ShockHound

b. Kevin Allin, New Hampshire, USA. Of all the degenerate acts carried out in the history of rock 'n' roll, there can be few who have touched (preferably with disinfected gloves) the life and times of G.G. Allin. As one critic thoughtfully pointed out, "If Allin was an insect he would not only be a dung beetle, he would be the dung beetle the other dung beetles avoided." Usually taking the stage clad only in a jockstrap, Allin's shows gradually became more excessive as the 80s progressed. His antics included live sexual acts, drug-taking and self-immolation. If you caught G.G. Allin on a "good" night, you could expect to have a variety of bodily effluent flung at you - including vomit, urine and faeces - while simultaneously enjoying songs such as "You Scum, Eat My Diarrhoea" and "I'm Gonna Rape You". These antics eventually led to a nationwide ban and several brushes with the law.
Long a cult icon in some circles in Europe and North America, there is little point in attempting rational artistic judgement of his long and often painful recording career. The facts are these: his debut introduced the two regular facets of his career - basic but clumsy Stooges-derived garage punk, and lyrical vulgarity on a massive scale. The rock world had become accustomed to foul language, but on Always Was, Is, And Always Shall Be, it was applied with such ferocity and regularity, to all manner of bodily functions, that it almost became an art form. The moronic "Pussy Summit Meeting' was a typical title, but is quite possibly Allin's best record. However, thereafter it all became even worse. Allin's first band, the Jabbers, defected after recording the No Rules EP for Orange Records in 1983, but their leader regrouped with the Scumfucs after briefly fronting the Cedar Street Sluts. Whatever musical merit the Jabbers boasted was entirely lost on the primitive playing and production that accompanied the Scumfucs" recordings. Some argue that it was at this point that Allin actually began to believe in lyrics he had previously written only for shock value. After the Scumfucs split, Allin laid low for a period, but interest was reactivated by the ROIR Records compilation Hated In The Nation, which included his 1981 single with members of MC5, "Gimme Some Head" and a collaboration with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. From there, Allin moved to Homestead Records, recording solo and with that label's boss, Gerard Cosloy, as the Holy Men.
In the early 90s Allin served a four-year jail sentence in Michigan's Jackson State Prison for aggravated assault with intent to mutilate. Throughout his imprisonment Allin claimed that he would commit suicide live on stage on his return, but he was denied the opportunity, when, following release in 1993, he died in a much more conventional rock 'n' roll way - a drugs overdose. He had left his last show in New York on 27 June, completely naked, attacking innocent passers-by, before succumbing to a cocaine/heroin overdose. His last recordings were attributed to the Murder Junkies.
DISCOGRAPHY: as G.G. Allin And The Jabbers Always Was, Is, And Always Shall Be (Orange 1980)**, as G.G. Allin And The Scumfucs Eat My Fuc (Blood 1984)**, as G.G. Allin And The Scumfucs/Artless G.G. Allin And The Scumfucs/Artless (Starving Missile/Holy War 1985)**, Hated In The Nation cassette only (ROIR 1987)**, as G.G. Allin And The Holy Men You Give Love A Bad Name (Homestead 1987)**, Freaks, Faggots, Drunks & Junkies (Homestead 1988)**, as G.G. Allin And The Jabbers Banned In Boston (Black And Blue 1989)**, Doctrine Of Mayhem (Black And Blue 1990)**, as G.G. Allin And The Murder Junkies Brutality And Bloodshed For All (Alive 1993)**, as G.G. Allin And The Murder Junkies Terror In America (Black And Blue 1996)**, Banned In Boston Part 1 (Black And Blue 1998)**, Banned In Boston Part 2 (Black And Blue 1998)**.
COMPILATIONS: Res-Erected (ROIR 1999)**.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Hated: G.G. Allin & the Murder Junkies (Exploited Videos 1998), G.G. Allin: Live And Pissed 1998 (Music Video Distributors 2002).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: I Was A Murder Junkie: The Last Days Of G.G. Allin, Evan Cohen.

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