Hell was an originator of the punk fashion look, the first to spike his hair and wear torn, cut and drawn-on shirts, often held together with safety pins. Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, has said Hell was an important inspiration for the Sex Pistols' look and attitude, as well as the safety-pin accessorized clothing McLaren sold in his London shop, Sex. (Some members of the Sex Pistols dispute this.)
Hell attended Sanford Preparatory in Delaware for one year (the 11th grade) where he became friends with Tom Miller (later Tom Verlaine). They ran away from school together and were arrested in Alabama for arson and vandalism a short time later.
Hell never finished high school but moved to New York City to make his way as a poet. In New York he bought a used table-top offset printing press and began publishing books and magazines under the imprints Genesis: Grasp and then Dot Books. Before he was twenty-one his own poems were published in numerous periodicals, ranging from Rolling Stone to the New Directions Annuals. Along with Tom Verlaine, in 1971 Hell also published under the pseudonym Theresa Stern, a female poet whose photo was actually a combination of both his and Verlaine's faces, in makeup and a female wig, superimposed over one another to create a new identity.
In 1969, Verlaine joined Hell in New York and they eventually formed the Neon Boys. Their 1973 demo tracks of "Love Comes in Spurts" and "That's All I Know (Right Now)", later released by Shake Records, were arguably the first punk recordings. In 1974 the band added a second guitar player and changed their name to Television.
Television's performances at CBGB helped kick-start the first wave of punk bands, inspiring a number of different artists including Patti Smith, who wrote the first press review of Television for the Soho Weekly News in June 1974. She had an affair with Tom Verlaine, and formed a highly successful band of her own (the Patti Smith Group). Television was the band that convinced CBGB owner Hilly Kristal to book rock bands at his club, and they built its first stage.
Hell started playing his song "Blank Generation" during his stint in Television. In 1975, Hell quit (or was fired from) Television after a dispute over creative control. Hell claimed that he and Verlaine had originally divided the songwriting evenly but later Verlaine favored his own songs. Verlaine remains characteristically silent on the subject.
Hell left Television the same week that Jerry Nolan and Johnny Thunders quit the New York Dolls and the three of them formed a band called The Heartbreakers in May 1975 (not to be confused with Tom Petty's band, which adopted the same name the following year). After a few shows Walter Lure joined The Heartbreakers as a second guitar player.
A year later, in early 1976, Hell quit The Heartbreakers and started Richard Hell & the Voidoids with Robert Quine, Ivan Julian and Marc Bell. The band released two albums, though the second, Destiny Street, was a less successful lineup that retained only Quine from the original group, and suffered from Hell's distractions, narcotics especially, during recording, as he himself has described. Hell's best known songs with the Voidoids were "Blank Generation" (the title track of the group's original album), "Love Comes in Spurts", "The Kid With the Replaceable Head" and "Time".
Hell was married to Scandal's Patty Smyth for two years, 1985–86, and they have a daughter, Ruby. Hell married Sheelagh Bevan in 2002 and lives with her in the East Village, New York City.
The Plan
Richard Hell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd had it, I'd had it- I was mush to the bones.
I covered the windows, I was taking no calls
Then I thought for a month inside the alien walls.
Now I know, oh
They dont' tell you so.
Now I know, oh
Now I know, oh
They don't tell you so.
But I can recall
It all.
I called up a girl I'd known for so many years.
I'd seen her in shock, I'd seen the last of her tears.
I admired her style from her toes to her brain-
She accepted my plan and so she caught the next train.
[Chorus:]
We would secretly smile inside our surgical masks
But we were serious too- we accomplished our task.
The schedule was followed, a daughter was born
And so the mother departed- I was left with her form.
[Chorus:]
Her education's bugun- I'm intent on success.
Her breathtaking beauty it brings out my best.
I once knew true love- she won't know another.
Life is renewed, my little girl is my lover.
[Chorus:]
The lyrics of "The Plan" by Richard Hell explores the singer's retreat from society and his journey to create a new life. In the first verse, the singer describes his decision to withdraw from the street and human contact due to his exhaustion and despair. He covers his windows and spends a month thinking inside his alien walls. Then, the chorus kicks in with a repetition of "Now I know, oh / They don't tell you so," highlighting the idea that society doesn't prepare individuals for the harsh realities of life.
In the second verse, the singer calls up a female friend he has known for years, and they both agree to follow a plan that involves bringing a daughter into the world. The plan is carried out successfully, and the daughter's education begins. The singer is intent on ensuring the daughter's success and beauty, and the final line is both bizarre and creepy since the singer declares the daughter his lover.
The lyrics of "The Plan" delve into themes of societal decay, loneliness, and the lengths individuals may go to create a meaningful existence. It's a perplexing song that offers more enigmas than solutions, leaving the listener to wonder about the singer's motivations and how they relate to the larger society.
Line by Line Meaning
I withdrew from the street and all humanlike zones.
I left society and all its expectations behind, feeling completely drained.
I'd had it, I'd had it- I was mush to the bones.
I had reached my limit and felt completely depleted physically and emotionally.
I covered the windows, I was taking no calls
I isolated myself from others, not wanting any distractions or interruptions.
Then I thought for a month inside the alien walls.
I spent a month contemplating everything, free from the influence of the outside world.
Now I know, oh
They dont' tell you so.
I have discovered something that society doesn't openly talk about.
But I can recall
It all.
I can remember everything clearly.
I called up a girl I'd known for so many years.
I got in touch with a female friend I had known for a long time.
I'd seen her in shock, I'd seen the last of her tears.
I had seen her in a vulnerable state, having cried everything out.
I admired her style from her toes to her brain-
I appreciated everything about her, from her physical appearance to her intelligence.
She accepted my plan and so she caught the next train.
She agreed to my proposal and traveled to meet me.
We would secretly smile inside our surgical masks
We were excited yet cautious about what we were doing.
But we were serious too- we accomplished our task.
We were committed to our plan and successfully carried it out.
The schedule was followed, a daughter was born
We stuck to our plan and had a baby daughter as a result.
And so the mother departed- I was left with her form.
The mother left and I was left to take care of our daughter.
Her education's bugun- I'm intent on success.
I am dedicated to ensuring our daughter's education is a success.
Her breathtaking beauty it brings out my best.
My daughter's beauty inspires me to be the best I can be.
I once knew true love- she won't know another.
I experienced true love in the past, and I hope my daughter will too.
Life is renewed, my little girl is my lover.
My daughter has given me a new sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Contributed by Logan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.