Dead Boys

The Dead Boys were a punk band from Cleveland formed in 1975, a lineup of vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome and drummer Johnny Blitz, with Chrome and Blitz coming from Rocket From the Tombs. One account says Chrome invited his friend Bators on stage to sing a few songs in August 1975, and another that Bators, Chrome and Blitz recruited Magnum and Zero to form a band called Frankenstein that broke up in January 1976.

When the members moved to New York City in July 1976 they took the name Dead Boys, from a line in the Rocket From the Tombs song Down in Flames. They released two studio albums, Young, Loud and Snotty and We Have Come for Your Children. Bators died in France in June 1990.

The band reunited in September 2017 with a new lineup for a 40th anniversary tour, and recorded Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40, a re-recording of the debut album. Guitar Radar follows reissues and gear-related stories around the band.