Punk Turns 30

California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850 - the Gold Rush of 1849 hastened the admission, and people have been coming to "The Golden State" in droves ever since. They seek beauty in our rugged terrain, our oceans, deserts and vineyards, as well economic, social and educational opportunities - or so the Department of Parks would have you believe. The gold in them thar hills of Northern California, from Sacramento to the San Francisco Bay may have brought the area its first influx of new residents... and the Dust Bowl conditions during the Great Depression drove folks from the Great Plains to the West in search of greener pastures... but the celebrity wannabes have always been attracted to Southern California. The glitz and the glamour of any fancy place is almost always built on the backs of its original citizens... and in California's case, it is the Mexicans. The history of California and its Native, Spanish and Mexican beginnings is a whole area of study ...

There's some kind of co-mingling of the spinster tale from the Li'l Abner comic strip character Sadie Hawkins and the occasion of Leap Day/Leap Year and catching a man that creates the wacky tradition of the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance and the tradition that allows men to propose marriage to men on February 29 (marrying on that day is bad luck in the Greek culture... though one of my best pals married on that day in 2004 after 13 years of co-habiting and they are happier than ever. Tradition, superstition - go figure)... yes, its a mixed bag of culture, pop literature, tradition and superstition that verifies what my gender has known all along... if you want something, just GRAB IT! like it? buy it here! Pleasant Gehman, pictured above with Billy Idol and in the other shot with Belinda Carlisle, is one of those ladies, who from the get-go, always pursued what she wanted with a passion and fervor, whether it was being the first one in Los Angeles to meet & greet Billy Idol ...

I bet you hate it when people tell you that "you had to be there." But YOU HAD TO. When he left Generation X and went solo, Billy Idol became a huge international pop star in the process. But what got Billy Idol in the forefront in the first place was his devotion to the music... as part of the Bromley Contingent, a group of kids known quite simply for being ardent Sex Pistols fans, Billy gained a spot on fan and media radar alike, as did Siouxsie Sioux and fellow Gen Xer, Tony James. The Bromley contingent were fashion forward young people and the watchful eyes of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood took careful note of the self-designed outfits of the Bromley punks and turned them into Kings Road fashion with price tags to match. However... some of their contemporaries, such as the esteemed journalist, Julie Burchill didn't see it as the Bromley Contingent being influential but rather a distraction to the music. She wrote in her book, The Boy Looked at Joh...

Even though he is a huge international pop superstar, and has been for over 20 years, Billy Idol began his public life as a punk rocker. And not just any ordinary British punk rocker, Billy was one of the Bromley Contingent, together with future punk icons Siouxsie Sioux and Steve Severin, of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and fellow Generation X band mate, Tony James. London punk rock "It Girl," Soo Catwoman is often associated with the Bromley Contingent, although she has publicly proclaimed not to have been a member. Membership aside, it will stand in history that the Bromley Contingent had much more influence over the look and feel and early development of punk style during the nascent years of punk rock than even Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's, Kings Road boutiques. Consider: Billy Idol's perfect punk hair, Siouxsie Sioux's fetish clothing (and in the early days, she selected gear that bared her breasts) and distinctive make-up and style t...

Its not Licorice Pizza anymore.... this building that sports the sign that reads "PS, PLEASANT LOVES YOU" to a visiting Billy Idol. But it was in the 70s, and its strategic location across the street from the Whisky made it a social hang out. Some really great in-stores happened there. Like this one below: You can see Rodney Bingenheimer right behind Billy, and a few photographers are in the frame as well as all the autograph seekers. You can determine the date from the displays - Todd Rundgren and Elvis Costello both have their latest release hung up all over the place... and oddly... they both dated Bebe Buell. Coincidences never cease. Each day of the fortnight Pleasant and I spent hanging out with Billy Idol began in a car - after all, it was Los Angeles. Here is a rare shot of Billy in a car...rare for me at least, since I almost always was the one driving. There's a great photo that I've titled "Idol Reflection." I've posted it on my port...

Billy Idol, best blonde punk hair ever! Maybe that hair color slogan is right. Check out the fabulous blonde punks who took the look to the top of the charts, or at least top of the heart-throb lists. She's so punk here, and flirted with red hair too.... Belinda Carlisle The ultimate blonde, of course, Blondie's Debbie Harry. One of the original girl group legends, blonde and punk-tuff before her time, Mary Weiss the original lead singer of the Shangri Las She has a new album on its way to your favorite record store in a month's time. The Nuns from San Francisco had their own blonde bombshell, Jennifer Miro. And of course, San Francisco's favorite daughter, Penelope Houston of the Avengers, whose blonde locks worked in both long and spiky mode.

Debbie Harry April, 1978, Berkeley, CA "Blondie Does It" was one of the catch phrases of this tour, together with the slogan on the t-shirt "Blondie is a Group!" A month later, Pleasant and I drag Billy Idol around town for photo opportunities.... I'm so glad you like them.