42nd STREET - Cool Dude & Foxy Lady / Spray Paint Bandit (Sunburst 1974)
"We used to compete with the Harlots of 42nd Street which was a group of guys who looked like truck drivers but dressed like the Dolls and wore, like, fishnet stockings over these big muscular hairy legs. They were my favourite band."
This is wh
at David Johansen says during an interview about the Harlots Of 42nd Street. Formed by the guitarist Chris Harlott, this band, together with the New York Dolls, Magic Tramps, the Brats, Teenage Lust, and others glitter rock band of the time, dominated the NYC underground scene in the first half of the 70s. Here's a copy of their single on Sunburst records, produced by Seth Greenky.Cool Dude & Foxy Lady
Spray Paint Bandit
Wow, I've been looking for these guys since I read about them in Please Kill Me. Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteHey 'Harlots" - Great hearing your music again !!!
ReplyDeleteSesu Coleman - "Magic Tramps"
www.magictramps.com
www.myspace.com/magictramps
Very cool to finally have a chance to hear this legendary underground early '70s bit of NYC rock and roll history. Thank you so very much for posting this!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Harlots tracks. Never even knew they existed. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it...
ReplyDeleteThe Harlots practiced in my basement in Ozone Park, Queens, NY. My Brother was the lead guitarist Chris and Tony was the Drummer, Gene was the lead singer and Doug was the Bass player. They played the Coventry on Queens Blvd and many NYC clubs as well as toured in New Orleans and other locations. The Harlot shows were a blast and everyone had a great time. Thanks for posting their songs// at the time they were made they were very cool and the stage show was great/ Regards, Bill.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the info!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing this for my fathers band etc -chris becker NY
ReplyDeleteArtistsweetsbecker.us
i used to be really good friends with tony....in his days with the harlots and after when he was in a band called gizmo. he was a great guy....miss him very much. yvonne
ReplyDeleteFantastic posting, been wanting to hear this for years. Now if someone could just find the unreleased Fuckall LP recorded for Atlantic....
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the Harlots rehearsing at Dynamite Studios on 38th Street. And how come there is no mention of Frank ??? What ever happened to Frank Harlot?? I was the assistant manager of Dynamite Studios....along with Louie Gagliano and Satan!
ReplyDeleteSharpdressed said... What a beautiful Glam Rock Band! The Harlots of 42nd Street are splendid! Many Thanks! Special Greetings from Berlin-Kreuzberg/Germany.
ReplyDeleteChris Becker is now one of the most active (and liked!) members of Audiocircle, as lonewolfny42.
ReplyDeleteHe told me of one night drinking with John Lennon and Harry Nielson after one of the Harlots' shows to which JL and HN had come to check out.
would love it if you could reload those tracks,
ReplyDeletethanks !
mille grazie !!!
ReplyDeleteFrankie is alive and well, living in Kansas with his wife of over 30 years, Margie. They have 2 beautiful granddaughters. I just spoke to them a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm Gene's ex-wife, we have a son, Kristian, who is making us Grandparents in September.
I remember the Coventry, (I danced down the street at the Merry-go-Round, ;-P) and yes, the studios on 38th Street. Chris, Gene and Frankie are the only ones left. Dougie has disappeared and Tony passed away years ago.
Thanks for sharing this!
I am the producer/manager of "The Harlots." I recently spoke with the four surviving members of the band to let them know that we have a new album deal for most of our fabulous, previously unreleased recordings. The tapes survived 47(!) years without needing baking. They have been digitized, re-mastered, and sound like we just left the studio. As the label's head wrote when he first heard it "Dude, this shit is good!" Indeed, it was, and still is. I've seen the cover art, in progress, and it looks great. A known writer is putting together interviews and liner notes. Look for Vinyl and CD to be released in early 2022. It would be sooner but vinyl pressing facilities are few and far between, and with vinyl regaining popularity, there is a wait to get in. It's going to be awesome! Sundazed Records recently let it be known.
DeleteThe picture of Genie Harlot in the thong--that's my dad!!
ReplyDeleteI guess I should say who I am...he'll be so happy to hear himself again!
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm amazed that with all the Harlot pics available around the net....I still get my "After Dark" Gene Harlot in the Gypsy Rose Lee G String cover shot! Well, I guess it's better than not being remembered at all!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is amazing that after all these years somebody remembers and, even more bizzarely, CARES about us and our almost-assault on fame....Great also to hear the old vinyl....it didn't capture US and what we were like as a live act (We definitely were not "mild") but we were hoping for a cross over hit to launch us....thanks for the memories.
Hey Gene! How about a reunion with the members that are still around? Everybody else is doing it! There was a big Max's reunion a few weeks ago! Like they say, "everything that's old is new again!".
ReplyDeleteGood to see you on here, now go get a Facebook Page, Grandpa! LOL
PS, Gene - Seth is trying to contact you, don't know if Kristian told you or not!
ReplyDeleteThey tried to water down our sound to make us more commercial, it didn't really work but the production was excellent. !!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Frank.
DeleteIn principle, a good happen, support the views of the author
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard about the Harlots was in the "Glam" book, the same Johansen quote. After that they came up in Jayne County's bio. Then years passed and I couldn't find anything by them, and I was beginning to wonder if such a band ever existed at all ... till today! a great band from the greatest period and the greatest rock n roll city! quite a nice surprise it's not a crappy demo but a pretty good record with enough pop combined with ny drama and proto punk or glam or whatever you call it. you surely made my day!
ReplyDeleteI saw the Harlots in their heyday, and they were very theatrical, and quite to the contrary, they looked more the he/she whores by the 10th Ave tunnel entrance than anyting else. BUT their strength was in there sound, very edgey but with a precison that most bands at the time didn't exhibit. They were around from '72 trough '76 and started the last name of band for their surname adopted to the fullest by The Ramones in the later '70's.
ReplyDeleteThey live up to their hype.
This is ab fab..so glad i got to hear it
ReplyDeleteAmazing to see that there is still an interest....the more I listen to our old stuff the better I like it! I think the production on "Cool Dude" was way too sweet but if it weren't for the venality of the record label we might have had a hit!
ReplyDeleteAnyway thank you all for noticing and who knows...maybe someday we'll be more than a footnote to a footnote to Rock history....Chris...Doug...get in touch...miss you guys!
Gene
I played bass in a band called "Pure Ecstacy" during that time. We didn't play out much (probably because we sucked). But I loved the Harlots. My favorite song was "S & M, I can't live without you." Wish I could hear it again.
ReplyDeleteRina Deych, RN (yeah, I - fortunately for the listening public - gave up music and became a nurse).
Found two more tunes here....
ReplyDeletehttp://purepop1uk.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-harlots-of-42nd-street-unreleased.html
Chris Harlot
I engineered these tracks at A & R S studios in NYC. Glad to know they are immortal.
ReplyDeleteAfter I did a short writeup of acts at Coventry, Gene Harlot obliged me with some great Harlots ephemera: http://fivebands.com/2016/08/08/gene-harlot-remembers-glitter-punk-coventry-and-the-harlots-of-42nd-street/
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to find my good friend Mugsy Franklin for a very long time I saw that you talked to him please foward him my email address its stevertl@outlook.com . Thanks for any help in advance.
ReplyDeleteYou can find Frankie on Facebook as Mugsy Franklin
DeleteSundazed Music
ReplyDeleteJuly 1 at 9:35 PM ·
We couldn't be more excited to announce the signing of The Harlots Of 42nd Street! We were in on the strength of their 45 alone but we had no idea they had a jaw dropping LP in the can! The tapes sound glorious and we can't wait to share with you their '70s glitter punk panache! #glam #70sglam #glitterpunk #glamrock
I am the producer/manager of "The Harlots." I recently spoke with the four surviving members of the band to let them know that we have a new album deal for most of our fabulous, previously unreleased recordings. The tapes survived 47(!) years without needing baking. They have been digitized, re-mastered, and sound like we just left the studio. As the label's head wrote when he first heard it "Dude, this shit is good!" Indeed, it was, and still is. I've seen the cover art, in progress, and it looks great. A known writer is putting together interviews and liner notes. Look for Vinyl and CD to be released in early 2022. It would be sooner but vinyl pressing facilities are few and far between, and with vinyl regaining popularity, there is a wait to get in. It's going to be awesome! Sundazed Records recently let it be known.
ReplyDeleteOMG!!!! I remember seeing The Harlots (and loving them!!) at the gay club The Other Side in Boston. I think they also played a couple of other clubs in the Boston area. My friend Margot and I followed them around. I hadnt even heard o f the Dolls yet. The Harlots were my introduction to glam punk and it changed my life!! Over the years I had tried searchign for info ont eh band but nothing came up. I am so glad to see this happening now. The Harlots deserve some respect for what they did!!
ReplyDeleteThank you..and the Boston Groupies…your special people.It was fun playing in Boston!
DeleteChris Harlot