Teenage Head (band)

Teenage Head
Teenage Head in concert at the 2008 Friendship Festival in Fort Erie, ON
Background information
Origin	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Punk rock, garage rock
Years active	1975 (1975)–present
Labels	Epic, Attic, MCA, Ready, Warpt, Fringe, O.P.M., Loudrock, Sonic Unyon
Associated acts	Marky Ramone
Members	Gord Lewis Steve Marshall Jack Pedler Dave Desroches
Past members	Steve Park Frankie Venom (Kerr) Nick Stipanitz Blair Richard Martin Mark Lockerbie Pete MacAulay David Bendeth

Teenage Head is a Canadian rock group from Hamilton, Ontario and was a popular Canadian punk rock band during the early 1980s.

The group was formed in Hamilton by Frankie Venom (Frank Kerr), Gord Lewis, Steve Mahon and Nick Stipanitz. Stipanitz has since been replaced by Jack Pedler, and Venom died of cancer on October 15, 2008.

Teenage Head was formed in 1975 when the band members were students at Westdale High School in Hamilton. By May 1978, they released their first single "Picture My Face" on Epic Records, and their self-titled debut, Teenage Head, followed a year later.

The band's performance at the The Last Pogo concert on December 1, 1978 at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, ended in a riot and was shut down by the police. The concert was made into a short film by Colin Brunton, The Last Pogo. In 2006, Brunton began a feature-length documentary film about the concert, including additional interviews and footage of Teenage Head. It was released on DVD in 2008 as a tribute to the late Frankie Venom.

1980's Frantic City was the band's breakthrough album, making them stars across Canada with the hit singles "Let's Shake" and "Somethin' On My Mind". They toured to support that album, including opening the major Heatwave festival in August. In June 1980 their performance at Toronto's Ontario Place sparked a riot. The incident made headlines across the country, and led Ontario Place to ban rock concerts for several years afterward.

In September 1980, riding high on the success of Frantic City and the band's unintended notoriety, Attic Records, their Canadian label, set up a series of showcase gigs in New York City, hoping to attract a U.S. record deal. Only a few days before their scheduled departure, Lewis was seriously injured in a car accident and the showcase was cancelled. Lewis was temporarily replaced by David Bendeth, although he was able to return in time to play on the 1982 album Some Kinda Fun, which was another success.