Richard Hell came to town today. For those who don’t know the story, Hell is a New York musician, writer, occasional poet and the man credited with inventing the phrase ‘The Blank Generation’. He also provided the visuals of punk, inspiring the whole ripped t-shirt/safety pin/spiked hair look adopted by early UK punks nearly 40 years ago. He was in town to give readings from his new book, the autobiographical I Dreamed I was a Very Clean Tramp.
Ironically, given the punk attitude to the Royal Jubilee all those years ago, the reading took place in Jubilee Hall on the University of Sussex campus.
Hell spoke and read for around 40 minutes, occasionally stumbling but maintaining an engaging and entertaining charm throughout as we journeyed with him through his formative (and mildly delinquent) teen years with best friend Tom (Verlaine), his early bands (Neon Boys, Television, The Heartbreakers) and on to the rest of the burgeoning New York scene.
The Q&A session that followed was a hoot. Hell either didn’t hear – or misheard – just about every question. British accents causing problems perhaps, but it turned into something of a Burroughsian routine as each question was carefully translated by Professor Daniel Kane who had organized the whole thing.
The evening ended with a book signing. Mine carries the enigmatic message ‘Doing odd jobs for Paul’.
I did take a few photos, but only after the readings were through. I learnt some years ago the perils of photographing performers while they are at work, especially when the work is quiet. That’s another story and features another New York icon. These days I’m more polite.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.