BY: ALEXANDRIA LEE
He was fucked from the start. Jesus Christ Allin was born on Aug. 29, 1956 in New Hampshire. He was given his name after his father, Merle Allin, had “visions” of his son being not unlike a Messiah during his wife’s pregnancy. Jesus Christ would eventually go by GG, since his older brother Merle Jr. would pronounce his name “Jeje.” Thankfully, by the time Jesus Christ started school, his mother changed this unfortunate decision by renaming him Kevin Michael Allin; however, “GG” is the name that would forever be remembered by punk fans and connoisseurs of the violent and obscene.
A social misfit from early on, Allin was placed in special education classes and was held back a year. Influenced by proto-punk band the New York Dolls, he would dress up in drag as a high school junior to rebel. When asked about his youth, Allin described it as “very chaotic” and full of chances, dangers and drugs. These aspects would only get more outrageous as the years went by and Allin became a familiar player in the punk scene starting in the 1970s until his death in 1993.
Influenced by the Stooges and the Rolling Stones, Allin’s debut album Always Was, Is and Always Shall Be, showcases the humble beginnings of a young, fresh-faced punk rocker. Catchy, energetic, and doused in misogyny even more overtly than the Stones, the 1980 album gives a sneak peek of the assholery that would continue to come. Allin’s songs evolved to further polarize listeners with such titles as “Suck My Ass It Smells”, “Shit On My Prick” and the classic “Expose Yourself to Kids.” Allin’s unofficial discography consists of over 130 releases (mostly bootlegs), with one of the most popular being a 1987 live album aptly-named Hated in the Nation.
Described as a musician in his own poop-punk genre, Allin would aim to shock audiences by performing transgressive stage antics. These included urinating, practicing self-harm, and being violent towards both his band members and the audience. Allin is famously known for letting his two-inch penis flap around after pulling his browning (originally white) jockstrap down, and flinging a freshly-lain deuce at the audience.
“GG decided to rub shit all over his chest, so nobody would try to kick his ass… It was great!” recalled fellow performer Bloody Mess on Allin’s first show with the tactic. Allin became known for being shitty both off-stage and on, taking laxatives before performing to emit a steady stream of mostly-liquid goop from his bowels while preaching as the “Saviour of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Narcissistic, sociopathic, and full of shit, Allin would gain a cultish following of fans (including teenage girlfriend Liz Mankowski, who was half of Allin’s age) who aimed to serve their messiah in a different way than his father imagined.
“My rock ‘n’ roll is not to entertain, but to annihilate,” said Allin in an interview on the talk show Geraldo. “My body is a rock ’n’ roll temple, and my flesh, blood and body fluids are a communion to the people, whether they want it or not.”
Throughout his life, Allin was arrested more than 50 times for everything ranging from drunk and disorderly behaviour to great bodily harm “less than murder.” During his first 30 days in prison, Allin claims to have jerked off 100 times. His notoriety for “nudity, obscenity, self-mutilation and violence” led him to appearances on classic American television like The Jerry Springer Show.
In 1989, Allin promised to commit suicide onstage on Halloween; however, when the day came around, he was in jail. For each following year, Allin continued to threaten a spooky Hallows’ Eve death, but ended up in the slammer every time.
Allin died in the early morning on June 28, 1993 of an accidental heroin overdose. At 2 a.m., partygoers posed for photos with the unconscious Allin, who was already undergoing respiratory failure. Unbeknownst to him, Allin’s final gig would be the day before, where he walked the neighbourhood naked, covered in blood and feces and surrounded by fans. This spectacle was filmed and shows the last living moments of “the most spectacular degenerate in rock ‘n’ roll history.”
However, the story doesn’t end there. Allin’s funeral was also filmed, where fans today can witness the bloated, bruised, discoloured corpse of the punk madman and almost smell it from their computer screens. On brother Merle’s request, Allin’s body remained unwashed in days-old feces without any application of makeup, and once again became a prop for #selfieswithGG, as friends posed for photos, covered him with drugs and whiskey, and revealed the two-inch schlong for dick pics. Headphones were placed on Allin’s head, and a portable cassette player with Allin’s 1991 release The Suicide Sessions was played. He was buried on July 3, 1993 in Littleton, New Hampshire, and a reunion takes place every year on the day of his death.
Unfortunately, because too many people pissed on, shat on and generally vandalized Allin’s tombstone, it has since been removed. While some argue he may have liked that, perhaps Allin’s mother felt differently.
