In 1969,
Alan Bermowitz became involved with the publicly funded MUSEUM: A Project of Living Artists—an artist-run 24-hour multimedia gallery at 729 Broadway in Manhattan. Producing visual art under the name Alan Suicide, Bermowitz graduated from painting to light sculptures, many of which were constructed from electronic debris. He gained a residency at the
OK Harris Gallery in
SoHo where he continued to exhibit until 1975.
Barbara Gladstone continued to show his work well into the 1980s. Later that same year, Bermowitz saw
the Stooges perform at the
New York State Pavilion; an epiphany for Bermowitz. He would later say, "It showed me you didn't have to do static artworks, you could create situations, do something environmental. That's what got me moving more intensely in the direction of doing music. Compared with Iggy, whatever I was doing as an artist felt insignificant." In 1970, Bermowitz, now referred to as
Alan Vega, met
Martin "Rev" Reverby through the
Art Workers' Coalition. With Rev, Vega began experimenting with electronic music, and formed Suicide, along with guitarist Paul Liebgott. According to a 2002 interview of Alan Vega, the name of the band was inspired by the title of a
Ghost Rider comic book issue titled "
Satan Suicide". He further explained, "We were talking about society's suicide, especially American society. New York City was collapsing. The
Vietnam War was going on. The name Suicide said it all to us." Their first show was June 19, 1970 at the Project of Living Artists in lower Manhattan. They soon began billing themselves as "
punk music". Liebegott left at the end of 1971, and they continued as a duo. By that point, Vega was no longer playing any instruments, and began performing only vocals. Rev stopped playing drums and blowing whistle by early 1975. Suicide emerged alongside the early
glam punk scene in New York, playing with the likes of the
New York Dolls and
the Fast. They began to court a reputation for confrontational
live shows inspired by
Iggy Pop. Many of the band's early shows were at the
Mercer Arts Center, alongside bands such as the New York Dolls and
Eric Emerson and the Magic Tramps. During an early show at the Mercer Arts Center
David Johansen played
harmonica with Suicide. Vega and Rev both dressed like 'arty street thugs', and Vega was notorious for brandishing a motorcycle
drive chain onstage. Vega once stated, "We started getting
booed as soon as we came onstage. Just from the way we looked, they started giving us hell already." After the collapse of the Mercer Arts Center in 1973, Suicide played at
Max's Kansas City and
CBGB (before being banned), often sharing the bill with emerging
punk bands. Their first album was reissued with bonus material, including "
23 Minutes in Brussels", a recording of a Suicide concert that later deteriorated into a
riot. Their first release was "
Rocket U.S.A.", which was included on the ''1976
Max's Kansas City compilation. The following year, they recorded and independently released their debut album, Suicide (1977), on Red Star Records. Although initial press reviews were divided (with Rolling Stone'' in particular giving it a scathing review), media recognition has changed over the years.
Nick Hornby writes,
Che', 'Ghost Rider'—these eerie, sturdy, proto-punk anthems rank among the most visionary, melodic experiments the rock realm has yet produced." Of note is the ten-minute "
Frankie Teardrop", which tells the story of a
poverty-stricken 20-year-old factory worker facing eviction who suffers a mental breakdown and then kills his child, wife, and himself, a narrative which is punctuated by Vega's shrieking screams. Critic Emerson Dameron writes that the song is "one of the most terrifying, riveting, absurd things I’ve ever heard." Hornby, in his book
31 Songs, describes the track as something you would listen to "only once". They played their first overseas shows in 1978, supporting
Elvis Costello and
the Clash in the
United Kingdom and
Western Europe. They also played some solo gigs such as at the
F Club in Leeds on 1 August 1978. After a tour opening for
the Cars, Alan Vega received a call from Michael Zilkha of
Ze Records asking if he could sign Suicide to his label. They subsequently recorded their sophomore album
Suicide: Alan Vega and Martin Rev with Ze at the
Power Station studios. While the album was a critical success, it was not a commercial success, Alan Vega felt that "nothing big for us happened" after the second album was released in comparison to the first album.
1980s and beyond After the second album's release, Suicide would sporadically release new music, mostly to mixed critical and commercial reception, releasing their last album,
American Supreme, in 2002. During this time, they both became involved in their own projects. In 1986, Alan Vega collaborated with
Andrew Eldritch of
the Sisters of Mercy on the
Gift album, released under the name of
The Sisterhood. In 1996, Vega collaborated with
Alex Chilton and
Ben Vaughn on the album
Cubist Blues. Vega and Rev have both released solo albums. In 2008,
Blast First Petite released
Alan Vega 70th Birthday Limited Edition EP Series—a monthly, limited-edition series of 10" vinyl EPs and downloads by major artists, honoring Alan Vega's 70th birthday. Among those paying tribute were
Bruce Springsteen,
Primal Scream,
Peaches,
Grinderman,
Spiritualized,
the Horrors,
+Pansonic,
Julian Cope,
Lydia Lunch,
Vincent Gallo,
LIARS, and the Klaxons. The label also released
Suicide: 1977–1978, a 6-CD box set, the same year. In September 2009, the group performed their debut LP live in its entirety as part of the
All Tomorrow's Parties-curated
Don't Look Back series. In May 2010, the band performed the entire first album live at two London concerts, double billed with Iggy and the Stooges performing
Raw Power. The band performed their final concert at London's
Barbican Centre on 9 July 2015. Billed as 'A Punk Mass', the show featured solo sets by both Rev and Vega before a headlining Suicide performance.
Henry Rollins,
Bobby Gillespie, and
Jehnny Beth made guest appearances. The concert received positive reviews. They played their final shows in 2015, canceling shows scheduled for the following year due to Vega's declining health and eventual death. Alan Vega died in his sleep on July 16, 2016, at the age of 78. His death was announced by musician and radio host
Henry Rollins, who shared an official statement from Vega's family on his website. ==Musical style==