Relocating to New York in 1977, their debut album 'Young, Loud and Snotty' was one of the earliest US punk records to be released, and included the single 'Sonic Reducer'. Their adrenaline fuelled rock 'n' roll with snarling vocal delivery ensured the album would remain a favourite for successive generations of U.S. punk fans. To promote the album they toured with their hero, Iggy Pop, in the US, and the Damned in the UK, but sales at home were disappointing as the UK punk explosion had not yet broken into the mainstream in the States.
The 1978 Follow up, 'We Have Come For Your Children' suffered slightly from a slicker production (their original choice for producer, Lou Reed, might have proved interesting . . ), and although the band were gaining confidence in songwriting, their edge seemed to have been lost a little. To make matters worse, they were unable to tour at this time due to Johnny Biltz being almost killed during a mugging incident. Within two years the band had decided to split, as they were being pressurised by their label to completely change their image and sound. A live album, 'Night of the Living Dead Boys' was released posthumously.
Bators went on to record solo projects and even tried acting before forming Lords of the New Church with Brian James (ex-Damned) and Dave Tregunna (ex-Sham 69), although the band frequently reunited for one-off gigs and the occasional release such as single 'All The Way Down' on Relativity Records in 1987. What came to the fore after the Dead Boys demise was Stiv's love for 60's garage, which was an influence only detectable in the Dead Boys through their choice of cover versions.
Stiv Bators was still actively recording when hit by a car in Paris, June 1990, dying from his injuries. Members of the band, along with ex-Stooges performed a tribute gig under the name Dark Carnival, which was recorded for posterity and later released as a live album.
Both before and after his death, Stiv and the Dead Boys legacy has been recognised by many artists. New York Doll Johnny Thunders worked with him as a kindred spirit, and ex-Hanoi Rocks vocalist Michael Monroe has often performed cover versions of Dead Boys songs, most notably 'Ain't Nothin' To Do' on his Demolition 23 album. Pearl Jam have also covered Dead Boys songs, and Axl Rose has cited them as an influence - Guns n' Roses took 'Ain't It Fun' into the charts when the song was lifted from their 'Spaghetti Incident' album and released as a single.
For a band with such a short lifespan, there have been numerous posthumous albums issued, although potential buyers should be wary of the large number of sub-bootleg quality live albums that have appeared, particularly on the French based Revenge Record label.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE THE DEAD BOYS: Iggy & the Stooges, Sex Pistols, MC5, The Damned, Guns n' Roses, Green Day, Hanoi Rocks, The Vibrators, The Ramones, Suicide, The Toilet Boys, New York Dolls.