Gun Club: Biography

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• Discography
• Biography
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• Sister Double Happiness
• X
• The Weirdos
• Divine Horsemen
• Charlie Pickett
• Flesh Eaters
• The Cramps

• Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Johnny Cash
• Howlin' Wolf
• Robert Johnson
• Charley Patton
• Bo Diddley
• Charlie Feathers

• The Deadly Snakes
• Sons and Daughters
• Starvations
• The Von Bondies
• Lucid Nation
• The Flaming Stars
• Tito & Tarantula

• Congo Norvell
• Legal Weapon
• The Barracudas
• The Sisters of Mercy
• Jeffrey Lee Pierce
• The Pontiac Brothers
• The Cramps

Formed:

Jan 1, 1980 in Los Angeles, CA

Disbanded:

Jan 1, 1996

Genres:

Rock Music, Alternative Rock Music, Metal Rock Music

Decades Active:

1980's|1990's

Artistic Quality

Medium

Cultural Impact

Low

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

Tribal, psychobilly blues is the best way to describe Gun Club's energetic death rock, but the band's career seemed doomed from the get-go due to leader Jeffrey Lee Pierce's reputation as an unreliable wildman, and well-publicized bouts of drunkenness dogged him throughout his career. Formed in Los Angeles in the early '80s, the band were vaguely aligned with similarly roots-inspired groups like X and the Blasters, but later picked up and relocated to the Lower Eastside, resting more comfortably around the New York, downtown set and Pierce's mentors, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein.

Their 1981 debut, Fire of Love, was a punk/blues hybrid -- intense energy fueled Pierce's exorcism-in-progress delivery and the band's (Ward Dotson; guitar, Rob Ritter; bass and Terry Graham; drums) frenetic style. 1982's Miami had the band allied with Blondie's Stein at the boards. Pierce had once been the president of Blondie's U.S. fanclub which sparked the liaison. 1985's EP, Death Party is a swingin' piece of punkabilly with Dee Pop on drums and Jim Duckworth of Panther Burns on guitar. For Las Vegas Story in 1984, the Club won over guitarist Kid Congo Powers from the Cramps and Patricia Morrison (the Bags) on bass and it looked as if that was that when, save for some live recordings and posthumous releases, Pierce launched his solo career in 1985 with the EP Flamingo and Wildweed album for the Statick label. But it wasn't quite over; in 1987 Pierce came back with a realigned Club and the album, Mother Juno (Fundamental) which earned them a wider following than ever. In 1996, after drying-out, but suffering from persistent health problems, Pierce passed away from a brain hemorrhage. Morrison went on to play with Sisters of Mercy, Powers in his own lounge group and Dotson formed the Pontiac Brothers.

- Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide