



In 1989, GG Allin wrote to the Maximum RocknRoll fanzine and declared that he would commit suicide, live and onstage on Halloween night of that year. But when the date arrived, Allin—conveniently or otherwise—was safe… in prison. He continued to threaten a Halloween suicide every year after that, but he always ended up back in jail each time October 31st came around, before dying offstage of a drug overdose in 1993.

So it was through no fault of his own that the infamous scum rocker failed to off himself in front of a paying audience. And apparently few things pissed him off more than being accused of faking his suicide threat for publicity as can be seen in this extraordinarily strange video footage shot in Boston at what was apparently billed as a “reading.” A clip of this appears in the Hated documentary, but this is the entire thing, just under ten minutes in two parts below.

It begins with Allin ranting and raving about a local paper accusing him of “crying wolf” about his announced “in concert” harakiri. He’s not happy about this and burns the paper in protest. From what can be gathered from his huffing and puffing, GG Allin had not been booked to play a show in a Boston rock club for several years at this point. This also makes him very, very mad at everyone. In Boston. Someone has a laugh box in the audience which likewise infuriates him. He violently hits a woman and pulls her hair. He breaks beer bottles on his head. Throws chairs at people. Cuts his chest open with a beer can and bleeds.

And so forth and so on!

As unlikely as it may sound, for much of his life, GG Allin was actually employed. He held down a job. Not only was he gainfully employed, but if his resume is to be believed, he was employed long term. Remarkably, Allin held one job for three years, and another for five, something that doesn’t really square much with the popular image of the shit-stained performer: GG Allin was at least somewhat employable at one point.

This resumé, which was used to write a setlist on, is being auctioned off with some other GG Allin memorabilia at RR Auction in Boston on Thursday. You can read a larger version at their website.







Below, the footage of the explosive Boston “reading,” I think from sometime in 1989. He doesn’t read anything.

