JEFFREY LEE PIERCE 1961-1996
JEFFREY LEE PIERCE, founder of seminal '80s blues-punk band The Gun Club, died from a blood clot on the brain in Utah, Colorado on Sunday, March 31 1996. Pierce was there to visit his father who
was hospitalised with a stroke.
Formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, The Gun Club featured Pierce and guitarist Kid Congo Powers; their sound explored the dark side of the delta blues and their set included a version of Robert Johnson's 'Preaching The Blues'. Their debut album featured the spectacular 'Sex Beat'. Powers defected to The Cramps to replace Bryan Gregory and The Gun Club continued to record for Blondie man Chris Stein's Animal Records.
Pierce, a dynamic frontman and guitarist, was beset by drug and alcohol problems which, in time, took their toll. He gained weight and, in 1985, disbanded the group to launch a solo career. He later reformed the band for three further albums, including the acclaimed 'Divinity'.
There was a self-obsessed, self-pitying and self-destructive side to Pierce that was unpleasant to behold, probably brought about by his years of heroin addiction, but he was also a ferocious and talented musician and when he applied himself wholly to the music, he transcended everything else.
Prior to his death, Pierce had been clean and planning a move to New York to assemble a new band. |
