10 Forgotten 1970s Punk Albums You Need To Hear
9. Teenage Head – Teenage Head (1979)
Despite their highly provocative name (actually a reference to the 1971 album by The Flamin’ Groovies), this band from Hamilton near Toronto, Canada, were quickly signed by the major label Epic and seemed set for stardom. They gained notoriety when their December 1978 gig at The Last Pogo concert in Toronto ended in a riot which made national news, and they achieved some impressive sales figures (their second album Frantic City (1980) went Gold), but still ended up almost entirely left out of the history of North American punk.
This debut album mixes a 1950s rock ‘n’ roll feel with the speed of Ramones and the swagger of New York Dolls, and is packed with some seriously memorable songs including Ain’t Got No Sense, and their first single Picture My Face. After the success of their second album, a series of shows were arranged in New York to try and secure a US record deal, but their guitarist Gord Lewis was seriously injured in a car accident just a few days before they were due to set off.
Their last proper studio album was released in 1996 and the band continued in various forms throughout the 2000s. Lead singer Frankie Venom died from throat cancer in 2008 and fans were shocked to learn of the murder of Gord Lewis by his son in August 2022.