| Teenage Head | |
|---|---|
Teenage Head in concert at the 2008 Friendship Festival in Fort Erie, ON |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Punk rock, garage rock |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Associated acts | Marky Ramone |
| Website | teenagehead.ca |
| Members | |
| Gord Lewis Steve Marshall Jack Pedler Pete MacAulay |
|
| Past members | |
| Frankie Venom (Kerr) Nick Stipanitz Mark Lockerbie Dave Desroches |
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Teenage Head is a Canadian rock group from Hamilton, Ontario[1] and was one of the most popular Canadian punk rock bands during the early 1980s.
Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, the group was formed by Frankie Venom (Frank Kerr), Gord Lewis, Steve Mahon and Nick Stipanitz. Stipanitz has since been replaced by Jack Pedler, and Venom died of cancer on October 15, 2008.
Contents |
Teenage Head was formed in 1975 when the band members were students at Westdale High School in Hamilton, Ontario.[2] By May 1978, they released their first single "Picture My Face" on Epic Records, and their self-titled debut, Teenage Head, followed a year later.
The band would also make an appearance at the infamous concert The Last Pogo in 1978 at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario, which ended in a riot. The concert was made into a short film by Colin Brunton; in 2006, Brunton began a feature-length doc about the concert, and includes interviews and footage of Teenage Head. It was released on DVD in 2008 as a tribute to the late Frankie Venom.[3]
1980's Frantic City was the band's breakthrough album, making them stars across Canada with the hit singles "Let's Shake" and "Somethin' On My Mind". They toured to support that album, including opening the major Heatwave festival in August. In June 1980 their performance at Toronto's Ontario Place sparked a riot. The incident made headlines across the country, and led Ontario Place to ban rock concerts for several years afterward.[4]
In September 1980, riding high on the success of Frantic City and the band's unintended notoriety, Attic Records, their Canadian label, set up a series of showcase gigs in New York City, hoping to attract a US record deal. Only a few days before their scheduled departure, Lewis was seriously injured in a car accident and the showcase was cancelled. Lewis was temporarily replaced by David Bendeth, although he was able to return in time to play on the 1982 album Some Kinda Fun, which was another success.
Their 1983 record Tornado was marked by controversy, with the band's American label M.C.A. demanding that they change their name to Teenage Heads to placate the more conservative American audience.[5] The title track proved to be the band's last big hit in Canada.
During this time the band appeared, as themselves, in the campy B-movie Class of 1984 (starring fellow Canadian Michael J. Fox) and performed "Ain't Got No Sense".
In 1985 after the release of Trouble in the Jungle, Venom was replaced by Dave Desroches, who led the band for three years before departing to form his own band, The Dave Rave Conspiracy. Venom eventually rejoined the band in 1988, but Stipanitz would be replaced by Mark Lockerbie,who would play on the 1996 album "Head Disorder". Lockerbie was in turn replaced by Jack Pedler.
In 2003, the band recorded a host of previously released material with Ramones drummer Marky Ramone at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton and Metalworks Studios in Toronto with well known Ramones producer, Daniel Rey. The resulting album was released in Canada on April 22, 2008, titled Teenage Head with Marky Ramone.[6]
In the spring of 2007, Teenage Head would play their first dates out west (Alberta and BC) for the first time in more than ten years. They would return again in the spring of 2008.
On October 15, 2008, Gord Lewis announced that Frankie Venom had died following a battle with throat cancer.[7]
The remaining members of the bands continued to perform after Frankie's death playing a tribute show for him, and performing at the 2008 Hamilton Music Awards.[8]
In 2011, long time fan and music store owner Pete MacAulay joined the band as the new singer, to "take Frankie's space, not his place".[9]
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada (RPM) |
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| 1978 | "Picture My Face" | Teenage Head | |
| 1978 | "Top Down" | Non-LP re-recording of a song originally from Teenage Head | |
| 1980 | "Somethin' On My Mind" |
|
Frantic City |
| 1980 | "Let's Shake" |
|
Non-LP re-recording of a song originally from Frantic City |
| 1982 | "Some Kinda Fun" |
|
Some Kinda Fun |
| 1982 | "Let's Go To Hawaii" | ||
| 1983 | "Tornado" (as Teenage Heads) |
|
Tornado (EP) |
| 1983 | "Blood Boogie" (as Teenage Heads) | ||
| 1984 | "Top Down" (live version) | Endless Party | |
| 1985 | "Frantic Romantic" | Trouble In The Jungle | |
| 1987 | "Can't Stop Shakin'" | Electric Guitar | |
| 1988 | "Everybody Needs Somebody" |