The band played their first show June 16, 1974, at the Viking Saloon in downtown
Cleveland. The original line-up was David Thomas (playing as "Crocus Behemoth", vocals, bass), Kim Zonneville (bass, vocals), Glenn "Thunderhand" Hach (guitar, vocals) and Tom "Foolery" Clements (drums). There was some fluctuation of the group's personnel, but what has come to be known as the "classic" lineup included Thomas,
Peter Laughner, Craig Willis Bell (a.k.a. Darwin Layne), Gene O'Connor (a.k.a.
Cheetah Chrome), and Johnny Madansky (a.k.a.
Johnny Blitz). When RFTT disbanded, the members split and formed three musical groups: • O'Connor and Madansky joined singer
Stiv Bators (who made a guest appearance on-stage at the last RFTT show) to form Frankenstein, which later morphed into the
Dead Boys, a more straightforward
punk rock group. • Laughner and Thomas went on to form the more experimental
Pere Ubu with bassist Tim Wright (RFTT's soundman). Laughner died in 1977, of acute pancreatitis brought on by years of drinking and drug use. • Bell moved to Connecticut and started a band called Saucers. All three bands used songs first written or performed by Rocket From The Tombs as parts of their repertoires: the Dead Boys were known for "
Ain't It Fun," "What Love Is," "Down in Flames," "Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth" (done by RFTT as "I'm Never Gonna Kill Myself Again") and "
Sonic Reducer"; Pere Ubu went on to reinterpret "Final Solution," "Life Stinks" and "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"; Saucers played "Muckraker”, and “Frustration”. Rocket From The Tombs never recorded an album in their initial incarnation, but various live recordings and demos circulated occasionally as
bootlegs. Most of these were collected on a single CD by Smog Veil records, and titled
The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs (2002).
San Diego punk band
Rocket from the Crypt chose their name after hearing Rocket from the Tombs bootlegs. == Reunion ==