by Steve Pegrum

It's hard to believe it's been nine long years since my all-time hero, the one and only Mr Johnny Thunders died in mysterious circumstances in New Orleans in 1991. Without his inspiration, my life would never have been the same. It all began in my early teens, when as a card carrying punk rocker of 13 in 1977 I first purchased the seminal Chinese Rocks/Born to Lose 12" single and my love affair from afar with the legend began. I was initially captivated by the sheer chainsaw double-edged melancholic power of the record and the sonic landscape it produced. My next purchase at the same time was a 'New Wave' sampler LP featuring the New York Dolls (songs included: Personality Crisis and Where are the Mystery Girls) which also captured me, but never in quite the same way as Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers did. Funnily enough in subsequent years my great rock and roll friend Guy Bourseau felt the same whilst growing up in France. Next, L.A.M.F. was purchased and Thunders and Jerry Nolan instilled a desire and provided an impetus to one day perform something equally as compelling, which I finally achieved in my band The Ghosts of Lovers in the late '80s.

The seminal synopsis of Raw Heartbreak Rock and Roll was achieved by Mr Thunders in 1978 with the release of So Alone, his first solo album which transcended all expectations, featuring as it does such legendary tracks as Memory, Untouchable, Great Big Kiss etc. After a fallow period in the early 80's, a complete resurrection for myself in tandem with Mr Thunders occurred in 1983. Firstly, in May I first saw Hanoi Rocks at Crocs in Rayleigh, Essex. The most devastating show I had seen to date and was truly awe inspiring. From that moment I was hooked - Drapes, PVC, Leather, Crushed Velvet, Skull and Crossbone Bootlace Ties, Johnsons in London, Keith Richards haircuts etc were now the order, and the future was set. The London Cowboys were seen, followed by as equally important as Hanoi, The Lords of The New Church (again at Crocs). Then to finally cap it all I and a few friends from Southend went up to the Lyceum Ballroom in The Strand in London to see Mr Johnny Thunders perform a devastating set, with the most warm and powerful bittersweet set of songs one could hope for.

The addiction was complete now and I spent the last months of the year hunting around for every Thunders record I could lay my hands on. To my utmost joy, in March 1984 Thunders reformed the Heartbreakers and performed a truly phenomenal set at the Lyceum, which thankfully has been captured on Video and Record. I went to the concert with friend and Bass Player Andy Fisher and to this day we still talk of the show in reverential tones. In fact, Andy and I even covered Born to Lose and I want to be Loved in the band we were playing in at the time (The Kronstadt Uprising) In August of that year I witnessed probably the finest Thunders gig I have ever seen, at the old Marquee in Wardour Street, London. It was dripping with sweat, but the raw energy and sheer emotiveness of the performance (especially during Sad Vacation) was overwhelming. I remember floating home in dripping leathers and with running mascara, knowing that I had witnessed something truly special.

In October 1984 Hanoi Rocks played The Lyceum, and Thunders jammed with them on the encore, creating a unique event, with two of the best Rock and Roll guitarists EVER on stage together - Andy McCoy and Johnny Thunders, playing around with Pills and Gloria. Heaven!, there's no other word for it. Similarly, soon after I saw Thunders performing at the Tufnell Park Ballroom, and he was joined by Mike Monroe for another excellent jam.

My Thunders mania was now in full flow, and whenever Mr Thunders was in London, I'd be there: The Clarendon Ballroom in 1985, Dingwalls in 1986, Town and Country club in 1987 and the Marquee numerous times. (The last time he ever played London, and the last Thunders gig I ever saw being the December 1990 show at the Marquee). Although his officially recorded output diminished after the mid eighties, with the Que Sera Sera and Copy Cats album, there were (and still are) an overwhelming amount of bootlegs trying to fill the gap. Towards the end of his life, with his last band, the Odd Balls, Thunders premiered several new compositions such as Society Makes Me Sad and Children are people too, whose recorded potential was never realised, although several CDs containing demo versions of these excellent tracks do exist.

We will never see the likes of the Godfather of The Punk Guitar again, so thanks Johnny for all those cherished memories, which will remain with me for the rest of my life.

With love and Respect

Steven Pegrum England September 2000