Johnny Thunders (1952 – 1991)
American rock and roll guitarist and singer, first with the New York Dolls, the proto-punk glam rockers of the early '70s.
I wouldn't change a thing -- except my bank balance.
A lot of people want to die for a lot of reasons.
The Lower East Side is really heavy nowadays. A lot of murders, people getting ripped off and knifed. It's really dangerous.
A lot of people don't think they can count on me, but I've never missed a gig in my life.
A lot of people take me seriously because of the things they read about me. Maybe they wanted to sell more records.
The Dolls were an attitude. If nothing else they were a great attitude.
I take smack because I enjoy it. I enjoy all it makes me feel. I don't do it to be in with the in crowd. I can rock out with it.
I've got three boys. They look like me. They're called Dino, Guido and Little Johnny. They're my whole life. They mean more to me than music.
We'll establish ourselves here, get a reputation, and then go back to the States and see if they've grown up a little.
I was in Sweden for 10 days. They put me on the front page of the daily papers eight days in a row. I did nothing to warrant any of the attention. It was ridiculous!
I always get harassed by the police.
I don't eat cereal actually... Frosted Flakes... that's as close as I can get.
What does the industry understand?
Many people love me, many people hate me - there's nobody in between. That's the way I prefer it.
Me and Jerry left because we felt we weren't getting anywhere playing our old songs in tiny clubs. The group was getting stale and staying behind the times.
It's something I have no regrets about, but it's not something that I'll do forever.
We get picked up in these Rolls Royces and get three miles down the highway and five cop cars pull us over.
I've never been so happy in my life.
I'm gonna try to be cured. I've been on heroin eight years and I want to try a different style of life. It made me split up from my wife. It ruined a lot of things for me.
We did a TV show and they thought I was too messed up and wouldn't show it. That started the ball rolling with the press. They started following me.