He started working in a factory and as a bus conductor. It was at this time that he became involved with
punk rock, including the radical socialist
Leeds art-punk band
the Mekons. In 1981, whilst living in Leeds, Wells began performing as a
ranting poet and comedian under the names
Seething Wells, Swells and Susan Williams. He was a support act to various northern English punk bands, such as
the Fall,
Delta 5 and
Gang of Four, along with fellow ranting poets such as
Attila The Stockbroker and
Porky The Poet. After moving to London, Wells began to write for
NME, initially under the name Susan Williams. He championed socialist soul/punk band
the Redskins; American
hardcore punk bands such as
Black Flag and the
Butthole Surfers; British bands that merged
thrash, hardcore and
heavy metal, such as
Extreme Noise Terror,
Napalm Death; and certain pop artists, such as
Daphne and Celeste. Wells was also critical of some artists and individuals such as
Richard Branson, and when covering his appearance in issue #160 of the British
Transformers comic, mockingly called Branson "the world's richest bearded git" and
Transformers a "crap comic". In the 1990s, he diversified, occasionally writing comedy (for shows such as
On the Hour and
The Day Today) and other non-music related journalism. In 1992, Wells and Nick Small formed GobTV, a music video directing partnership. GobTV videos were characterised by extreme visuals, rapid edits, a political agenda and humour. GobTV made promos for
the Wildhearts,
Manic Street Preachers, and
Skunk Anansie amongst others, and were the top UK directors in 1994 and 1995. The partnership ended in 1996. In 1999 he started the
Attack! Books publishing house and his debut novel was
Tits Out Teenage Terror Totty. His illustrated history
Punk: The Stories Behind the Songs was published in 2004. In 2009 he contributed a story to the
Love Hotel City anthology. Wells became a sports columnist for
The Guardian,
FourFourTwo,
90 Minutes,
The Quietus music website and the
Philadelphia Weekly, and was in the process of writing several books. ==Tributes==