Teenage Head

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Biography

Teenage Head is a Canadian rock group from Hamilton, Ontario and was one of the most popular Canadian punk rock bands during the early 1980s.

Originally from Hamilton, Ontario , the group was formed by Frankie Venom (Frank Kerr), Gord Lewis, Steve Mahon and Nick Stipanitz. Stipanitz has since been replaced by Jack Pedler, and Venom died of cancer on October 15, 2008.

History

Teenage Head was formed in 1975 when the band members were students at Westdale Secondary School|Westdale High School in Hamilton, Ontario . By May 1978, they released their first single "Picture My Face" on Epic Records , and their self-titled debut, Teenage Head (Teenage Head album)|Teenage Head , followed a year later.

The band would also make an appearance at the infamous concert The Last Pogo in 1978 at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario , which ended in a riot. The concert was made into a short film by Colin Brunton; in 2006, Brunton began a feature-length doc about the concert, and includes interviews and footage of Teenage Head. It was released on DVD in 2008 as a tribute to the late Frankie Venom. http://www.punknews.org/article/30030

1980's Frantic City was the band's breakthrough album, making them stars across Canada with the hit singles "Let's Shake" and "Somethin' On My Mind". They toured to support that album, including opening the major Heatwave (festival)|Heatwave festival in August. In June 1980 their performance at Toronto, Ontario|Toronto 's Ontario Place sparked a riot. The incident made headlines across the country, and led Ontario Place to ban rock concerts for several years afterward.

In September 1980, riding high on the success of Frantic City and the band's unintended notoriety, Attic Records (Canada)|Attic Records , their Canadian label, set up a series of showcase gigs in New York City, hoping to attract a US record deal. Only a few days before their scheduled departure, Lewis was seriously injured in a car accident and the showcase was cancelled. Lewis was temporarily replaced by David Bendeth , although he was able to return in time to play on the 1982 album Some Kinda Fun , which was another success.

Their 1983 record Tornado was marked by controversy, with the band's United States|American label MCA Records|M.C.A. demanding that they change their name to Teenage Heads to placate the more conservative American audience. http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Teenage-Head The title track proved to be the band's last big hit in Canada.
During this time the band appeared, as themselves, in the campy B-movie Class of 1984 (starring fellow Canadian Michael J. Fox ) and performed "Ain't Got No Sense".

In 1985 after the release of Trouble in the Jungle , Venom was replaced by Dave Desroches , who led the band for three years before departing to form his own band, The Dave Rave Conspiracy . Venom eventually rejoined the band in 1988, but Stipanitz would be replaced by Mark Lockerbie ,who would play on the 1996 album "Head Disorder". Lockerbie was in turn replaced by Jack Pedler .

In 2003, the band recorded a host of previously released material with Ramones drummer Marky Ramone at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton and Metalworks Studios in Toronto with well known Ramones producer, Daniel Rey . The resulting album was released in Canada on April 22, 2008, titled Teenage Head with Marky Ramone .

In the spring of 2007, Teenage Head would play out west (Alberta and BC) for the first time in more than ten years. They would return again in the spring of 2008.

On October 15, 2008, Gord Lewis announced that Frankie Venom had died following a battle with throat cancer.

The remaining members of the bands continued to perform after Frankie's death playing a tribute show for him, and performing at the 2008 Hamilton Music Awards. http://www.teenagehead.ca/blogs/news/index.html

In 2011, long time fan and music store owner Pete MacAulay joined the band as the new singer, to "take Frankie's space, not his place". http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/561103--cambridge-singer-the-new-frontman-for-teenage-head

Discography

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
Year	Title	Canada (RPM)	Album
1978	"Picture My Face"		Teenage Head
1978	"Top Down"		Non-LP re-recording of a song originally from Teenage Head
1980	"Somethin' On My Mind"	#28	Frantic City
1980	"Let's Shake"	#88	Non-LP re-recording of a song originally from Frantic City
1982	"Some Kinda Fun"	#23	Some Kinda Fun
1982	"Let's Go To Hawaii"		Some Kinda Fun
1983	"Tornado" (as Teenage Heads)	#39	Tornado (EP)
1983	"Blood Boogie" (as Teenage Heads)		Tornado (EP)
1984	"Top Down" (live version)		Endless Party
1985	"Frantic Romantic"		Trouble In The Jungle
1987	"Can't Stop Shakin'"		Electric Guitar
1988	"Everybody Needs Somebody"		Electric Guitar

Studio Albums

1979 – Teenage Head (Teenage Head album)|Teenage Head

1980 – Frantic City

1982 – Some Kinda Fun

1983 – Tornado EP (as "Teenage Heads")

1986 – Trouble in the Jungle

1988 – Electric Guitar

1996 – Head Disorder

2008 – Teenage Head with Marky Ramone

Live Album

1984 – Endless Party

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
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