The New York Dolls were ahead of their time. They combined the raw energy and anarchy of Iggy Pop and Lou Read to create a sight and sound never before heard, and would soon be copied world wide. Yes it is true, The New York Dolls as early as 1972, created and paved the way for Punk Rock and eventually the Punk Explosion of 1977!
In 1974 Malcolm Maclaren was in a small NYC club called CBGB's. He saw a band that would inspire him to create the Sex Pistols! He saw the New York Dolls and was so impressed with their raw sound, he went back home to try to create a spin off of the Dolls.
He manufactured a band that would also change history, the Sex Pistols. The pistols were hand picked by Malcolm. But they just couldn't seem to get it right at first. So Malcolm brought the New York Dolls to England to play with the Pistols. They even cut some vinyl together. Great stuff BTW! And so after playing with the New York Dolls the Pistols proceeded to further evolve Punk and raise it up another 10 notches! Malcolm was pleased.
A lot of people, especially older punks, knew about the Dolls/Pistols connection, but few knew about the Malcolm Maclaren/Dolls connection, and who say who first! The proof is in the vinyls! Listen to the Dolls early stuff (1973-74), observe their stage antics. There can be no doubt that the NY Dolls ushered in Punk!
There is no denying that the Sex Pistols took punk to the next level! Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten made Punk a household name around the world. The Dolls provided some of the basic elements, but after the Pistols played with those elements, they truly improved on it to the point of contributing to the biggest musical explosion in the history of Rock & Roll, the Punk Explosion was rock's big bang! Even bigger then the British invasion! It was a multi country invasion, a world war! We are still feeling the effects of it now!
I was very lucky to be there from the start of it all. I remember the NY Dolls when they first came out. Naturally being a Lou Reed fan I took to them quick. Then came the Ramones, Pistols, and hundreds of other really good punk bands! It was a wonderful experience. One I will never forget. We knew it was big, but had no idea how big it really was. I miss the vinyl days. Punk bands would release a LP and also several EP's! It was a great moment in Rock's history!
Johnny Rotten screamed NO FUTURE! But the more sensible Ian Kevin Curtis from Joy Division asked, "where will it end?" It ended for him on May 18th 1980. He killed himself. Suffering from epileptic and depression he just couldn't take any more. His music and lyrics live on!
Further reading, google it, thee is a ton of stuff out there!
