Onstage Vega would bait the crowd into a riotous frenzy that occasionally led to full-blown violence, usually with the audience finally attacking him with anything they could lay their hands on. Opening for the Clash on a tour of England they were bottled off stage and arrested on suspicion of drug possession, which later proved to be a bogus charge. Opening for Elvis Costello in Brussels, the Gendarmes had to tear gas the audience out into the street when tempers flared and bottles, chairs and wall paneling went flying through the air towards the stage. It was too much even for punks.

Their self-titled debut LP was released on December 28, 1977 and sold less than 4,000 copies in the USA and even less abroad but was widely praised for its brilliance and originality. In 1978 MTV was still on the drawing boards, no national alternative scene existed to speak of, and radio exposure for someone named Suicide was but a dream and a prayer.

Unlikely fans like the Cars' mastermind Ric Ocasek and even Bruce Springsteen went on record as loving Suicide's eleven minute "Frankie Teardrop" masterpiece but their music found few takers and their eponymous debut went unnoticed until its reissue in 1998 in England. Today it's considered a classic. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine lists it as one of their 500 Best Albums of All-Time.

By 1979 Punk had begun to penetrate the boardrooms of the major labels, thanks to artists like the Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Television, Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith and Suicide, the primal duo ... the "old school" punk stars who paved the way.

This staggering, no frills, raw and wild punk ritual was recorded in 1980 and features the distinctive Suicide sound in its most passionate and primitive form. Never intended for commercial release, it contains 3 unreleased songs - "Cadillac, Touch Me / Be Bop a Lula and Jesus," and illustrates why Suicide are considered one of rock 'n' roll's most ardent performers and, along with Kraftwerk, one of the pioneers and founding fathers of the Synth Pop and New Wave movements, and had a profound influence on the likes of Jesus & Mary Chain, Soft Cell, Spacemen 3, Stereolab, and even more adventurous and extreme artists like Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire.

Not for the faint of heart, Attempted: Live at Max's Kansas City 1980 is perfect in all its imperfection ... even 20+ years later.