A mainstay of the New York rock underground since the early 1970s (thereby prefiguring Soft Cell and all the other synth-based duos as well as an entire subsequent generation of droney noisemongers), Suicide mixed Alan Vega's blues-styled vocals and Marty Rev's synthesizer (originally a broken-down Farfisa organ they couldn't afford to repair). Escaping the dingy clubs of Manhattan, Suicide went on to cause riots in Europe while on tour supporting Elvis Costello and later provided the soundtrack for Werner Fassbinder's film In a Year with 13 Moons. Often confrontational in nature, they always provoked extreme reactions by producing a unique, obsessively American electronic music of enormous and enduring influence.

Among others, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Sisters of Mercy, Henry Rollins, Joy Division, She Wants Revenge, New Order, Soft Cell, Nick Cave, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Radiohead, Spacemen 3, spiritualized, Sonic Boom, Loop, The Fleshtones (both of whom have recorded cover versions of "Rocket USA"), Ric Ocasek of The Cars, R.E.M. and The Kills have listed Suicide as one of their influences.

Radio

Tune in and listen to Suicide and similar artists now:
Sorry, you must be logged in to listen.
Login or register now!