Formed by sometime sculptor Alan Vega (vocals) and free-jazz musician Martin Rev (keyboards), Suicide aimed to carry the flame ignited by The Velvet Underground. Their career was characterized by sporadic bursts of creativity and commercial failure, but with artists as diverse as Depeche Mode, Spiritualized, and Sisters of Mercy citing them as a major influence, could rock ever have been the same without them?

After the band's debut live performance in late 1970, which was roundly condemned by the few that had bothered to turn up, a guitarist was ditched and Suicide became a two-piece - effectively the first synth-pop duo. Further infamous performances showed that their aim was to be an all-encompasing 'art project', rather than a purely musical force. A sinister leather-clad Vega stalked the stage and audience, wielding a bicycle chain with which he habitually smashed chunks out of venue walls. Rev, meanwhile, pushed his primitive synthesizer to the limit to produce a grating two-note metallic drone. Such antics made it extremely difficult for the band to get gigs and, following the 1973 closure of one of the few venues that would tolerate them, Suicide went into a period of hibernation.

During this time the duo witnessed fellow New Yorkers the Ramones and Patti Smith begin their rise to fame and realized that, unless their sound became more commercial, they were destined for obscurity. The Suicide that re-emerged in 1976 arrived in the midst of the punk scene centred on the famed CBGBs club. They had transformed themselves from a performance-based project to a band capable of producing some of the most highly original avant-garde music of the decade. An eponymous album (1977) was released on the Red Star label run by Marty Thau (ex-manager of The New York Dolls). Vega had matured as a lyricist and vividly conjured up a motley array of characters while his menacing vocal style had become a sort of sub-Elvis rockabilly croon to which copious amounts of echo were applied. The ballad "Cheree" was released as a single but "Frankie Teardrop" epitomized the Suicide aural assault. A minimal repetitive mantra-style keyboard riff pulsated as Vega told the sorry tale of Frankie, who one day snapped and murdered his wife and children before killing himself.

During the following year, Suicide attempted to capitalize on the European punk scene and supported The Clash and Elvis Costello on tour. They experienced a typically hostile reaction and Vega had his nose broken on stage in Crawley, while a full-scale riot was precipitated by a performance of "Frankie Teardrop" in Brussels. This gig can be heard on the flexi-disc album, 24 Minutes Over Brussels (1980). The band were not discouraged, and Vega claimed it was the element of confrontation that made their performances so engaging.

A second album, Alan Vega/Martin Rev - Suicide appeared in 1980. The bastardized rockabilly style remained on tracks such as "Be-Bop Kid", but producer Ric Ocasek (of The Cars) injected a large dose of pop sensibility, most evident on "Shadazz" and "Sweetheart", and even featured them on his band's TV show.

Despite critical acclaim, the album sold badly and Suicide was put on hold while both members pursued solo careers. Vega was the more sucessful and his 1980 album, Alan Vega, included "Juke Box Babe", a Top 5 hit in France. The duo re-formed in 1988 and A Way Of Life (1989) was released on Chapter 22. Although the record was proficient enough, it lacked the menace of earlier material.

Suicide (1977; Demon). The duo in all their post-Velvets, electro, doom-laden, experimental glory. Vega swoons, croons, yelps and screams his way through some of the most frightening compositions ever committed to vinyl.