Johnny Thunders

[shaolin swords]

I was wondering if any of you dudes have heard of this guy? He is an original punk rocker from the 70's and 80's. I got exposed to his stuff through skateboarding (Just like the Wu), and I really liked his stuff. What do you guys think?

[cosmoprim]

I'm surprised anyone here knows Thunders.
An Italian guy from Brooklyn, he was the guitar player for the NY Dolls who were the darlings of the glitterati in NYC in the mid-late 70's. The Dolls were "the next big thing" that never was. A sort of super-debauched, trashier, punkier Rolling Stones. Their lead singer (David Johannsen) became Buster Poindexter ("Hot Hot Hot") in the 80's. The Dolls were managed (at the end) by future Sex Pistols manager (and early hip hop proponent/general jackass) Malcolm McLaren. They eventually collapsed under the weight of expectations and heroin use after releasing just 2 official albums. Thunders went on to play in the Heartbreakers (which was a sort of punk supergroup) and performed the original version of "Chinese Rocks" (a song about smack). He had a solo career that was at times brilliant and at times just pathetic. He died under mysterious circumstances in New Orleans in the early 90's.
He wasn't the greatest guitarist, but he was indisputably rock n roll cool.

[crass]

yeah he was the man. there seem to be a couple punk/hardcore kids on here (me being one of the diehards)