- "The recorded history of Suicide, whether live or in the studio, is that of two extremely dedicated artists who saw it as their mission to not only make the next one but make it different. This is a great way to miss meals and rent. It's also what the real thing often demands. Vega and Rev always put the art first."—From Henry Rollins' liner notes for the compilation album Surrender
From the name you'd probably assume they're a Heavy Metal band note . But, in fact, Suicide has been an incredibly influential electronic Proto-Punk band. Besides the fact that they were the first to use the phrase "punk music" to advertise one of their concerts way back in 1970, their "synthpunk" style proved to be an enormous influence on Synth-Pop, Techno, Industrial and many other electronics-based styles.
Suicide was formed back in 1970 by artist-turned-vocalist Alan Vega and multi-instrumentalist Martin Rev. After gaining some attention for their confrontational antics in concerts, they finally got around to releasing their first album Suicide in 1977. At this point, their sound was largely defined by Vega's Rockabilly-styled, creepy vocals and Rev's minimal arrangements, which consisted of primitive drum machines and simple, endlessly repetitive keyboard riffs, played initially on a beaten-up Farfisa organ before he could actually afford a synth. During this time they also released a famous live recording, 23 Minutes Over Brussels, which showed a Suicide concert degenerating into a riot.
By the time of their second Self-Titled Album in 1980, they hooked up with Ric Ocasek of The Cars as a Record Producer. Consequently, their second album was slightly more accessible and Synth-Pop-oriented than their nightmarish debut. Afterwards, Suicide lay dormant for a long time as Vega and Rev released solo albums - the most high-profile thing Vega did in this period was to contribute to The Sisterhood's album Gift. During their long hiatus they began to be recognized as an important influence on electronic and Alternative Rock music, and they came together every once in a while to release new albums.
Beside heavily influencing electronic music, Suicide have also had a major influence on various rock artists as varied as Joy Division, Radiohead, and most notably Bruce Springsteen, whose critically acclaimed album Nebraska clearly showed their influence. (Springsteen later covered their "Dream Baby Dream".) And as noted, Ric Ocasek was another fan.
On July 16, 2016, Alan Vega died at the age of 78 — of natural causes.
Studio Discography:
- Suicide (1977) (the first of two Self-Titled Albums)
- Suicide (1980) - later reissues include the 1975 rehearsal tapes as a second disc
- A Way of Life (1988)
- Y Be Blue/Why Be Blue? (1992/2005) - issued in two formats; the original Y Be Blue was produced by Ocasek, and Rev completely remixed the album for the 2005 reissue.
- American Supreme (2002)
Live Discography:
- 23 Minutes Over Brussels (1978)
- Half Alive (1981) - includes additional demo recordings
- Ghost Riders (1986)
- Live 1977-1978 (2008)
"Rocket rocket USA/Troping on down the highway..."
- Bath Suicide: The original cover of their second self-titled album, which shows blood running into a bathtub drain and a hand. The back cover shows that it's just a woman who's cut herself shaving her legs.
- Careful with That Axe: "Frankie Teardrop" has ear piercing screams standing in for gunshots.
- Cool Shades: Martin Rev is almost never pictured without his oversized biker shades.
- Cover Version: Frequently in live shows, they'd do a version of Garage Rock classic "96 Tears" by ? And The Mysterians. Thanks to Martin Rev, their rendition is a minimal fragment of the original.
- Epic Rocking: "Frankie Teardrop," "Harlem", "Do It Nice", "Dream Baby Dream."
- Incredibly Long Note: Vega holds the last "goodbye" in "Mr. Ray" for quite a while.
- Industrial: The duo were one of the pioneers of industrial music, alongside Throbbing Gristle and Chrome.
- Intentionally Awkward Title: If you like this band on Facebook, your friends will wonder if you really need help.
- Large Ham: Alan Vega
with all of his stage antics, mannerisms, and method of delivery place him on the far more bizarre side of this. - Lighter and Softer: Why Be Blue, in some respects.
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Rocket USA", from the first album, is as catchy and upbeat as early Suicide gets. And then you read the lyrics:Riding around in a killer's car
It's doomsday doomsday
Speeding on down the skyway
100 miles per hour
Gonna crash
Gonna die
And I don't care - Metal Scream: "Frankie put the gun to his head..... mmm...ahhhh... mmmm.... AND WENT..... YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
- Murder Ballad: "Frankie Teardrop".
- Pater Familicide: "Frankie Teardrop" again.
- Punk Rock: They were one of the first bands to combine the attitude of punk with electronic music.
- Shout-Out: Yes, "Ghost Rider" is inspired by the Marvel Comics character.
- Three Chords and the Truth: In their own unusual way.
- Ur-Example: For Synth-Pop and Industrial.
