X the Band

Photographs by Michael Hyatt

Sample of Michael Hyatt photo: Billy, Hollywood, 1981

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Description

Following my trip to Ireland in 1979, where I was introduced to the punk rock scene there and in England, I began documenting the Hollywood scene.

The first band I photographed was The Plugz at The Starwood. Then I made a formal portrait of The Plugz at the Olympic Auditorium when they opened for PIL. The image was used to promote upcoming Plugz shows and on a large silkscreen poster by Richard Duardo. Richard created the Punk Prom poster seen in the John & Exene – Hollywood photograph below. John and Exene saw the poster and asked me to photograph X.

My first portraits of X were made at the Whisky a Go Go on the afternoon and evening of the band’s first appearance at the Whisky — shortly after the tragic death of Exene’s sister Mary on the night of the Los Angeles album release party. A few months later I photographed X at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara. My image of their performance was used on the back of their single “White Girl”/”Your Phone’s Off the Hook but You’re Not.” When Exene asked what I wanted to be paid for use of the image, I said “take me on your tour to photograph.”

The band’s first tour departed Los Angeles December 9, 1980, the day after John Lennon was murdered and a couple of days after Darby Crash’s death. Stops along the way included Tempe and Tucson, Arizona, Austin, Houston and Ft. Worth, Texas and New Orleans. It was a fascinating experience and one that provided numerous opportunities to photograph members of the band on the road. Six photographs from that tour are included in this portfolio. Other images were made on a second tour of the west coast to Vancouver and around Los Angeles in the seminal years 1980 – 1983. Many of these images appear in the 2010 calendar. Exene’s graphics are also prominently displayed in the 1982, 1983 and 1984 calendars. Note that the 1984 calendar, a datebook, matched 2012 (see details in Calendars).

When I began documenting the Los Angeles music scene in 1980, I immediately recognized the immense talent of all members of X. Not only did John and Exene write compelling lyrics and sing fascinating harmonies, but John, Billy and D.J. were the best musicians on the scene. Billy’s background as a rockabilly guitarist made for a sound unheard of anywhere else at the time and the poetic lyrics John and Exene composed reflected their lives as artists. No wonder X became the darling of rock critics (their second album Wild Gift was named “Record of the Year” by Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and the Village Voice). On top of that, each member of X was visually unique and endlessly fascinating for this photographer. The music X created and the way they performed it has stood the test of time and contributed to their longevity as one-of-a-kind artist-musicians.

X the Band

Sample Photos

Below are sample photographs from this portfolio. Each of these photographs is available separately. Note that the images shown below are low resolution versions of the actual photographs.