04/08/2025
Remembering the Berlin morning that we spent with Richard Hell as part of a Spex magazine article. The interviewer was trying really hard to push everyone to talk about punk history and fashion.
Some highlights/lowlights:
Franklin: What am I supposed to talk to him about? I don’t know anything about punk…
Lee: I don’t think he does either…
Richard Hell and FJF proceed to spend the entire photoshoot talking about their love of New York and literature.
Interviewer: How important is the idea of making noise with a guitar to you?
RH: I’ve always loved powerful guitars. And I had the luck to play with three of the best guitarists of my time: Tom Verlaine, Johnny Thunders, and Robert Quine. They were different, but all three appreciated chaos—Quine probably the most. He loved Albert Ayler, free jazz, and raw, deranged rockabilly. James Burton and Johnny Burnette inspired his simple guitar playing—not to mention Link Wray. (To Lee) What are your roots?
LEE: My inspirations come from all over. But perhaps The Stooges and Sonic Youth were the most important to me when I started learning guitar—and also started deconstructing how to play guitar at the same time.
RH: That machine-like sound, like the sound of an industrial machine...
FJF: I don’t play much guitar myself anymore
Interviewer asks about punk fashion and safety pins…
RH: Generally speaking, I wanted to look on the outside the way I felt inside. And that was mainly torn. Less generally speaking, I really have to go now. My girlfriend has organized a tour to the Wall Memorial.
