock band formed in 1993 in New York by former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe and ex-Star Star guitarist Jay Hening, following the ending of Monroe's Jerusalem Slim project with Steve Stevens....

 also covered 'Ain't nothin to do' from The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...

 album 'Young, Loud & Snotty'.

Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion I is the third studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was the first of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, the other being Use Your Illusion II. The two are thus sometimes considered a double album. In fact, in the original vinyl...

(US & UK #2) and Use Your Illusion II
Use Your Illusion II
Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was one of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, and as a result the two albums are sometimes considered a double album...

(US & UK #1) by Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...

 both ended their liner notes with the quote, "Ain't It Fun, - Stiv Bators". The band later released their cover version of The Dead Boys' "Ain't It Fun" as a single to promote their cover album The Spaghetti Incident?. The cover was also included on their successful Greatest Hits release.

The Bators, a band from Montreal is named in tribute of Stiv Bators, who's one of their favorite artists.www.myspace.com/TheBators

The Stivs, a band from Portland, Oregon was named in tribute of Stiv Bators.

Australian punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band Hard-Ons
Hard-Ons
The Hard-Ons are a punk rock band from Sydney, Australia that originally formed in 1981. They have been called Australia's most commercially successful independent band, with over 250,000 total record sales. -1980s: Early days:...

 open their 2006 album Most People Are A Waste Of Time with a track entitled 'What Would Stiv Bators Do?'

Chinese punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band joyside's "Neptune Child" is in tribute of Stiv Bators and Johnny Thunders.

With The Dead Boys

  • LP's
    • Young, Loud and Snotty
      Young, Loud and Snotty
      Young Loud and Snotty is the debut studio album of the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, with Genya Ravan serving as producer.-Track listing:...

      - Sire Records
      Sire Records
      Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

       1977
    • We Have Come for Your Children
      We Have Come for Your Children
      We Have Come for Your Children is the second and final studio album by the American punk rock band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1978, on Sire Records. The recording of album was troublesome for the group and lead to a break because of tensions with Felix Pappalardi...

      - Sire Records 1978

  • Later Releases
    • Night of the Living Dead Boys - Bomp! Records
      Bomp! Records
      Bomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...

       1981
    • The Return of the Living Dead Boys - Revenge 1987 (Import/France)
    • Liver Than You'll Ever Be - Various Labels 1988 (Import/Various)
    • Younger, Louder and Snottier - Bomp! 1997
    • Twistin' on the Devil's Fork - Hell Yeah / Bacchus 1998
    • All This and More - Bomp! 1998
    • 3rd Generation Nation - Bad Boy Production 1999

  • 7" Singles
    • Sonic Reducer
      Sonic Reducer
      "Sonic Reducer" is a punk rock song written by Gene O'Connor and David Thomas during their tenure in Rocket from the Tombs, which made its debut on the Dead Boys 1977 album Young, Loud and Snotty...

       - Sire Records 1977
    • Tell Me - Sire Records 1977
    • Search and Destroy - Revenge 1977 (Import/France)
    • Buried Gems - Cold Front 2000
    • Paul Sherry goes Back - The Paul Sherry Sessions 2007

With Lords of the New Church

  • Studio albums
    • The Lords of the New Church (1982)
    • Is Nothing Sacred? (1983)
    • The Method to Our Madness (1984)

  • Live albums
    • Scene of the Crime (1988)
    • Live at the Spit (1988)
    • Second Coming (1989)
    • The Lord's Prayer II (2003)

  • Compilation albums
    • Killer Lords (1985)
    • The Lord's Prayer I (2002)

  • Singles
    • Live for Today 12" (1983)
    • Psycho Sex 12" (?
      ?
      or is a letter derived from the Latin alphabet. Both glyphs of the majuscule and minuscule forms of this letter are based on the rotated form of a minuscule e; a similar letter with identical minuscule is used in the Pan-Nigerian Alphabet and some alphabets based on the African reference...

      )
    • Like a Virgin
      Like a Virgin
      Like a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. It was re-released worldwide in 1985, with the inclusion of the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. Records released a remastered version with two bonus...

       12" (1985)
    • Dance with Me 12" (1987)

With the Wanderers

  • Studio Albums
    • Only Lovers Left Alive (Polydor Records; #POLS 1028); rel. May 1981
    • Only Lovers Left Alive (Captain Oi Records reissue on CD; #AHOY CD 141) rel. 2000

  • Singles
    • "Ready to Snap" b/w "Beyond the Law" (Polydor Records; #POSP 239); rel. March 1981
    • "The Times They Are A-Changin'" b/w "It's a Little Bit Frightening" (Polydor Records; #POSP 284); re. July 1981

Solo

  • Albums
    • 1980 - Disconnected
    • 1983 - The Lord and the New Creatures
    • 1988 - Live at the Limelight
    • 1992 - I Wanna Be a Dead Boy...
    • 1994 - L.A. L.A.
      L.A. L.A.
      L.A. L.A. is a compilation album of the best of the music recorded by Stiv Bators at the Bomp! Records studios before and after his involvement with the Lords of the New Church when he was attempting to reinvent himself as a pop singer.-Release history:This album was released in the CD format by...

    • 1994 - Sonic Reducer - Les Genies Du Rock
    • 1996 - The Last Race
    • 2004 - L.A. Confidential

  • Singles
    • "It’s Cold Outside" b/w "The Last Year" (Bomp Records 7" BOMP 124); rel. May 1979
    • "Circumstantial Evidence" b/w "Not That Way Anymore" (Bomp Records 7"; #45-128); rel. Jan. 1980
    • "Not That Way Anymore" b/w "Circumstantial Evidence" (Phantom Records
      Phantom Records
      Phantom Records was an Australian independent record label established by Dare Jennings Phantom Records was an Australian independent record label established by Dare Jennings Phantom Records was an Australian independent record label established by Dare Jennings (founder of Mambo (Clothing) and...

      , Australia 7"; #PH-5); rel. 22 July 1980...edition of 500 only with reversed A and B sides and unique pic sleeve.
    • "Too Much To Dream" (12"); rel. 1980
    • "Story In Your Eyes" b/w "Have Love Will Travel" (Bomp Records 12"; #45-12136); rel. fall 1986
    • "Here’s A Heart" (12"), by Lyres with Stiv; rel. 1988
    • "King of the Brats" (7"); rel. 1994

Further reading

Wolff, Carlo (2006). Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-886228-99-3

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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