Terry Ork

Last updated

William Terry Ork (born William Terry Collins) was an American band manager and record producer for the new wave/punk music scene in New York City in the mid 1970s. [1] Ork is associated with the success of the club CBGB as manager for punk band Television and musician Richard Hell. [2] Ork arrived in New York City in the late 1960s and worked briefly for Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. [3] [4] While working as the manager of a film bookstore called Cinemabilia, Ork met Billy Ficca, Tom Verlaine and Hell of the Neon Boys and introduced them to Richard Lloyd. [5] Ork began managing the new band when they reformed as Television. [3] In 1975, he founded Ork Records, which released Television's Little Johnny Jewel (1975), Richard Hell's Blank Generation , The Marbles' Red Light (1979), Mick Farren's Lost Johnny , and the double A-side single Girl and Everytime I Close My Eyes by Prix, among other recordings. [6] Farren said, "Terry Ork was an idealist, as true to the punk ethic as you could be, which means that when it all started getting slick, and the bands were getting deals, Terry was left behind." [6] He died in San Diego on October 20, 2004.

Contents

In the 2013 film CBGB , Ork was portrayed by Johnny Galecki. [2]

In 2015, The Numero Group released a retrospective box set of recordings from Ork Records. [1]

Related Research Articles

Joy Division English rock band

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.

Richard Hell American actor and musician

Richard Lester Meyers, better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer.

Television (band) American post-punk band

Television is an American rock band from New York City, most notably active in the 1970s. The group was founded by Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, Billy Ficca, and Richard Hell. An early fixture of CBGB and the 1970s New York rock scene, the band is considered influential in the development of punk and alternative music.

Richard Hell and the Voidoids

Richard Hell and the Voidoids were an American punk rock band, formed in New York City in 1976 and fronted by Richard Hell, a former member of the Neon Boys, Television and the Heartbreakers.

Richard Lloyd is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the rock band Television.

<i>Blank Generation</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Richard Hell & the Voidoids

Blank Generation is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. It was produced by Richard Gottehrer and released in September 1977 on Sire Records.

Dead Boys American punk rock band

The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer Johnny Blitz in 1975, with the later two having splintered from the band Rocket From The Tombs. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums, Young Loud and Snotty, and We Have Come for Your Children.

DNA was an American no wave band formed in 1977 by guitarist Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Robin Crutchfield, and later joined by drummer Ikue Mori and bassist Tim Wright. They were associated with the late 1970s New York no wave scene, and were featured on the 1978 compilation No New York.

Johnny Thunders American guitarist and singer-songwriter (1952–1991)

John Anthony Genzale, known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist.

The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock.

Mick Farren English journalist, author and singer (1943–2013)

Michael Anthony Farren was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground.

The Rezillos

The Rezillos are a punk/new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1976. Although emerging at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos did not share the nihilism or social commentary of their contemporaries, but instead took a more light-hearted approach to their songs, preferring to describe themselves at the time as "a new wave beat group". Their songs are heavily influenced by 1950s rock and roll, 1960s English beat music and garage rock, early 1970s glam rock, and recurring lyrical themes of science fiction and B movies; their influences mirrored those of US bands the Cramps and the B-52s, who were starting out at the same time. The Rezillos' biggest hit in their home country was the UK Top 20 single "Top of the Pops" in 1978, but they are best known outside the UK for their cover version of "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight", which was featured on the soundtrack to Jackass: The Movie in 2002. Since the Rezillos recorded it, the song has been covered by other punk bands, including Youth Brigade and Murphy's Law.

Jon Tiven American record producer

Jon Tiven is an American composer, guitarist, record producer, and music journalist. He has produced albums by Wilson Pickett, Frank Black and Don Covay as well as a series of tribute albums paying tribute to the songwriting of Don Covay, Arthur Alexander, Otis Blackwell, Curtis Mayfield, and Van Morrison. He was also the co-founder of the Memphis power pop band Prix, as well as the bands The Yankees and The Jon Tiven Group.

The Neon Boys were a short lived New York City proto-punk band, composed of Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell and Billy Ficca. The trio later went on to form the influential rock band Television in 1973; Richard Hell also went on to form the influential punk bands the Heartbreakers and Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

Hong Kong Garden (song) 1978 single by Siouxsie and the Banshees

"Hong Kong Garden" is a song by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as the band's debut single on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records. The single reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.

Blank Generation (song) 1976 song by Richard Hell and the Voidoids

"Blank Generation" is the title track of Richard Hell and the Voidoids' 1977 debut album Blank Generation. A rewrite of Bob McFadden and Rod McKuen's 1959 record "The Beat Generation", Richard Hell wrote the new lyrics during his time with the band Television, and performed it live with another band, The Heartbreakers. Malcolm McLaren claimed that the Sex Pistols' song "Pretty Vacant" was directly inspired by "Blank Generation".

The Numero Group

The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 by Rob Sevier, Ken Shipley, and Tom Lunt. The label's focus since its 2003 founding has been to research and preserve obscure recorded material and ephemera by artists and entrepreneurs who found little commercial success upon their material's initial release.

<i>CBGB</i> (film) 2013 film by Randall Miller

CBGB is a 2013 American biographical drama film about the former New York music venue CBGB. It follows the story of Hilly Kristal's New York club from its concept as a venue for Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock 'n' roll and punk. The film uses devices such as a comic book-style panels, as well as onscreen text to identify important figures in the punk movement.

Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who also played guitar and sang backup vocals. Alex Chilton also participated in the recordings, along with session drummer Hilly Michaels.

Roberta Bayley is a photographer, best known for her photographs of the New York punk scene of the 70s.

References

  1. 1 2 Cohen, Finn (2015-10-23). "Terry Ork's Punk Rock Time Capsule Celebrates a Nihilistic Niche". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  2. 1 2 Ring, Trudi (October 11, 2013). "CBGB: The Rise of Punk in a No-Holds-Barred Party". Advocate. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 Birch, Ian (December 17, 1977). "The Ork Talks" (PDF). Melody Maker .
  4. William Terry Ork and George Abagnalo. "Night of the Living Dead—Interview with George A. Romero." Interview. Vol. 1, Issue 4 (1969)
  5. McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (1996). "18". Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk .
  6. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Miller Freeman Books. pp. 800–1. ISBN   0-87930-607-6.

Further reading