DEAD BOY

MUSICIAN MAGAZINE - AUGUST 1990

STIV BATORS DIED SUNDAY, JUNE 5 IN PARIS. MEETING HIS GIRLFRIEND, CAROLINE WARREN AS SHE CAME OUT OF A STORE THE PREVIOUS DAY, HE TOLD HER HE HAD JUST BEEN HIT BY A CAR. HE REFUSED MEDICAL ATTENTION AND THE TWO RETURNED HOME. THAT NIGHT CAROLINE NOTICED HE WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY BREATHING IN HIS SLEEP. SHE CALLED AN AMBULANCE BUT BY THE TIME IT ARRIVED AROUND 3 A.M., HE HAS EXPIRED FROM INTERNAL BLEEDING AND A BLOOD CLOT CLOSE TO THE HEART.

NAMED AFTER HIS STEELWORKER FATHER STEVE BATORS, BATORS LEFT AN EXTENSIVE RECORDED LEGACY INCLUDING THREE ALBUMS BY THE DEAD BOYS, AT LEAST ONE SOLO ALBUM, ONE WITH THE WANDERERS, AND FOUR WITH THE LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH. BLACK VINYL, HOWEVER, NEVER FULLY CAPTURED HIS ASTOUNDING ENERGY. IN MANY WAYS, HE WAS THE BEST FRONT MAN I EVER SAW, AND I WOULDN'T TRADE THE 30 OR 40 TIMES I HEARD THE DEAD BOYS AT CBGB FOR ANY OTHER ROCK 'N' ROLL EXPERIENCE. IF HE WASN'T THE LAST TRUE ROCK STAR, HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL WARRIORS IN THAT RARE TRIBE OF ARTISTS WHO FORGED THEIR VALUES BEFORE THE REAGAN ERA AND REFUSED TO CHANGE AS GREED AND FEAR INFECTED THE WORLD AROUND THEM. HE WANTED TO BE A LEGEND MORE THAN HE WANTED TO BE RICH, AND HE WOULD DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING TO GIVE YOU A MEMORY TO TAKE HOME FROM THE SHOW.

AROUND 42 WHEN HE DIED (HE WAS KNOWN TO LIE ABOUT HIS AGE), STIV GREW UP AN ONLY CHILD AND ALWAYS CRAVED BEING THE CENTER OF ATTENTION, OF WHICH THERE JUST WASN'T ENOUGH IN YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO. HE MADE AN IMPACT ON THE NEW YORK PUNK SCENE EVEN BEFORE HE GOT HERE. ON THE RAMONES FIRST TRIP TO OHIO, THEY WERE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY WHEN A CAR FULL OF SCREAMING KIDS PULLED ALONGSIDE. SUDDENLY THE DRIVER, STARK NAKED, CRAWLED OUT THE WINDOW AND SOMERSAULTED FROM THE HOOD ONTO THE ROOF WHERE HE STOOD AS THEY SPED ALONG AT 70 M.P.H. "CAR SURFING," STIV CALLED IT. THE RAMONES WERE NEITHER THE FIRST NOR THE LAST TO SEE IT.

ROUNDING UP FOUR OTHER CATHOLIC SCHOOL REJECTS - CHEETAH CHROME, JIMMY ZERO, JOHNNY BLITZ, AND JEFF MAGNUM - STIV FOUNDED THE DEAD BOYS, WHO PLAYED THEIR FIRST SHOW UNDER THE NAME FRANKENSTEIN ONHALLOWEEN IN 1975. WITHIN MONTHS STIV GOADED THEM INTO COMING TO NEW YORK. IN APRIL OF 1977, THEY OPENED FOR THE DAMNED AT CBGB IN THE FIRST SHOW BY AN ENGLISH PUNK BAND IN AMERICA. DISPLAYING A RAW AGRESSION UNSEEN SINCE IGGY ROLLED IN BROKEN GLASS, THE DEAD BOYS BLEW THE DAMNED OFF THE STAGE.

THE DEAD BOYS FIRST ALBUM, YOUNG LOUD AND SNOTTY, IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. THOUROGHLY OBNOXIOUS, FULL OF SMARLING GIUTAR RIFFS, IT DESCENED FROM THE STOOGES, RIVALED THE SEX PISTOLS, AND FORESHADOWED GUNS N' ROSES. IN THE AGE OF FLEETWOOD MAC, RADIO PROGARMMERS SHUNNED IT LIKE THE PLAGUE THEY FEARED PUNK ROCK WOULD BE.STIV TRIED TO MAKE PEOPLE NOTICE BY SHEER WILL POWER. SOME NIGHTS HE WOULD SWING THE MICROPHONE STAND AROUND IN HIS TEETH. HE WOULD STICK HIS HEAD IN THE BASS DRUM. HE WOULD DROP TROU. HE WOULD PULL HIS BUBBLEGUM OUT OF HIS MOUTH LIKE A YO-YO, DRAG IT ON THE FLOOR AND CHEW IT AGAIN. HE WOULD FIGHT WITH MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE. ONE NIGHT I SAW HIM CRACK HIS HEAD OPEN ON THE SIDE OF AN AMPLIFIER AND GO INTO CONVULSIONS. THEY CARRIED HIM OUT ON A STRECHER BUT HE CAME BACK IN AN HOUR WITH A HEAD FULL OF STICHES AND SANG THE SECOND SET. IF THERE WAS A PIPE OVER THE STAGE, HE WOULD THROW THE MICROPHONE OVER IT, WRAP ONE END OF THE CORD AROUND HIS NECK AND PULL ON THE OTHER UNTIL HE WAS HANGING HIMSELF IN MID-AIR.

"ONE NIGHT AT THE HOT CLUB IN PHILADELPHIA WE WERE PLAYING TO A GOOD AUDIENCE AND IT CAME TIME FOR STIV TO HANG HIMSELF DURING 'SON OF SAM,'" RECALLED JIMMY ZERO. "THE AUDIENCE GRABBED HIM AND STARTED PULLING ON HIM, SPINNING HIM AROUND WHILE THE CORD WAS AROUND HIS NECK. HE GAVE ME THIS LOOK LIKE 'I'M REALLY BEING HANGED!' WE HAD TO KICK A BUNCH OF KIDS IN THE FACE TO GET THEM OFF. HE WAS ABOUT 10 SECONDS FROM BEING KILLED BECAUSE THEY LOVED HIM."

WHEN STIV SANG 'I WANNA BE A DEAD BOY/ I'LL DIE FOR YOU IF YOU WANT ME TO,' HE MEANT IT. AND THE REST OF US FELT MORE ALIVE FOR IT. THE LAST TIME I SAW HIM PERFORM WITH THE LORDS, HE CLIMBED UP THE SPEAKER TOWERS AND HUNG UPSIDE DOWN FROM THE BALCONY, HIS FEET HELD BY A BUNCH OF ROWDY KIDS. I WAS NEVER QUITE SO THRILLED THAT MY THRILL WAS VICARIOUS.

OFFSTAGE, I KNEW STIV AS A GENEROUS AND UNPRETENTIOUS FRIEND WHEN HE WASN'T PLAYING SOME GROTESQUE PRACTICAL JOKE. "IF THERE'S AN ICE MACHINE IN HEAVEN," SAID CHEETAH CHROME, "STIV IS PISSING IN IT."

A FEW YEARS AGO, I GOT DRUNK WITH STIV IN A LONDON PUB. HIS FACE WAS ASHEN AND HE KEPT NODDING OFF. I ASKED IF HE WAS ALL RIGHT AND HE SAID THE DOCTORS HAD TOLD HIM HE HAD 10 PERCENT LIVER FUNCTION. HE SEEMED TO WANT IT THAT WAY, SEEMED TO CONSIDER POISONING HIMSELF PART OF HIS LEGEND, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS SPENDING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME SLEEPING. THIS PAST YEAR HE'D BEEN WORKING WITH VARIOUS PUNK-ROCK VETERANS IN HOPES OF STARTING A NEW BAND, THE WHORES OF BABYLON. IN JANUARY DEE DEE RAMONE WENT TO PARIS TO COLLABORATE ON SOME SONGS. " HE WAS GETTING HIS HEALTH TOGETHER, BUT HE'D BEEN WRITING THESE SWEET FOLKSONGS," SAID DEE DEE. " I WANTED TO PLAY PUNK ROCK WHERE YOU HAVE TO BE TOUGHER THAN THE KIDS. WE'D PLAY FOR HOURS. HIS EYES WOULD ROLL BACK AND HE'D CHANT 'HATE! HATE! DIE, MOTHERFUCKER!' FINALLY HE TOLD ME, 'YOU'RE RIGHT, DEE DEE. MUSIC SHOULD BE THREE CHORDS AND A GRUDGE.' THEN HE WROTE 'HELTER SKELTER' ON THE MIRROR WITH A LIPSTICK."

CHARLES M. YOUNG