Richard Hell & The Voidoids: Blank Generation (Indie Exclusive Colored Vinyl) Vinyl LP Richard Hell & The Voidoids

Richard Hell & The Voidoids’ highly influential debut LP! NYC punk fixture Richard Hell (nee Richard Meyers) had been a founding member of now-legendary proto-punk band Television, but left in 1975 just before the release of their first 7” single “Little Johnny Jewel” (shout out John Padget). Hell quit due to disagreements with bandmate Tom Verlaine over Hell’s erratic stage antics and Verlaine’s refusal to play Hell’s songs. Despite this, one of his songs managed to work itself into regular rotation, but Hell took it with him and named the debut Voidoids record after it: Blank Generation. Recorded at Plaza Sound Studio in NYC with the assistance of Brill Building hitmaker Richard Gottehrer (“My Boyfriend’s Back”), Blank Generation is a perfect distillation of the legendary downtown punk scene, and on a bigger scale, representative of an entire generation: “To me, blank was a line where you can fill in anything … It’s the idea that you have the option of making yourself anything you want, filling in the blank. And that’s something that provides a uniquely powerful sense to this generation. It’s saying ‘I entirely reject your standards for judging my behavior.’’ This limited edition 2018 vinyl reissue comes as part of the Back To The ’80’s series and is pressed on orange and black colored vinyl.

• Back To The ’80’s exclusive orange + black colored vinyl pressing
• printed inner sleeve
• music label: Sire 2018

reviewed by frau farbissina 12/2017