The Pagans were an American punk rock band from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, United States, that was originally active from 1977 to 1979. They reformed several times, from 1982-1983, from 1986-1989 and again in 2014-2017. Along with fellow Cleveland band

The Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. ...

, the Pagans were part of the first wave of American punk music, and were also part of the second wave of Cleveland

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

bands such as

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

. Their song "What's This Shit Called Love?" was covered by

the Meatmen The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee, originally existing from 1981 to 1988, before reforming in the mid-1990s, and again in the 2000s. They were known for their outrageous stage antics and offensive lyrics. They reformed ...

on their 1985 album ''War of the Superbikes''.

History

The precursor to the Pagans was basement

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band the Mad Staggers, formed in 1974 by brothers Mike Hudson (guitar) and Brian" Brian Morgan" Hudson (drums), and bassist Tim Allee. They formed the Pagans in 1977, adding singer Robert Conn (née Bill Digiddio) and issuing a debut single that year, "Six and Change". By 1978, Conn had left (to form the AK-47s and later, Defnics), with Mike Hudson switching to vocals and the addition of guitarist Mike "Tommy Gunn" Metoff. The Pagans released three additional singles: ""Street Where Nobody Lives" (1978), "Dead End America" (1979) and "Not Now No Way" (1979). After failed album sessions, the band broke up in November 1979. Metoff subsequently formed the Clocks, later known as Radio Alarm Clocks, while Allee played in Broncs. In 1982, Mike Hudson and Metoff joined forces again in new band Les Raving Sounds, which transformed into a new lineup of the Pagans, also featuring Conn on bass, Bob Richey on drums and Chas Smith on keyboards. This lineup toured and released ''The Pagans'' LP (later reissued as ''The Pink Album'') before splitting again in 1983. Metoff then joined

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

from 1983-1984. In 1986, Treehouse Records issued ''Buried Alive'', a vinyl LP

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

of their recordings, sparking another Pagans reunion and resulting in the release of ''The Godlike Power of the Pagans Live'' (1987). This lineup (Mike Hudson, Metoff, Allee, Richey and additional drummer David Scott Liston) ended in 1989, although recordings from 1988-1989 were later issued on the 1990 German album ''Family Fare'' and live release ''The Blue Album'' (2008). Metoff, Allee and Liston all recorded as part of

Cheetah Chrome Eugene Richard O'Connor (born February 18, 1955), better known by his stage name Cheetah Chrome, is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys. Career Rocket From the Tombs ...

and the Ghetto Dogs; their 1987 recordings were issued as an eponymous EP in 1993. During the 1990s, Mike Hudson briefly played with

the Murder Junkies The Murder Junkies are an American punk rock band, best known for having been GG Allin's final backing band before his death. They perform songs from Allin's back catalog as well as their own original material. They are the third GG Allin back ...

, recorded the ''Unmedicated'' solo album (not released until 2006), and sang for the Highrollers and

the Styrenes The Styrenes are an American proto-punk rock band, formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975, by former members of other local underground scene bands, electric eels and Mirrors.Jäger, Rolf"Styrenes—A Brief History", ''Rent a Dog''. Retrieved on Dec ...

. Original drummer Brian Hudson, who had also played for the Kingpins, Jules Baptiste/Red Decade, Chris Bond Band, the Ashley Alexander Big Band, Backbønes and

the Droogs The Droogs were an American rock group from Los Angeles, California, United States, initially active between 1972 and 1992, with the majority of releases from the mid-1980s onwards. History The Droogs was formed in 1972, by Ric Albin (vocals), ...

during his 1980s career, died in 1991. In 1994, a CD compilation of Pagans material, ''Everybody Hates You'', was released by

Crypt Records Crypt Records is an independent record label founded by American-born Tim Warren in 1983. The label has been headquartered variously in Hamburg, Germany and in several locations in the United States. Crypt is perhaps best known for issuing the ten- ...

. In 2001, Crypt issued two other compilation CDs: ''Shit Street'' and ''The Pink Album…Plus!''. Mike Hudson, Metoff, Allee and Richey held one-off reunion performances at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

in Cleveland in 2003, and in Chicago in 2005. Smith, who also played in

Cobra Verde ''Cobra Verde'' (also known as ''Slave Coast'') is a 1987 German drama film directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski, in their fifth and final collaboration. Based upon Bruce Chatwin's 1980 novel '' The Viceroy of Ouidah'', the film d ...

and Einstein’s Secret Orchestra, died in October 2007. Metoff formed Motherfucker 666 with

Jeff Dahl Jeff Dahl (born 1955, Stuttgart, Germany) is an American musician. In 1960, the Dahl family relocated to Hawaii. Dahl recorded his first single, "Rock N Roll Critic", in 1977, which was released on the Doodley Squat label. Dahl later performed ...

, Allee joined Lurid, while Conn later performed the music of the Pagans alongside similarly styled originals in his band Chelsea Hotel. Mike Hudson, later a journalist and editor-in-chief of the ''

Niagara Falls Reporter The ''Niagara Reporter'' is a weekly newspaper hosted in Niagara Falls, New York. It was founded on June 28, 2000 by journalist Mike Hudson. The newspaper is currently owned by Frank R. Parlato, Jr., who additionally serves as one of the newspap ...

'' newspaper, chronicled the band's history in his 2008 autobiographical book ''Diary of a Punk: Life and Death in the Pagans''. He reformed the Pagans again in 2014 for the ''Hollywood High'' album, backed by an all-new lineup of Loren Molinare (guitar), Mike D'Amico (bass), Tony Matteucci (drums) and Ben Reagan (guitar). In 2015, he brought in another new lineup of John Dzubak (guitar), Eric Schrader (bass) and Justin Lack (drums). Mike Hudson died on October 27, 2017, from

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

at the age of 61.

Members

;Original lineup Mk. 1 (1977) *Mike Hudson - Guitar *Brian " Brian Morgan" Hudson - Drums *Tim Allee - Bass *Robert Conn - Vocals ;Original lineup Mk. 2 (1978—1979) *Mike Hudson - Vocals *Brian " Brian Morgan" Hudson - Drums *Mike "Tommy Gunn" Metoff - Guitar *Tim Allee - Bass ;Second lineup (1982—1983) *Mike Hudson - Vocals, guitar *Mike "Tommy Gunn" Metoff - Lead guitar *Robert Conn - Bass *Bob Richey - Drums * Chas Smith - Keyboards ;Third lineup (1986—1989) *Mike Hudson - Vocals, guitar *Mike "Tommy Gunn" Metoff - Lead guitar *Tim Allee - Bass *Bob Richey - Drums *David Scott Liston - Drums ;Fourth lineup (2014—2015) *Mike Hudson - Vocals *Loren Molinare - Guitar *Mike D'Amico - Bass *Tony Matteucci - Drums *Ben Reagan - Guitar ;Fifth lineup (2015—2017) *Mike Hudson - Vocals *John Dzubak - Guitar *Eric Schrader - Bass *Justin Lack - Drums

References

External links

*
Mike Hudson's Pagan Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagans, The Punk rock groups from Ohio Musical groups from Cleveland Musical groups established in 1977