ZERO: Martin Hannett

Martin "Zero" Hannett

Martin "Zero" Hannett was born May 31, 1948 in Manchester, England. An accomplished student, he received a degree in Chemistry from Manchester Polytechnic. While in college he was a member of the campus social committee and was responsible for booking bands that played at the school. After graduation he accepted a job in a laboratory. The lab job was merely a means to an end as he continued to pursue his passion for music by playing bass in several bands and working as a sound man and roadie. Ultimately music won out and he quit his job to run a musicians cooperative, along with friend Tosh Ryan, called Music Force. The cooperative would book shows and rent PA equipment. The cooperative also had a publicity department that would hang flyer's promoting various shows. From the money earned the pair purchased space to achieve their ultimate goal, setting up a recording studio. The pair initially took any recording commissions that came their way, from recording theatres troupes to producing soundtracks for cartoons. By 1976 Hannett and Tosh established, along with others, Rabid Records which they used to promote a local glam rock group called Slaughter and the Dogs who had experienced some local success. Hannett found himself in the right place at the right time. The music scene in Manchester and throughout England was bursting with promise as Punk groups were forming almost daily and each looking for a way to have their music recorded and sold. Hannett's first professional production job, under the name Martin Zero, involved a local Punk group he had booked a few shows for, the Buzzcocks. Lead singer Howard Devoto would later recall that Hannett was chosen for the simple fact that he was the only person they could find that even called themselves a producer. From this effort evolved "Spiral Scratch", a 4-song EP recorded in a dizzying 8 hour period on December 28, 1976. Apart from being one of the first Punk recordings available to the buying public, it established the DIY ethic that exemplified everything that the Punk movement stood for. The highlight of the EP was the song "Boredom", a Buzzcock fan favorite. It also marked the beginning and end for Devoto with the Buzzcocks as he left shortly after the EP's release to form another groundbreaking Punk outfit, Magazine. Four months later Hannett would produce "Cranked Up Really High" by Slaughter and the Dogs on his Rabid label, but the group would break-up shortly thereafter. Hannett now assumed the title of in-house producer for the Rabid label.

Hannett in studio

For the remainder of 1977 into 1978 Hannett would working with an assortment of groups, all meeting with little to no success. In the Spring of 1978 he went into the studio with a Manchester University drama student Graham Fellows who, recording under the name Jilted John, would release a single entitled "Jilted John". The tried and true story of young love come and gone was an instant hit and, shortly after being snatched up by recording giant EMI, went to number 4 on the national charts. The single ultimately sold over a quarter of a million copies and gave Hannett his first true hit and established his name as a producer. Next Hannett found himself in the studio with art-punk John Cooper Clarke (right), the English Punk version of Bob Dylan. Hannett would produce a handful of singles and several albums for Clarke over the next several years that ultimately led to Clarke getting a major label deal with Epic. During this time Hannett would also form, along with keyboardist Steve Hopkins, The Invisible Girls, to act as Clarkes backing band. Hannett would use The Invisible Girls to support a number of artists throughout the remainder of his career, including former Velvet Underground member Nico and ex-Penetration lead singer Pauline Murray.

The use of electronic effects, be it drum machines, digital delay or other non-musical elements were a trademark of any Hannett produced recording. This was no more evident than on his work with Joy Division (right). Hannett, now producing for the Factory record label (which he helped co-found with Tony Wilson), had his first experience with Joy Division in 1979 and the recording of their groundbreaking debut album "Unknown Pleasures". Initially reluctant to use any synthesizers, Hannett convinced the group to include them on the record. The results stand as the seminal Hannett recording, employing the various electronic devices and non-musical noise, such as breaking glass, to augment the bands classic post-punk style. Hannett would go on to produce every studio track recorded by Joy Division. The suicide of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hit Hannett hard. While most of the members of Joy Division were indifferent to Hannett's use of electronics to frame the bands sound, Curtis was always a strong ally (Hannett was portrayed by actor Ben Naylor in the Ian Curtis biopic "Control" released this past year).

During this period of his career Hannett's use of drugs, especially heroin, began to escalate. Despite his personal shortcomings, his work with Joy Division still made him a producer of choice. 1979 to 1981 were the high water mark of his creative output. A young Irish band, inspired by his work with Joy Division, sought Hannett out to produce there second single. In May, 1980 Hannett entered a Dublin studio with U2 to begin work on recording and the result, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", would be his one and only collaboration with the group. Hannett's working relationship with the band was tenuous and the band would eventually utilize Steve Lillywhite for the remainder of the debut album "Boy", which was released toward the end of 1980. The experience was so bad that the group would leave "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" off the album all together. Around the same time the Psychedelic Furs would call Hannett's number, having been inspired by his work with John Cooper Clarke, asking him to produce 4 songs initially slated to be issued on an EP. The EP fell through but two of the songs, "Susan's Strange" and "Soap Commercial" would later be included on the groups self-titled debut album upon it's release in the United States. Hannett would work with the group a year later, steering the song "Pretty in Pink" during the recording of their follow-up effort "Talk Talk Talk" in 1981. Studio sessions with old Buzzcock acquaintance Devoto would follow, producing Magazine's (left) third full length album "The Correct Use of Soap" as well as singles by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ("Messages"), London based band The Only Ones ("Oh Lucinda"), and Wasted Youth ("Rebecca's Room"). Hannett was as known for his stubbornness and dictatorial production style as he was for the electronic and digital sounds he added to each recording he was associated with.



The years from 1982 to 1988 would come to be known as Hannett's darkest. Becoming more unpredictable, deeply in debt and harboring a profound drug problem, Hannett disappeared from the recording studio. A prolonged law suit with Factory over missing wages cost him another two years and he would not reappear in the studio until the late 1980's. Having kicked heroin, he patched up his differences with Factory and eventually worked with the Happy Mondays in 1988 ("Bummed") and Kitchens of Distinction in 1990 (the single "Quick as Rainbows"). But he his earlier success would elude him, primarily due to his heroin habit having given way to his abuse of alcohol. His heavy dependence on alcohol further deteriorated his mental and physical health, effectively ending his recording career. He died on April 18, 1991 of heart failure.

Links:

Martin Hannett: http://www.martinhannett.co.uk/bio.htm http://www.discogs.com/artist/Martin+Hannett
Factory Records: http://www.factoryrecords.net/ http://www.partypeoplemovie.com/
Buzzcocks: http://www.buzzcocks.com/
Joy Division: http://www.incubation.ch/ http://members.aol.com/lwtua/joydiv.htm http://www.enkiri.com/joy/joy_division.html http://www.controlthemovie.com/
Magazine: http://shotbybothsides.com/
John Cooper Clarke: http://www.johncooperclarke.com/

Arthur "Killer" Kane - A New York Doll

Like the proverbial Phoenix, Arthur "Killer" Kane rose from the ashes of a mid-life spent in obscurity, held down by years of alcohol addiction and depression, to again take his place as a preeminent figure in the history of Punk music. His rise, fall and brief return, too incredible for words, is masterfully retold in the 2005 documentary "New York Doll".






Arthur Kane was born in New York on February 3rd, 1949. His mother died while Kane was still a teen and his relationship with his father, always troubling, collapsed following his mothers death. Shortly after graduating from high school he played bass in several bands in the area. Ultimately he joined the group Actress with future Dolls drummer Billy Murcia and guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets. After the break-up of Actress, Rivets would leave and the remaining pair would add David Johansen as lead singer and Sylvain Sylvain, who replaced Rivets on guitar. The new group adopted the name New York Dolls after a doll repair shop they passed in the city. The bands musical tastes drew heavily from early R&B and the early recordings of the Rolling Stones coupled with the power and raw energy of the MC5 and Stooges. They wrote songs that hearkened back to the wit exhibited by early American girl groups like the Shangri-La's. Early on the group tried to establish a following in an early 70's New York music scene that was devoid of any identity. They played homeless shelters or anywhere else that would offer them a stage. As their over-the-top appearance and stage shows began to get noticed, they received their first break when Rod Stewart, attempting to take advantage of the exploding glam-music scene, invited them to open for him in London. Following this and several other London area appearances the music world began to take note. Tragically, Murcia would die as a result of an overdose. Enter Jerry Nolan, who would take Murcia's place behind the drum kit, having been an old friend of Johansen and several other band members.

New York Dolls (l-r Johansen, Nolan, Sylvain, Kane, Thunders)

On stage the band would be known for attire that had them looking like a cross between drag queens and prostitutes. For all of the energy Johansen and Thunders put into their on-stage antics the reverse was true for Kane. Standing nearly motionless throughout each show, it was said he could not play bass and breath at the same time. Instead he would take in and hold deep breaths while performing each song. While their stage appearance would become the bands signature, it was the music that drew in their small, but ever growing, fan base. The rhythm section of Kane, Thunders and Nolan were as ragged as any in recorded music at the time and finally Mercury Records took notice, signing the band to their first recording contract in 1972. Their first release, New York Dolls, was produced by Todd Rundgren and met with mainly positive reviews from the musical establishment. The buying public, however, stayed away in droves. The average consumer could not get past their appearance and the music was never given it's due (Creem Magazine readers voted the band the best and worst new group in a 1973 readers poll). Subsequent appearances on British television shows like The Old Grey Whistle Test further polarized the masses, people either loved the Dolls or hated them. The television appearance, however, would inspire many of the English youth who witnessed it to form bands with names like The Smiths, Sex Pistols, Generation X and The Damned.

New York Dolls, 1974

Believing Rundgren had exhibited too heavy a hand in the mastering of their first recording, the Dolls hired producer George Morton for their second studio effort, the aptly titled "Too Much Too Soon" in 1974. Despite a sound that was more stripped down, the song writing was not as sharp as on their first release. Heavy on covers and older songs written by the group, the release again sold poorly, despite containing several songs that would be revered as punk classics in the years to come (notably "Chatterbox and "Babylon"). Poor sales and indifference again greeted the band as they toured in support of the release. Mercury abandoned the group shortly thereafter. A failed attempt at having a pre-Sex Pistols Malcolm McLaren manage the band coupled with Thunders and Nolan's escalating use of heroin finally saw the band implode during a tour in 1975. Despite soldering on for two more years with replacements for the now-departed Thunders and Nolan (who, along with Richard Hell, would form The Heartbreakers) the Dolls officially called it quits in 1977. After four odd-years and a cloud of dust, having inspired fellow New York bands like the Ramones, Television, Blondie and Talking Heads plus countless overseas, the New York Dolls were now but a footnote in the history of Punk.

After the Dolls breakup Kane attempted to form other bands, notably with Nolan in The Idols and Rivets in The Corpse Grinders, but all failed miserably. He spent several years in the early 80's backing Thunders on his solo tours. But by the middle of the 80's Kane was essentially out of options, the band he loved was long gone and everything else he tried turned to shit. He retreated to Los Angeles in hopes the change of scenery would jump start his career. Instead, Los Angeles met him with a cold indifference. He would watch a new wave of groups, obviously inspired by the music and style of the Dolls, explode all around him. Bands like Hanoi Rocks, Motley Crue, Ratt and Twisted Sister reigned on the sales charts and were in constant rotation on MTV. While his own failures ate at him, so too did the success that he saw from bands the Dolls had inspired. About this same time David Johansen reinvented himself, becoming lounge lizard Buster Poindexter (right) and releasing a top ten single "Hot, Hot, Hot". This only fueled Kane's drinking and erratic behavior. He finally hit rock bottom when, in short succession, his marriage failed, he was severely injured after falling from a second story window and he was attacked by a homeless person in West Hollywood. The attack left him in a coma for several days.

Reading a magazine one day in 1989, Kane came across an advertisement for The Church Of Latter-day Saints that offered a free copy of the book of Mormon. After responding to the ad, two Mormon missionaries appeared at Kane's door several days later and he, after listening to their testament, became a Mormon. While working at the library of the Mormon temple in Los Angeles (at right, with co-workers), Kane became acquainted with Greg Whitely, a film student and fellow Mormon. Whitley would later recount that in the 4 years he knew Kane there wasn't a conversation that went by without Kane describing the longing he had to again work with his fellow band mates and reunite the Dolls. After hearing the numerous stories Kane had about his days as a Doll and his strong desire to reform the group, Whitely decided to film a documentary about Kane and his life. In 2003 Kane heard, through several people that maintained New York Doll fan websites, that there was rumor that the Dolls were being reformed. Unbeknown to Kane, Morrissey was responsible to procure the band lineup for the 2004 version of the Meltdown Festival, a yearly music festival held at Royal Albert Hall that employed various British musical celebrities to act as organizers. Morrissey, a lifelong Dolls fan and one-time president of their UK fan club, immediately sought to reform the Dolls for that year's festival. Kane called Morrissey and the wheels were set in motion to reform the band for a one time show. Amazingly, Johansen, for years dismissing any notion of a reunion, was immediately on board with the plan. But before Kane could become a Doll again he had to retrieve his bass, which he had long since pawned. With the financial aid of his fellow church members, Kane bought back his bass from the pawn shop.

The Reunion Show, 2004

Sylvain, Kane and Johansen (along with several handpicked studio musicians) met in London shortly thereafter to begin rehearsals for their show at the Meltdown Festival. On June 16, 2004 the New York Dolls performed again for the first time in over 30 years. The performance was so well received talks of a new album and a tour started immediately. 22 days after the performance Kane complained of flu-like symptoms and was checked into a Los Angeles area hospital. He was diagnosed with leukemia and, within two hours of being admitted to the hospital, died. He was 55 years old.

Related Links:

New York Doll Movie Site: http://www.onepotatoproductions.com/NewYorkDoll/
New York Dolls Site: http://www.nydolls.org/ http://www.nyrock.com/misc/nydolls.htm http://www.punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/newyorkdolls.htm
Meltdown Festival: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/meltdown/
David Johansen Fansite: http://www.geocities.com/davidjohansenonline/
Morrissey Site: http://www.morrisseymusic.com/