Pure Hell

Kenny ‘Stinker’ Gordon – Vocals, Lenny ‘Steel’ Boles – Bass, Preston ‘Chip Wreck’ Morris – Guitar & Michael ‘Spider’ Sanders – Drums

I never like to focus on colour but Pure Hell really broke new ground by being the first all black punk band but seem to go under the radar in histories.

Formed in 1974 with the usual influences of Iggy & The Stooges, Bowie, Alice Cooper, and Jimi Hendrix, They arrived in New York as Punk was beginning at CBGB’s and split just after Nancy Spungeon’s murder in 1978.

The band moved to New York in 1975 and moved into the infamous Chelsea Hotel. They befriended the New York Dolls, played with them and played the Mercer Arts Centre and Max’s Kansas City and were interviewed by Andy Warhol.

Having no manager Lenny Boles tracked down the man credited with discovering Jim Hendrix, Curtis Knight, and he was convinced to look after the band after seeing them live.

Those who saw Pure Hell in action describe their shows similarly. Gordon’s background in gymnastics gave them an unparalleled stage presence, with choreography that he says he performed “crash dummy style”. Pure Hell’s sound was harsher than their peers and predecessors and is today recognised as proto-hardcore. “We were like four Jimi Hendrixes, and Curtis knew it,” Gordon says. “We aimed for impact, just because we could. A lot of people at the time couldn’t play like Chip, doing Hennessy licks and everything. Not everyone could copy that.” Cassidy George – Dazed

It was him and his wife who invested in the studio sessions that produced the single These Boots Are Made For Walking / No Rules (1978 Golden Sphinx Rec) and a European Tour that got them lots of publicity. These sessions also produced the material for a debut album.

The publicity was a double edged sword concentrating on their colour. It aroused interest and they landed right at a great time for Punk rock in the UK but they were also seen as a novelty.

Pure Hell’s best known UK gig at the Lyceum and right – Bob Gruen shot of the glammed up punked up band outside Buckingham Palace.

They were also victims of the type of racism that stereotyped what music or look a person should have because of his/her/they colour.

Although they eventually felt accepted in New York, and even celebrated in Europe, the legacy of Jim Crow still haunted the industry, where genres remained segregated. “We experienced racism, but didn’t know it at the time,” says Lenny Boles. “We were watching all of these bands around us, with far less talent, get signed. It had us second guessing ourselves, thinking we weren’t good enough. Obviously we were. It was a while before we realised we were getting snubbed.” While their white peers were being cut cheques, Pure Hell found themselves courted by a number of record labels, all of whom insisted they change their music in order to align with racial stereotypes. “Everybody was trying to make us do this Motown thing, saying like, ‘You guys are black so you’ve gotta do something that’s danceable,’” Boles adds. “They kept trying to make us more ‘funky’. Everything we liked had nothing to do with dance music. We were not having it. So we opted not to get signed.” Cassidy George – Dazed

What also probably also didn’t help was the band featuring with Sid Vicious and Jerry Nolan when he was in New York before coming to the UK to promote their single which was released in November 1978.

Falling out with Curtis Knight, him taking the tapes and a legal action meant the band resettled in LA without manager, money or tapes. The newer harder punk bands were coming through and they just stopped and are barely mentioned.

Luckily that’s changed. Henry Rollin’s helped by re-issuing their debut single. Their unreleased album Noise Addiction was purchased by fan Mike Schneider of Welfare Records and released. Gina Parker-Lawton helped secure their induction to the Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture

In short Pure Hell were true originators and ground breakers. They didn’t give a shit about look or colour. They played the music they wanted and looked how they wanted and came up against twice the amount of obstacles any bog standard would face.

Pure Hell are the first black punk group. Period!


Credit to Cassidy George’s Dazed article ‘The forgotten story of Pure Hell, America’s first black punk band’



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