GG Allin: A Rock and Roll Suicide

Notice: This post ain’t for everyone, women and kids in particular.

I thought that I had seen, heard, and experienced a lot of shit until I read about the life of GG Allin. Suffice it to say, there a lot of weird muthafuckas walkin’ this planet – GG Allin was definitely one of them. This man made Iggy Pop, Sid Vicious, and Marilyn Manson look like neutered angelic Vienna Choir Boys on a pastoral Sunday picnic in comparison.

I have excerpted some of the most salacious details of this individual’s life, career, and death. I harbor only feelings of pity for this poor soul who was destined for self-annihilation from the word go. Nevertheless, his life broadcasted a meaningful life lesson – Do not try this shit at home!

From GG Allin’s Wikipedia entry:

Allin is best remembered for his notorious live performances that typically featured wildly transgressive acts such as Allin defecating and urinating on stage, rolling in feces and often consuming excrement (coprophagia), committing self-injury, performing naked, taunting people to perform fellatio on him, and committing violent actions toward the audience—often doing many of these things more or less simultaneously.

Allin was a heroin user, alcoholic, and general abuser of any intoxicants provided to him. He was poorly groomed and rarely cleaned himself. Allin ate laxatives before performances – as defecation, including drinking and eating it, was becoming a regular stage act for him. Allin described himself as “the last true rock and roller.”

Another attraction to Allin performances was his continual threats of suicide. In 1998, Allin wrote to Maximum Rock n Roll stating that he would commit suicide on stage on Halloween 1998. However, he was in jail when that day came. He continued his threat each following year but ended up imprisoned each following Halloween. When asked why he doesn’t follow through with his threats, or sometimes his on-stage defecations, Allin stated, “With GG, you don’t get what you expect—you get what you deserve.”

Despite threats of an on stage suicide, Allin died of a heroin overdose in NYC on June 28, 1993. He was 36 years old. His last show was at a small club called The Gas Station in New York City. In his last show the power went out during the second song, after which he trashed the venue and walked the streets of New York naked and covered in blood and feces, surrounded by fans whom he openly embraced.

At his funeral, Allin’s bloated, discolored corpse was dressed in his black leather jacket and trademark jock strap. He had a bottle of Jim Beam beside him in his casket, as per his wishes. As part of his brother’s request, the mortician was instructed not to wash the corpse (which smelled strongly of feces), or apply any makeup. The funeral became a wild party.

Below is a video clip of a bloody GG Allin performance. Although I couldn’t find a clip of GG defecating on stage, this one is a good introduction for the newbies. He manages to rupture his dome with some apparatus (possibly a camera) and cold cocks an audience member. You are probably better off not watching it though.

Death is a very important part of life ~ GG Allin

See also: GG ALLIN 1991 Extra Filthy Bloody Edition “Throbblehead” Doll