A Quick Memory of Johnny Thunders

The jovial and talented Walter Lure passed away recently. His departure marks the end of the existence of a certain type of rock ‘n’ roller. Walter was fun, clever and a man that had to have determination and be relaxed at the same time to be able to do what he did. His demeanor was cool and he seemed to have a handle on things when performing, and he came through a time where many from his social circle weren’t good to themselves and audiences only hoped the main performers would make it to the stage intact. I don’t have any particular standout stories about Walter, except that I was fascinated by his eyebrows early on – but the person I am mostly referencing in the sentence prior is Johnny Thunders. Walter called himself Thunders’ foil, which is a great description. Walter kept the Heartbreakers going many a time when Johnny was too distracted for his own band. Thunders, who is now gone 29 years, had a unique guitar style that he is still revered for. I had the opportunity to see Thunders live in a few different bands he was in, but my most vivid memory of him was less musically oriented, and more humor and food oriented, sorta. Flash back to Englander’s; a club/pub/bar in Hillside NJ that held shows. The Smithereens concur it was the first club they ever gigged at. The timeline was October or November sometime in the early eighties. Englander’s was situated on a main street, and I was parked with friends on that street somewhat down a hill from where the club was. We were early, and Thunders was notorious for playing late, if at all, so we were hanging out in the car probably smoking weed and listening to tunes. I was sitting in the front passenger seat, and I remember squinting my eyes to see a person who was struggling with something at the top of the hill, close to where the bar was. It was an object that was fairly large – larger than a bastketball, and they were having trouble handling it – it was obvious it was heavy. There was just a sheen of ice/frost on the sidewalk, and I could see that was making it difficult for the person we now were watching –  deal with this item.

So my friends and I watched this figure, picking the object up, dropping it, pushing it around on the sidewalk, slipping backwards, then forwards, then backwards…you know, envision any Three Stooges episode complete with sound effects & you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, it was amusing and really engrossing. We were stoned, remember. Wooooohow. Slowly, they get down the sidewak and are within a car length of myself & my buddies. I realize that it is Johnny Thunders struggling with a frozen turkey. It’s the time of year when all the supermarkets give away free turkeys for a certain amount spent on groceries & he’s gotten one, and he’ll be damned if it gets the best of him. He’s trying to navigate this glacial butterball down the sidewalk to somewhere(?), and the turkey is certainly putting him through hell. He continues sliding and stumbling on past the car, we say nothing, just gape at him and the turkey and watch him disappear down the street. Perhaps he turned the corner. I don’t even recollect how we reacted, but it seemed more momentous than hilarious at the time. We probably should have leaped out and helped him, but it was more surreal watching him glide by! Eventually he played a set that evening once he got his shit together – it had taken a LONG while, but once he could stand and get in front of the mic, Thunders was good to go. Usually really good to go, once he got onstage. I miss his performances as well as his antics. He was so much more interesting than anything in the tabloids nowadays. So Walter and Johnny have a lot of catching up to do. Their team will be missed.