C rime, "San Francisco's First And Only Rock N' Roll Band" was formed by friends and fellow delinquents Johnny Strike and Frankie Fix -San Francisco transplants from Nowheresville, Pennsylvania. Initially inspired by both 60's garage and 70's glam , they taught themselves to play guitar and set about putting a band together. They soon added Ron "The Ripper" Greco on bass. Greco had a fine pedigree having played in the Chosen Few before they evolved into the Flamin Groovies. They used the goofy moniker Space Invaders until wisely taking Tony Steele's (of No Exit fanzine) advice and changed their name to the more ominous Crime.
Notorious pill head Ricky Williams (aka Ricky Tractor) soon rounded out the group with his shambolic drumming style. The band practiced furiously and adapted their trademark image - dressing in leather jackets with Frankie & Johnny pushing the 'look' even further to almost s&m parody.
Even before playing one live date, they felt they were ready to head into the studio to record their first single. Recorded and released in mid-1976 "Hot Wire My Heart" b/w "Baby, You're So Repulsive" (on the band's own Crime Music label) is widely considered a landmark and the very first West Coast "punk" record.
Crime played their first live performance on Halloween 1976 at a gay fundraiser at the Old Waldorf. Before they even got through the fifth song a frightened fairy pulled the plug.
Contoversy followed the band from the start and their second show was marred by a scandalous flyer sporting a photo of Adolf Hitler. A fortunate event occurred when the band cornered Ness Aquino and talked him into booking Crime at his club - the legendary Mabuhay Gardens on Broadway. After Crime broke the ice, the 'Fab Mab' became ground zero of the burgeoning San Francisco punk scene.
Crime quickly developed a devoted cult following. Constant gigs honed their rockabilly and soul infused scortch. And all the while they perfected their menacing looks by alternating between rough trade leather gear and regulation police uniforms. They would frequently storm the stage to the sound of a police siren and flashing lights. Startling (and now highly collectable) posters began to pop up around the city advertising their shows with their trademark Crime logo.
As they gained notoriety their gigs became more chaotic and violent. Unpredictable Ricky Williams could no longer be propped up and Brittley Black was recruited to play drums on their second classic single "Frustration" b/w "Murder By Guitar" (Crime Music) in mid-1977.
However Black soon left to join the Readymades and was replaced by Hank Rank who also managed the band during their most 'stable' perioid. At the top of their game at this point , Crime always brought out strong emotions -they were equally loved and hated. Amongst San Fran's community of hippies, art students, and political punks they stood apart.
At times Crime was their own worst enemy. They flat out refused to open for any local bands (and even some overseas biggies like the Damned). This dogma kept them off many great bills including the classic Sex Pistols show at Winterland.
They would also torture their own fans by sometimes making them wait hours before they would hit the stage. One especially dumb case of shooting themselves in the foot was insulting Seymore Stein of Sire Records when he came to see them. They began to develope a reputation as difficult. They wanted to get bigger but didn't seem to know how to go about it. Small record labels were scared of them , and major labels felt they were just too weird. They had made too many enemies.
They did have a knack for publicity -such as playing a concert at San Quentin prison which made the national news. But by the early 80's internal strife and rampant drug use was taking it's toll. Hank Rank had had enough and quit. Desperate they reconfigured themselves and tried a new direction. They released their final single, the out of character "Gangster Funk" b/w "Maserati" (Berkeley Squared Records), to an unwanting public in 1981. Ron The Ripper finally quit and the original core duo of Fix & Strike staggered on till 1982 when they finally turned in their badges.
The legend of Crime as a stunning aural and visual experience will never be forgotten. For a too brief moment in time they were not only the greatest rock n' roll band in San Francisco, but maybe the world.
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