On Saturday, the world lost the artist Alan Vega, better known as the lead singer of Suicide, the proto techno punk band that Bruce Springsteen loved and Belgians hated, and a consummate artist who helped to transform the definition of what constitutes a musical performance.
Vega was 78 when he died in his sleep over the weekend. But he managed to live much longer than many of his contemporaries, including all of the original Ramones. He was born Boruch Alan Bermowitz in Brooklyn in 1938 and was 32 when Suicide began in 1970. Inspired by Iggy and the Stooges, free jazz and Ghost Rider comics, Vega and his musical partner Martin Rev (“the instrument”) created an unusual rockabilly-meets-primitive electronica sound. (At the time, people called it “punk music.”)
Pushing the wild frontman persona
Challenged with prospect of performing live to dense musical landscapes bereft of catchy hooks and other pop tropes, Vega wanted to bring something new to the stage. Inspired by the stage antics of the young Iggy Pop, Vega took the wild frontman persona a step further and made himself one of the scariest men in punk to grab a mic.