Johnny Thunders single ‘Born to Lose‘ is now available on all digital platforms and is taken from the upcoming live album; Cosa Nostra: Live At The Mudd Club 1983 Gothenburg. ‘Born to Lose’ is a staple punk song for the first generation of rebellious angst driven teens to connect too. The song is a slacker jam, with nihilistic lyrics on being a human being with low self-worth.
Johnny Thunders is a true punk rock legend. He shot to stardom as a founding member of the iconic NEW YORK DOLLS, but after a stint with the Dolls he went on to form his own band Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers. Thunders sadly lost his life in 1991 aged just 38, but his legacy lives on to this day. He was one of the true Godfathers of the US punk scene.
Born in Queens, NY in 1952, Johnny Thunders fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll and turned his back on a potentially successful baseball career to start the legendary New York Dolls – the band that spawned hundreds of other hopeful rock ‘n’ roll bands. When the New York Dolls folded, JT and drummer Jerry Nolan went back to New York’s budding punk rock scene to start The Heartbreakers; an iconic band if there ever was one. Their raw, wild and ‘dirty’ sound became engraved in the minds of all those young punks and it’s fair to say they were more than a major influence on the London punk scene. Over the years, The Heartbreakers toured on and off and they always kept the magic from the early days. Everybody remembers ‘Chinese Rocks’, ‘Born to Lose’ and other gems embedded in our hearts and minds forever.
Solo, Johnny Thunders showed a vulnerable, deeply sensitive and poetic side to his rocker persona, with masterpieces like ‘Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory’, and ‘So Alone’. Whatever his personal circumstances and demons he had to fight, he never lost his love for rock ‘n’ roll or his unique personal sense of style or signature sound that influenced so many. JT just can’t leave anyone indifferent which continues to this day, even after his untimely passing at age 38 in New Orleans.
Johnny Thunders and the Cosa Nostra performance is a full length recording from The Mudd Club in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 16, 1983. Johnny Thunders and the Cosa Nostra were so influential that on this night, attendance was at capacity and the set was tight, playing iconic songs such as ‘Personality Crisis’, ‘Born To Lose’ and ‘These Boots are Made for Walking’.
“All I ever wanted was to make the kids dance” – Johnny Thunders
