theunderestimator-2

[theunderestimator-2]

Kick out the curls, motherfuckers: Wayne Kramer of MC5 and his spectacular curls sparkling in the sunlight like the dense foliage of an oak tree firmly rooted in his rocknroll soul, in a killer shot ca. 1970 (haven’t been able to track down the photographer, so any info will be appreciated, because this piece of pure art shouldn’t go uncredited).

Hair has always been an integral part of a person’s identity in most youth subcultures, whether it was the slick back rockabilly quiff, the soul/disco afro, the long-haired hippy type or the punk spikes and mohawks. According to brother Wayne's memoir ‘The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, The MC5 & My Life of Impossibilities’:

“…Hair was a big issue. The new, long-haired British bands set the style and we all adjusted accordingly. But Rob and I had hair that was curly, really curly, which meant we had a problem. I would plaster it down with Dippity-Do, and when it dried it would be straight … for a short time. Rob's methods were even more extreme involving chemicals and professional barbers. Until one day when Rob showed up at rehearsal with a small, beautiful natural Afro. He discovered that his hair was perfect the way it came out of his head. We all agreed he looked fabulous. Rob Tyner, the first white boy in Detroit with an Afro, showed me the way once again. I, too, decided to go with my natural curl. Problem solved.”

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[theunderestimator-2]

Hello, I am Hervé Labyre from France, I bought you a paper fanzine a few years ago, The Underestimator (#0921) with great articles on the Sex Pistols etc. I would like to know if there is only one issue of this fanzine or if you have issued others. Thanks. Best regards. Hervé

That was a feature on my posts by the brilliant Inés Estrada from inechi.com, printed in paper as an special issue of DIY Fringe magazine, a series of zines in which different people were invited for each issue.

It was a one-off thing and to be honest, I kind of envy you @monsteronyourback because mine never actually got through, as it was lost in the mail -or maybe confiscated by a custom officer who's into punk rock :)

Cheers,

Gus.

[theunderestimator-2]

This is addressed to each & every one of you, especially the ones that are spending this season on their own, like my mom, some of my buddies and online friends: always keep in mind that these days don't have to be a wild party -unless you prefer it that way. Play some of your favourite music, watch a movie, reach out to a friend that you haven't talked to in ages, take a walk but this time try to take a minute to appreciate little things one may walk past without realizing they're there, hidden in plain sight.

Thanks for all the times you've stopped by a post of mine or have taken the time to put down a comment. I wish you all a happy New Year's Day and may 2025 surprise you in the best possible way.

***photo: Debbie Harry walking past an Underestimator poster unaware of his eternal devotion -or is it The Underestimator absorbed in his book unaware of Debbie walking past? One thing's for sure, Al Di Meola seems determined to make his move.

[theunderestimator-2]

Siouxsie Sioux turning a simple line into a subversive act, in a '79 portrait by Fin Costello.

NME, Dec. 23, 1978: "-But tell me, Siouxsie, do you get recognised in the streets? -Yeah, in the tobaccanists. -What happens? -I get embarrassed."

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[theunderestimator-2]

50ft Queenie PJ Harvey performing at Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL, June 9, 1993, during the 'Rid Of Me' tour (any feedback on the photographer would be appreciated).

For her second album she had gone with produced Steve Albini who recorded the songs at the secluded Pachyderm Recording Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota and according to Polly: "He's the only person I know that can record a drum kit and it sounds like you're standing in front of a drum kit. It doesn't sound like it's gone through a recording process or it's coming out of speakers. You can feel the sound he records, and that is why I wanted to work with him, 'cause all I ever wanted is for us to be recorded and to sound like we do when we're playing together in a room".

When later on Albini suggested the same studio to Nirvana for the recording of "In Utero", he sent them a copy of Rid of Me and Kurt Cobain instantly became PJ Harvey a fan. When she played a Seattle gig in July '93, he attended her concert at Under the Rail and according Cali DeWitt, who was then part of Kurt's entourage:

"It was during the Rid Of Me tour, and the place was half-full. Kurt was nervous about the concert because he liked her so much. She was so great. He wanted to ask her to go on tour with Nirvana. So after the show, we went backstage and I know it took a lot for him to ask her. She was polite, but she turned him down. I think that made him love her even more."

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[theunderestimator-2]

A hot Iggy Pop performs with The Stooges onstage at the Whisky A Go-Go on Oct. 30, 1973 in LA, sporting a souvenir pair of ‘Soho’ briefs.

“I had this pair of underwear I bought at a little kiosk in Piccadilly Circus…they just said SOHO over the penis. I guess they were women’s, but I didn’t think about that, I just thought about how cool I would look in them…" said Iggy to John Savage for The Flesh Machine, Vice Magazine 2012.

Live recording from that gig released as CD1 of "Theatre Of Cruelty" 4xCD Box (2022).

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[theunderestimator-2]

Neneh Cherry, Andi Oliver & Paul Simonon captured by Adrian Boot backstage during the shooting of Big Audio Dynamite video for the band's 1986 song "Medicine Show", directed by Don Letts and featuring himself as well as Joe Strummer and Simmo in cameo appearances as cops, plus John Lydon and the two girls/former members of Rip Rig + Panic by that time.

In the wise words of Serge Gainsbourg "You're under arrest, 'cause you are the best".

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[theunderestimator-2]

Early Blondie snapped by Paul Zone of The Fast while playing at 'Mother's, NYC, in 1975 (line-up: Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein).

Debbie definitely knew how to stand out effortlessly.

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[theunderestimator-2]

Mick Jones during his B.A.D. era, here as the cover model for Blitz Magazine, June 1988 issue.

At the time Big Audio Dynamite had just released their 3rd album, 'Tighten Up, Vol. 88', featuring Paul Simonon's artwork for the cover, which may very well be the best thing about it, since the album had all the free-form elements of the previous ones, like hip hop, dance, reggae, funk and even a little country music that can be very upbeat, catchy and danceable, yet it kind of felt all over the place.

Here's some footage of Mick Jones promoting the album on MTVE and being interviewed by Tricia Ronane, former model, Paul Simonon's wife & co-manager of the Clash's royalties at the time, where Mick attempts to describe the physical effort it took to do the album struggling with his instruments and Tricia just struggles to keep from laughing at the thought of Mick 'struggling with his instrument'.

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[theunderestimator-2]

you don't have to respond but oh wow this is. genuinely not just a gem of a blog to find but legitemately such meaningful work on your part. thank you so so so much

I don't have to but I want to. Knowing that people appreciate the effort is the fuel that keeps me going for the past decade, so thanks for your msg @aisaurus, cheers!

Gus.

[theunderestimator-2]

Nan Levy (Shirley Baker's daughter): "People contact me to have a copy of their picture because they have fond memories of the time. It’s always fun growing up and being a teenager so they remember that. Whether it’s punks of children that were in the streets, their memories aren’t the slum streets and deprived areas, they don’t see it like that. They remember their childhood as fun and exciting, being allowed to run around without restrictions and feel safe. That’s how they remember it and they want to see the photo again for the nostalgia. There’s a good quote where she revisited the street years after all the demolition and she describes it as being like a stage set and all the actors have gone."

Punk girls in Stockport Town Centre in 1983, as captured by Shirley Baker.

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[theunderestimator-2]

Proto-Housemartins Paul Heaton & Norman Cook (later known as Fatboy Slim), busking in Brighton in 1982, when they were still called Stomping Pond Frogs. That teenage band called it a day when Cook left for uni but he two buddies met again in the mid-'80s, when Cook was eventuall recruited for the early Housemartins.

I came to think of my fave geeky glee pop band The Housemartins when their 1986 ballad "Think For A Minute" came up on the radio while I was reading about the US election aftermath and it somehow seemed to fit the mood perfectly:

"…And many bow their heads in shame/ That used to hold them high/ And those that used to say hello/ Simply pass you by…"

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[theunderestimator-2]

Park(a) life: mini-mod revivalists, as captured by Derek Ridgers near Carnaby St in London back in 1982.

***same boys, different shot (actually not that different, it seems they had mastered only one pose, kind of like Zoolander).

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[theunderestimator-2]

I'm a music fan and this blog is fantastic in the way that it gives me a glimpse into a world that I know just a little bit about. Thank you and please don't stop posting.

This kind of msg reminds me of the reasons I keep going in this godforsaken place called Tumblr, aka wasteland-of-blogs-that-go-there-to-die, after more than a decade of blogging.

Can't thank you enough, @cmplxbro .

[theunderestimator-2]

John Lydon masterfully photographed by Anton Corbijn in the summer of 1983, with the old New Yorker Hotel in the background.

In 1981, PiL decided to relocate from London to New York, where recording sessions for the band's 4th studio album took place between '82-'83. After Pete Jones and Keith Levene left, John Lydon remained the only founding member still in the band and with the exception of Martin Atkins, the line-up was largely unknown local New Jersey musicians hired for the shows.

In September 1983 PiL’s biggest UK hit single, ‘This Is Not A Love Song‘, is released, followed by their first actual UK and European tours.

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[theunderestimator-2]

Primal Scream in Soho, London, summer 1987, photographed by Stephen Parker in front of an original Sex Pistols poster for a July '87 Record Mirror feature, most likely to promote the "Gentle Tuesday" single followed by their debut album "Sonic Flower Groove".

gigsinscotland.com: "…On its initial releases, Primal Scream were a group of '60s revivalists crafting hooky, guitar-driven pop songs. The band signed to Creation in 1985, and over the next year they released a pair of singles. However, the band didn't really take off until the middle of 1986, when Gillespie left the Mary Chain and guitarists Andrew Innes and Robert Young joined the band. "Velocity Girl," a rush of jangly guitars, was a B-side that wound up on NME's C-86 cassette compilation, a collection of underground pop groups that defined the U.K.'s mid-'80s indie pop scene. The band's debut, Sonic Flower Groove, fit into the C-86 sound. After the band rejected the initial version recorded with Stephen Street, they re-recorded it with Mayo Thompson, and the record was finally released in 1987 on Creation subsidiary Elevation…"

loudersound.com: "The first Primal Scream album was financed by major label money (…) Soon after the release, co-founder and guitarist Jim Beattie left the band and the psychedelics were traded for a darker mission. Interestingly, this early tone was adopted by dozens of indie contenders and the Stone Roses perfected it for the age of Madchester. Bobby Gillespie was elsewhere by then, determined to rock…"

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[theunderestimator-2]

40 years ago, back when girls ruled: the late Paula Pierce, founder & fearless leader of garage punk rockers The Pandoras, performing at Irving Plaza, NYC, in October 1984.

That particular year was a weird one for the all-girl band since for a short period of time there were two versions of the Pandoras playing under the same name: a new band led by Pierce and another short-lived version featuring all the previous band members, who had released the band's debut EP the previous year but had departed by 1984, just as the "It's About Time" LP was being released. The brand new Pandoras hit the road for a tour that included a handful of dates with the Fuzztones, to promote the debute album.

Paula Pierce sadly passed away at the age of 31 in 1991 but she will always be remembered for her special songwriting talent, blurring the line between tribute and theft, and her presence, since she definitely owned the stage and dominated audiences with her charisma.

Nothing else but live action footage from that October 1984 gig at Irving Plaza, as soundtrack for this the post: "Want Need Love" & "I Want Him".

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