L.A. NOTORIOUS FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF
SUNSET STRIPPED THE EARLY '80 S: A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES MUSIC. MURDER. MAYHEM.
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IN 1982, THE SUNSET STRIP WAS KILLER
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FAS PHOTOGRAPHY (COVER): BRIAN GLODNEY PHOTOGRAPHY
OUT OF
L O R T N O C W H AT WA S T H E S U N S E T S T R I P L I K E I N T H E E A R LY 1 9 8 0 S ? TA K E A W I L D
R I D E D OW N M E M O R Y L A N E W I T H S O M E O F T H E S C E N E ' S K E Y P L AY E R S . BY
ELIZABETH
TURNER
PHOTOGRAPHY: GEORGE ROSE/CONTRIBUTOR
The usual crowd waiting to enter the Strip hot spot, the Whisky
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s the calendar flipped from the “me decade” to the go-go ’80s, the Sunset Strip was L.A.’s funhouse. The Whisky, The Roxy, and Gazzari’s were enjoying a bit of a revival, thanks to an influx of young bands that were putting the raw back in the L.A. rock scene. The Tower Video store—where a young Axl Rose worked as a night manager— hosted free concerts in the parking lot. A block west, Licorice Pizza stocked the very latest UK imports and releases from up-and-coming local bands. The Chateau Marmont was a little run-down then, and a popular place for cheap drinks after a show.
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PHOTOGRAPHY (FROM TOP): HENRY DILTZ; LARRY BROWNSTEIN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; MARK BASSETT/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
AT 2 A.M. YOU WENT TO THE RAINBOW PARKING LOT TO SEE WHO WAS HANGING OUT, TO FIND OUT WHERE THE PARTY WAS The Rainbow Bar & Grill and the Roxy
Local rockers inhabited many of the apartments just above and below the Strip. Joan Jett’s party pad was on the corner of Sunset and San Vicente, directly across the street from both the Whisky and Licorice Pizza. A short stumble up the hill from the Whisky stood a groupie mecca: Mötley Crüe’s two-bedroom apartment on Clark Street.
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W H E N PA R K I N G L O T S W E R E F U N
Whether it was a free outdoor concert at Tower Records, a pre-show meetup at Licorice Pizza, or an after-hours confab at the Rainbow Bar & Grill, Sunset Strip parking lots could be as happening as the clubs themselves. “The Rainbow parking lot from the ’70s to the ’90s was like an open-air after-hours club. I mean, seriously, they could have charged admission,” says writer-performer Pleasant Gehman, who in the early ’80s penned the “L.A. Dee Da” gossip
column for the LA Weekly and was the lead singer of the Screaming Sirens. “No matter what club or party you were at, at 2 a.m. you went to the Rainbow parking lot to see who was hanging out, to find out where the party was, to buy drugs, hand out flyers, whatever, you know? Police enforcement was not what it is today, and it was just a free-for-all.” Inside the Rainbow, the party was always raging. John Belushi was there a few hours before overdosing at the Chateau Marmont on March 5, 1982. “His last meal was lentil soup—he had it in the kitchen of the Rainbow. He was here partying with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro,” says Rainbow owner Mike Maglieri. “He went through about 12 or 13 cans of whipped cream that night,” he adds, explaining Belushi liked to grab the cans from the fridge for a quick hit of nitrous oxide. “He loved to do the whippits,” Maglieri says.
The Body Shop
Chateau Marmont
STRIP SCENE T H E A R E A’ S popular clubs and restaurants were frequented by regulars including Joan Jett and Mötley Crüe.
THE PARTNER IN CRIME
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SOMETIMES I TELL PEOPLE I WAS RAISED IN A MOSH PIT
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“I spent way too many nights a week on the Sunset Strip,” says filmmaker Penelope Spheeris. “I’d go to the Whisky and the Roxy and the Rainbow. The Key Club wasn’t there then, but I went to Gazzari’s. And I used to bring my nine-year-old daughter to these clubs.” Spheeris was there for fun and for research. Since the late ’70s, the first wave of West Coast punk had reinvigorated live music all over town. Fascinated with the scene, Spheeris set out to make The Decline of Western Civilization, which became the definitive documentary of L.A. punk and its followers. Released in 1981, it was the first in a trilogy that would later cover the metal years as well as
homeless punks in Los Angeles. “The environment was pretty crazy,” confirms Spheeris’ daughter, Anna Fox, now all grown up and the producer of The Decline of Western Civilization Collection, a box set of the fully restored trilogy. “But these were people my mom knew pretty well, and she trusted them. Sometimes I tell people I was raised in a mosh pit. One time my mom stuck me up on stage during a FEAR show, thinking it was the safer place to be, which is debatable.” “There have been mosh pits where I’ve looked down and seen a couple of teeth on the floor. That’s not too cool,” says Spheeris. Club owners felt the same way. While bands like X, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks
PHOTOGRAPHY (FROM TOP): NEAL PRESTON/CORBIS; RON GALELLA; (RIGHT HAND PAGE): CHRIS WALTER; TETRA IMAGES
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PUNK AS HELL
Lita Ford, 1982
English punk rock band The Clash performing in L.A.
brought new audiences into the clubs, management didn’t appreciate the action in the mosh pit or the property damage that came with it. Bands were routinely banned from playing clubs, especially on the Strip.
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T H E H A I R M E TA L O N S L A U G H T
As punk bands fanned out to alternative venues all over the city, metal up-and-comers like Mötley Crüe were poised to fill the void on Sunset. Gehman and Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go’s checked out an early Crüe show at the Whisky in 1982. “We thought there would be five people in the place,” Gehman admits. “But they already had somewhat rudimentary pyrotechnics, people in the audience knew all the words to the songs, and we were just standing there with our mouths open. We kind of went as a joke, but they were so good. And the place was sold out.” Crüe got a record deal that year, and the “hair metal” gold rush was on. “The hair band thing spawned so many copycats,” says Gehman. “It was just everybody trying to get a record deal by copying a formula that had been put in place. For a while the Strip degenerated into a kind of parody of itself. It was kind of like the walking dead, but with bleached blonde shags.” The groupies were there to support it. “When it started to
switch over to the metal years, those guys were so blatantly sexist—it was like Caligula. All bets were off in terms of ethics and integrity and political correctness. The more outrageous you were, the cooler you were. All the guys dated either strippers or mud wrestlers,” says Spheeris. “That era did bring a lot of girls who would let guys do anything to them— and I mean anything,” says Lita Ford, who in 1982 was launching a solo career after making her name as the guitar player of The Runaways. She was living in an apartment on Clark Street, playing the clubs, and dating Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. Asked what was crazier, the sex or the drugs, Ford calls it a draw. “Both were absolutely insane—just the amounts of them. Since a lot of the people in the music industry were who they were, they were able to get drugs more easily. People were just giving them away. They were like, ‘Oh look, there’s so-andso, let’s see if he wants a quaalude. Or a jar of quaaludes,’” she says. “I would sometimes go home to my parents’ house in Long Beach and just dry out for a few days. I would sleep, eat, get my laundry done, change clothes. And then I would disappear again for a while. Go on tour.” ELIZABETH TURNER is a Los Angeles–based freelance writer who spent the ’80s as a teenager in Southern California. She once jumped into the mosh pit at a Damned show at the Santa Monica Civic. She never tried that again.
Mötley Crue's Nikki Sixx
APRIL 1982
ELECTRA A&R MAN
T O M Z U TA U T takes notice of a large crowd of kids trying to gain entrance to the Whisky a Go Go. The marquee reads “Mötley Crüe Sold Out.” Just across the street, Zutaut sees a Mötley Crüe-themed window display at record shop Licorice Pizza. Crüe becomes the first glam metal band to get signed to a record deal.
THE DETECTIVE WITH A PAST
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Killer COUPLE
IN THE SUMMER of 1980, Carol Bundy assists her necrophiliac boyfriend, Doug Clark, in the murder of at least five women around the Strip. Bundy later tells police, “The honest truth is…it’s fun to kill people. It’s kind of fun, like riding a roller coaster.”
on the
GERMICIDE
ON DECEMBER 7, 1 9 8 0 , just four days after a packed Germs reunion show at the Starwood, frontman Darby Crash intentionally overdoses on heroin, killing himself at age 22.
GUNS & R O SES L.A. GU W IT
NS PLAIN JAN IA L
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RESPONSIBLE F O R T H E I R OW N P R O M O T I O N , early ’80s bands turn “flyering” into a competitive sport. Musicians hang outside clubs to hand out flyers advertising their next gig. Telephone poles, walls, and even trees are thickly papered with DIY promo material, and bands routinely tear down the flyers of competing acts.
9 PM
PI ò 22 N . T H E C O M B I N AT I O N O F A N A R C O T I C such as heroin and the stimulant cocaine mixed together and injected together in a single shot. It was a speedball that killed John Belushi.
1 8 9 1 Y R A U R B FE THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION,
P E N E LO P E S P H E E R I S ’ H Y P E R - R AW D O C U M E N TA RY profiling L.A.’s punk rock scene—including live shows by bands X, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, and FEAR— debuts, shocking audiences and wowing critics. More people showed up for the midnight screening than the 1,200-seat theater in Hollywood could hold. Police arrived to keep the peace, and a second screening was quickly added.
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/?$9ĕ 2ZP$& DIES OF A HEROIN AND COCAINE overdose in Bungalow 3 at the Chateau Marmont. His last meal is said to be lentil soup, eaten at the nearby Rainbow Bar & Grill.
3|5|82
PHOTOGRAPHY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/STRINGER; SURDIN PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; AF ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; EDWARD COLVER
POST MO' BILLS
PHOTOGRAPHY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): STAFF; TREKANDSHOOT/ISTOCK; RENEE KEITH; FRANCK CAMHI; EVERETT COLLECTION INC/ALAMY; PROCURATOR/ISTOCK
Whisky
WOLFGANG PUCK
OPENS THE ORIGINAL S PAG O on the Sunset Strip (at Horn Avenue), ushering in the era of California cuisine. Menu prices in the early days range from $11.50 to $15 per entrée.
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1982 RICHARD PRYOR’S LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP wins a Grammy for Best Comedy Recording. In the legendary set recorded at the Hollywood Palladium, Pryor talks frankly about the time he set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine.
A GONE GONE
I N R E S P O N S E to a tough economy and tougher competition from an influx of new clubs, the Whisky closes its doors to live shows in September 1982. (It reintroduces steady live shows in 1986.)
MARCH 1982
B E AU T Y A N D T H E B E AT, the debut album of hometown heroines the Go-Go’s, hits No. 1 on national music charts.
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
ROCK & ROLL WEDDING
S H O R T LY A F T E R T H E W H I S K Y S H U T T E R S I N 1 9 8 2 , Billy Zoom, guitarist for the punk band X, marries his sweetheart, Denise, at a private wedding ceremony on the stage of the Whisky a Go Go. Ray Manzarek of The Doors fame plays “Here Comes the Bride” on keyboard. (Manzarek produced the first four X albums.)
L E A D I N G T O T H E J U LY 1 9 8 1 M A S S AC R E known as the Wonderland Murders, porn star John Holmes, allegedly strung out on cocaine and desperate for cash, helps four drug dealers rob another dealer, Starwood club owner Eddie Nash. Nash figures out what happened and, so the story goes, forces Holmes to help him retaliate, resulting in the bludgeoning death of the Wonderland crew. The Starwood gets shut down.
DOWN AND DIRTY W H E N N O T AT T H E C L U B S , metal rockers do much of their socializing at strip clubs such as The Body Shop, the Sunset Strip’s only all-nude club, and the Hollywood Tropicana, the mud-wrestling mecca located south of Sunset on Western.
hair metal
N . ( A LT. G L A M M E TA L ) : band that plays hard rock or heavy metal, whose performers typically have long, teased-out hair. The Sunset Strip in the early ’80s was ground zero for the hair metal genre.
THE REPORTERS ON THE SCENE
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CHILD DARK STARS
Recent designer collections flash back to the rock rebels of the early ’80s, when moto jackets, leather, tight pants, and tattoos replaced bell bottoms and brights.
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GLAM M E TA L
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C O M B AT BOOTS
L E AT H E R & S P I K E S
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OV E R S I Z E D CROSSES
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FINGERLESS G L OV E S
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GIRLS & G U I TA R S
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SEXY SLEEK
J O H N VA R VAT O S TA K E S C O O L T O T H E E D G E
PIERCINGS
The looks of punk, glam metal, and girl rockers proved a stark contrast to the bubblegum colors, aerobics wear, and fluffy curls of the time.
THE CLASH
When The Clash came onto the music scene, they brought their edgy UK style with them. From leather to denim to body-hugging suits, the band members were always evolving their cool style. The John Varvatos 2016 Spring Menswear collection picked up on the sleek look with black and white suit separates and finished off with shades, bandanna, big black boots, and tattoos.
PHOTOGRAPHY (CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT IN BOX): PICTORIAL PRESS LTD/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; BOGDAN KOPANIA; LUKA LAJST; HEMERA TECHNOLOGIES; SETHISLAV/ISTOCK ; LEV DOLGACHOV; GEORGEDOLGIKH/ISTOCK; K2FROST/ISTOCK. (TOP): LARRY HULST
BY KAT H RY N M C R I TC H I E
J OA N J E T T
Known for leather jumpsuits, moto jackets, heavy eye makeup, and shaggy hairstyles, Joan Jett was one of the most influential women in music in the 1980s. With models walking the runway in patent leather jackets and tight skinny pants, Alexandre Vauthier’s Fall 2015 Couture collection appears to have taken some cues from the star.
ROCKER CHIC
MADONNA
Music’s superstar chameleon, Madonna, erupted onto the scene in the early ’80s, inspiring millions with her edgy street vibe, fingerless gloves, black-stacked rubber bracelets, and lingerie-as-outerwear look. The Atelier Versace Spring 2015 Couture collection seemed to channel the style icon with sheer panels, cutouts, and bustiers.
LEATHER & LUST MATERIAL GIRL DSQUARED2 ROCKS WILD STYLE
B U S T I E R S A N D C O R S E T S TA K E S H A P E AT AT E L I E R V E R S AC E
PHOTOGRAPHY (TOP ROW); MARK WEISS; PYMCA/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; JULIAN WASSER/LIAISON/GETTY IMAGES
BIKER MEETS GLAM AT A L E X A N D R E VA U T H I E R
B I L LY I D O L
Billy Idol’s solo punk rock star career kicked off in 1981 and his leather-studded belts, vests, black boots, attitude, and tattooed style quickly became his signature. Models with all the elements of Idol’s superstar look, studs, skin, and swagger—minus the guitar— strutted Dsquared2’s Fall-Winter 2015 Menswear runway.
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IN 1982, THE SUNSET STRIP WAS KILLER
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