They were formed in 1972 from the ashes of previous band Actress by David Johansen (vocals), Johnny Thunders (guitar/vocals), Arthur Kane (bass), Sylvain Sylvain (guitar) and Jerry Nolan (drums). From the outset they quickly gained notoriety for a their glam-rock image which also involved cross-dressing, and an equally trashy take on rock 'n' roll that was influenced mainly by the Rolling Stones, the Stooges and old blues musicians such as Sonny Boy Williamson.
Their debut album is now regarded as a classic landmark in the history of rock, but did not meet with success when initially released in 1973. Packed full of attitude, charisma and tales of urban street hassles, their 'wasted' chic, coupled with a growing reputation for drugs and general rock 'n' roll excess, saw them labelled as untouchable by most within the music industry,
The follow up album, 'Too Much Too Soon' was recorded with 60's girl group producer Shadow Morton, adding a more mainstream pop flavour to the Dolls' hard-edged rock sound, but was poorly received by the music press, leading to dissent within the band and ultimately their demise.
Following a clumsy attempt by later Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McClaren to shape the band into a Communist sympathising rock 'n' roll band, they split in the middle of a tour, with Thunders and Nolan allegedly returning to New York from Florida because they had run out of drugs and didn't know where to get more. Sylvain continued alongside Johansen for one last tour of Japan before the New York Dolls name was finally put to rest.
Johansen's solo releases drifted from rock into easy listening and showtunes under the name Buster Poindexter, before finally returning to his blues roots in the late 90's. Thunders and Nolan formed the Heartbreakers who achieved a degree of further notoriety on the ill-fated Sex Pistols Anarchy Tour in the UK at the height of punk. Sylvain released occasional solo material displaying a keen sense of melody and was often overlooked in favour of Thunders as being part of the influential sound the Dolls passed on to younger generations. Arthur Kane was already a notorious alcoholic by the time the band had ended (one story included a virtually unconscious Kane miming in front of his amplifier for an entire set, whilst a Dolls roadie played the bass from behind the speakers, with Kane oblivious to this throughout the performance), and was spotted on the occasional recording such as a single by The Idols in 1979 called 'Girl That I Love' (also featuring Nolan).
The tragedy of Thunders (long expected) death from drug related causes in 1991 was further deepened when Nolan suffered a fatal stroke in the following 12 months, but their legacy remains astounding considering the Dolls only existed for 3 years as a fully performing unit. Many posthumous releases have appeared as a result of this, ranging from studio demos never intended for release, to sub-bootleg quality live recordings from their ill-fated final tour.
Interesting fact: Morrissey from the Smiths was once in charge of running the UK arm of the New York Dolls fan club . . .
IF YOU LIKED THESE, YOU'LL LIKE NEW YORK DOLLS: Johnny Thunders, Hanoi Rocks, Guns n' Roses, Sex Pistols, Dead Boys, Iggy & the Stooges, Manic Street Preachers, Placebo, David Bowie, The Strokes, Mott the Hoople, The Replacements, The Ramones, Alice Cooper, Velvet Underground,
Hollywood Brats, Michael Monroe, Andy McCoy, Stiv Bators, Lords of the New Church .