The Dead Boys are an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist

Stiv Bators Steven John Bator (October 22, 1949 – June 4, 1990), known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and the L ...

, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer

Johnny Blitz John Madansky, known as Johnny Blitz, is a punk rock drummer from Cleveland, Ohio, best known as being a member of the bands Dead Boys and Rocket From The Tombs. As a member of the Dead Boys, he helped pioneer the punk rock sound, look and attit ...

in 1975, with the latter two having splintered from the band

Rocket from the Tombs Rocket from the Tombs (or RFTT) is an American rock band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band featured David Thomas and was reconstituted several times with various line-ups starting in 2003. ...

. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums, '' Young, Loud and Snotty'', and '' We Have Come for Your Children''. The Dead Boys were initially active from 1975 to 1980, briefly reuniting a few times in the mid-1980s, and then later again in 2004 and 2005 for the first time without Bators, who had died in 1990. In September 2017, Chrome and Blitz reunited the band with a new line-up for a 40th anniversary tour along with a new album, '' Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40'', a re-recording of their debut album. This lineup included vocalist Jake Hout, guitarist Jason "Ginchy" Kottwitz and bassist Ricky Rat, alongside Chrome and Blitz. Hout quit in November 2024 over plans for a new Dead Boys album with an AI-synthesized Bators vocal.

History

Formation and 1970s punk rock era

Chrome and Blitz joined Cleveland proto-punk band

Rocket From The Tombs Rocket from the Tombs (or RFTT) is an American rock band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band featured David Thomas and was reconstituted several times with various line-ups starting in 2003. ...

in late 1974. Chrome invited his friend Steve Bator (a.k.a. Stiv Bators) on stage to sing a few songs at a show in August 1975. This caused most of the other band members to walk off stage and they broke up. Shortly thereafter Bators, Chrome and Blitz recruited Magnum and Zero to form Frankenstein who recorded demos in October but they broke up in January 1976. When the band members relocated to New York City in July 1976, they adopted the Dead Boys moniker which came from a line in the RFTT song "Down in Flames". Moving to New York City at the encouragement of

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...

, the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

' lead singer, the Dead Boys quickly gained notoriety for their outrageous live performances. Lewd gestures and profanity were the norm. They frequently played at the rock club

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

(the band was briefly managed by club owner

Hilly Kristal Hillel Kristal (September 23, 1931August 28, 2007) was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute. Early years Kristal was born in ...

) and in 1977 they released their debut album, '' Young, Loud and Snotty'', produced by

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock music, rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Early life Genyusha Zel ...

. Their song "

Sonic Reducer "Sonic Reducer" is a punk rock song written by Cheetah Chrome and David Thomas during their tenure in Rocket from the Tombs, which made its recorded debut on the Dead Boys 1977 album '' Young, Loud and Snotty'' with a change of lyrics that were ...

" is often regarded as one of the classics of the punk genre, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

calling it "one of punk's great anthems." Their second album, '' We Have Come for Your Children'', produced by

Felix Pappalardi Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass violin, bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain (band), Mountain, whose ...

, was recorded in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in early 1978 and released later that year.

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

pressured the group to change their look and sound to appeal more to the U.S. mainstream (which had yet to embrace punk on the level seen in the UK) and this contributed to Dead Boys breaking up in 1979. Shortly after returning from Miami, Johnny Blitz and a group of his friends got into an altercation on Second Avenue in Manhattan which led to Blitz being stabbed in the chest five times. While he was recovering in the hospital, a benefit was held for him at which the Dead Boys performed with

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

and former

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

and

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later formed the He ...

the Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers (sometimes referred to as "Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers) were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jer ...

drummer

Jerry Nolan Gerard Nolan (May 7, 1946 – January 14, 1992) was an American rock drummer, best known for his work with the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers. Career A native of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Nolan joined the New York Dolls in the autumn of ...

filling in for Blitz on drums. Several 1979 performances were featured in the 1980 film, '' D.O.A.''. A few months after the breakup, the band had to reunite to record a live album and thus fulfill their contractual obligations. To exact revenge on the label, Bators purposely sang off mic and the resulting recording was unusable. When the material eventually surfaced on Bomp! Records, Bators had re-recorded the vocals in a studio. They booked a 1979 - 80 tour but Magnum, then Chrome, Blitz and finally Zero left, leaving Bators as the only original member. He recorded his first solo album with the final (until later reunions) Dead Boys lineup.

Bators' and Chrome's subsequent careers

in 1979, Bators recorded some singles including a cover of "

It's Cold Outside "It's Cold Outside" is a song by the American garage rock band the Choir, written by member Dann Klawon, and first released on Canadian-American Records in September 1966. It was later re-released in 1967 on Roulette, with Dann's last name inco ...

" by the Choir and a solo album, '' Disconnected'', for BOMP! Records. Bators later joined the Wanderers with former members of

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, ac ...

and shortly thereafter formed Lords of the New Church with Brian James from The Damned and Dave Tregunna from

. They released several albums on

IRS Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave music, n ...

, including the keyboard-laden hit single "Open Your Eyes" and a cover of " Like a Virgin". After the Dead Boys dissolved, Cheetah Chrome played around New York City (mostly at

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists, and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Dece ...

) doing shows with The Stilettos as well as his own band Cheetah Chrome and the Casualties. He recorded a single for ORK Records, "Still Wanna Die" / "Take Me Home", recorded with Atlantic Records co-founder

Herb Abramson Herbert Charles Abramson (November 16, 1916 – November 9, 1999) was an American record executive, record producer, and co-founder of Atlantic Records. Life and career Abramson was born in 1916 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. He studied to be a ...

. Shortly thereafter, he played on

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". ...

's debut solo album ''Siren''. He appeared on several recordings during the 1980s, and rejoined the Dead Boys for their ill-fated reunions of the late 1980s. In 2003, after the release of ''The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs'', Chrome reformed

with David Thomas, Craig Bell, with Steve Mehlman (

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...

) on drums and Richard Lloyd (Television) replacing the late

Peter Laughner Peter Laughner (August 22, 1952 – June 22, 1977) was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer. A native of Bay Village, Ohio, Laughner was described by Richie Unterberger as "probably the single biggest catalyst in the birth of Clevel ...

. This reincarnation of the group toured in 2003 and 2006. In summer 2003, they entered the studio to record some of the band's old material for the first time. The recordings were released as ''Rocket Redux''. In 2005, the members of Rocket from the Tombs flew to Germany to headline one night (

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

headlined the other) of the International Punk Kongress in Kassel; then, in 2006, they reconvened in Cleveland, Ohio to write material for a new record. This material became the single "I Sell Soul"/"Romeo and Juliet", released in 2010, and the full-length album ''Barfly'', released in 2011. In early 2010, Chrome formed a short lived band called Batusis with Syl Sylvain of the

. They recorded at least 10 songs but released only four on an EP. In September 2010, ''Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy's Tale from the Front Lines of Punk Rock'' was published. At the end of a week-long Rocket from the Tomb tour in December 2011, Chrome announced to the band that he had decided to stop touring extensively after 2012. He currently works for Plowboy Records in Nashville, TN, mainly in production and promotion.

Reformation, death of Bators, 40th anniversary tour

The Dead Boys reformed for several gigs in the 1980s. They re-released their first album as ''Younger, Louder and Snottier'' in 1989, mastered from a cassette tape of rough mixes, attributed to a young

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born Chiaramonte, January 15, 1953) is an American mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan A ...

, a studio assistant at the time. In June 1990, Bators died in France due to injuries sustained after having been hit by a taxi. In September 2004, the remaining members of the band re-formed for a one-off gig in Cleveland. In 2005, they played a benefit show for CBGB and another reunion show on Halloween. On April 25, 2017, Chrome and Blitz played six shows in Canada as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of ''Young, Loud and Snotty''. The band played the record in its entirety. Chrome and Blitz then announced in 2017 that the band would go on a full reunion tour. On September 8, 2017, '' Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40'' was released. The album is a re-recording of their debut album and the first studio album by the Dead Boys in 39 years. Along with Chrome and Blitz, the tour and album featured Jason "Ginchy" Kottwitz (Bulemics, Sylvain Sylvain and the Sylvains, Cheetah Chrome solo band) on guitar, Ricky Rat (Trash Brats) on bass, and vocalist Jake Hout from zombie-themed Dead Boys tribute band the Undead Boys. Chrome said of the tour "(w)ith the 40th anniversary of the Dead Boys on the horizon and a solid band that could interpret and deliver the performance and sound needed to maintain the authenticity of the Dead Boys, I reached out to Johnny Blitz about an anniversary tour and he said yes and we began the journey of what would become Still Snotty. I've been singing the Dead Boys songs myself for 20 years because I couldn't find another singer I trusted enough to hand it to. The first gig with Jake, it was like, 'You got it, man!' I think Stiv would be very proud of our choice." A photobook, ''Dead Boys 1977: The Lost Photographs of Dave Treat'', was also released on September 29, 2017.

In popular culture

In 2013, the American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film ''

'' about the former New York music venue of the same name was released. Bators is portrayed by actor

Justin Bartha Justin Lee Bartha (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. In film, Bartha has played Riley Poole in the ''National Treasure'' film series and Doug Billings in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. His television roles include David Sawyer in the NBC c ...

, best known for his roles in ''

The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, H ...

'' films and the ''

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

'' films, while

Rupert Grint Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (; born 24 August 1988) is an English actor. He rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays and ...

, best known for his work in the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' film series as

Ron Weasley Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. ...

, portrays Cheetah Chrome. Chrome also makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Members

Current members * Cheetah Chrome (Gene O'Connor) –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(1976–1979, 1987, 2004–2005, 2017–present),

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(2004–2005) * Mark Thorn –

(2025–present) *Scott Churilla –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2019-present) *Monk Burris – rhythm guitar (2019-present) *Sam Hariss – bass (2023-present) Former members *

(Steve Bator) – vocals (1976–1979, 1987) *

(John Madansky) –

(1976–1979, 1987, 2004–2005, 2017–2019) * Jimmy Zero (William Wilden) – rhythm guitar (1976–1979, 1987, 2004–2005) *Jeff Magnum (Jeff Halmagy) – bass (1976–1979, 1987, 2004–2005) * Jason "Ginchy" Kottwitz –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

(2017–2019) * Ricky Rat –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(2017–2019) * Jake Hout –

(2017–2024)

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Young, Loud and Snotty'' (1977,

) *'' We Have Come for Your Children'' (1978, Sire) * '' Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40'' (2017, Plowboy Records) **Re-recording of ''Young Loud and Snotty''

Alternate mix albums

*''Younger, Louder and Snottier'' (1997, Bomp!) **Original rough mixes of ''Young, Loud and Snotty'' *''3rd Generation Nation'' (1999, Bad Boy Production) **Premix of ''We Have Come for Your Children''

Live albums

*'' Night of the Living Dead Boys'' (1981, Bomp! Records) *''The Return of the Living Dead Boys'' (1987, Revenge Records) (Import/France) **Recorded July 22, 1977 at CBGB *''Liver Than You'll Ever Be'' (1988, Various Labels) (Import/Various) **Recorded December 26, 1987 at the Ritz, NYC *''Twistin' on the Devil's Fork: Live At CBGB's'' (1998, Hell Yeah Records /

Bacchus Records In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

) **Recorded October 2, 1977 and August 31, 1978 at CBGB *''All This and More'' (1998, Bomp!) **Recorded in 1977, November 1 in San Francisco and August 7, 22 and April 7 at CBGB

Singles

7" singles

" (1977, Sire) *"Tell Me" (1978, Sire) *"Search and Destroy" (1979, live, Revenge) (Import/France) *"Buried Gems" (2000, Cold Front Records)

12" singles

*"All The Way Down/Nights Are So Long" (1987,

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his vinyl record shop, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metropolitan New York City. The IRD distribution name was later known as RED Distribution and ag ...

8165) (never released on CD)

Video albums

*''Return Of The Living Dead Boys! Halloween Night 1986'' (2008, MVD Visual) *''Live At CBGB's 1977'' (2009, MVD Visual)