In 1978 Smutty Smiff left London for NYC when his band Levi and the Rockats were booked to play their debut gig opening for The Cramps at Max's Kansas City, which spring-boarded his career as a musician, rockabilly ace-face, art entrepreneur, actor and model. He’s worked with artists Andy Warhol, Mick Rock, Bob Gruen, Janette Beckman, Robert Mapplethorpe and Greg Gorman. He’s appeared in Vogue Italia, German Vogue and on the the runway for Betsey Johnson and Stephen Sprouse and has worn The London Leatherman made accessories since the late 70s. For 14 years he hosted a rockabilly/punk/glam/ska radio show on 97.7FM in Iceland and is now back in London with his shop Wildcat Vintage 59 stocking a curated selection of rockabilly and punk rock clothing alongside his gallery of exclusive Leee Black Childers images and prints.
Question by Bridget Veal Carroll
Smutty photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe wearing a LV4 Wristband.
Q. This summer you opened your shop Wildcat Vintage 59 in London’s Alfie’s Antique Market, stocking rare and vintage clothing, and already coined a hangout for members of The Clash, Siouxsie And The Banshees and fashion industry juggernauts. What can people expect when they visit the shop?
A. What I would like to think is that Wildcat captures an era, a lifestyle and attitude that had such a massive impact on my life and so many others too. A time when strikes and unemployment was rife, youths up and down the country were frustrated and angry, and nothing new was going on in music until punk happened and I don’t think anybody had a clue what punk really had up it’s sleeves, no one expected it to become what it did to be honest. I know because I was thrown in the punk rock deep end by Leee Black Childers, who managed Levi and the Rockats and took us to NYC in 1978.
Wildcat reflects a time when there were Teddy Boys and Skinheads and Mods who dressed up and were proud of their uniforms. A time when I quickly went from Essex Teddy Boy into a new type of Rockabilly movement that also embraced punk. Levi and the Rockats early shows were mainly played to punks.
The shop encapsulates the style and feeling of the Kings Road in the late 1970s, which I believe is missing in today’s world of buying online. With Wildcat you can buy online as well as visit our cool shop and actually try on the clothes.
Q. You’ve collaborated with artist Vince Ray on two T-shirt designs for the shop and available now. Can you tell us about the two designs and how the collaboration came about?
A. I’ve known Vince for many years, mainly through the Rockabilly scene. He was pretty much the main graphics, T-shirt and poster designer for the world’s biggest Rockabilly event in the USA held in Las Vegas called Viva Las Vegas.
Í first asked him to design a Levi and the Rockats T shirt for the anniversary of legendary NYC club Max’s Kansas City which Levi and the Rockats were asked to headline and the T-shirt became a collectors item. We became close friends and more recently I asked him to design a shirt using a very early picture of Debbie Harry taken by Leee, before Blondie made it big. Also I was friends with Debbie and because Debbie loved Leee we were able to get permission to use the image.
Smutty Smiff’s Wildcat 59 collaboration T-shirts with Vince Ray.
Q. At Wildcat Vintage 59 you have a gallery of exclusive Leee Black Childers photographs and prints. You have a great image of Sid Vicious wearing a The London Leatherman LW10 Studded Wristband and Viv Albertine and their friend wearing The London Leatherman LW3 Studded Belts. Can you elaborate on the selection of images you have available in the gallery and how significant Leee’s work is culturally and personally to you?
Photo by Leee Black Childers. Official prints available at Smutty’s Wildcat 59 store.
A. In 1975 Levi Dexter from Southend-on-sea was living at my mum’s house in Basildon Essex, we had met at Rock n Roll shows in London and Essex. Leee discovered Levi when he got up and sang with “Shakin Stevens” and long story short Levi and Leee wanted me in the band. Leee said ‘drums or bass?’
I replied ‘What will get me more girls?’
Leee said ‘Probably bass darling boy Smutty.’ So bass it was.
To me personally Leee was so much more than a manager or photographer. He actually was the pivotal link between NYC punk a la Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers and English punk, a la the Sex Pistols. Once Malcolm Mclaren found out that Leee had taken on Johnny’s new band (after the New York Dolls broke up), he personally invited Leee and the Heartbreakers on the now infamous Anarchy in the UK tour.
Leee’s first job as a photographer started at Andy Warhol’s factory. Leee took pictures from 1969 when he first met Andy Warhol until his passing.
I love Leee’s work because it was never so much studio shots, much more candid, he was genuinely a part of the band or subject he was capturing.
I have the biggest and rarest collection of Leee’s work.
Also, I recently found never printed or seen before pictures of David Bowie with the Lindsey Kemp mime troupe at The Rainbow Theatre August 18th 1972, the earliest Ziggy Stardust pictures that I’ve personally ever seen..
Growing up without a father and having Leee discover me changed the course of my life forever. I will always carry the torch to keep his legacy alive and continue to make people aware of his significant place in pop culture history.
Q. Your band The Rockats, how do you describe the band to anyone just discovering them? And what was that first gig at Max’s Kansas City really like?
A. With the Rockats we started out with the intention of bringing back youth rebellion to the predominantly Teddy Boy Rock’n Roll scene. There were of course bands already playing that influenced us at the time like Whirlwind in the UK, The Cramps and Robert Jordan in the USA, but there were very few young Rocking bands. Our aim wasn’t to sound like Gene Vincent or Elvis, but to add punk elements and the make up worn by the New York Dolls.
So that’s what we did, it snowballed so fast after the first show supporting The Cramps that within a year we were selling out Max’s, CBGB’S and the whiskey-a-go-go .As well as being on national prime time TV without a record deal!
Q. You were immersed in the early punk rock scene, hanging out with the Sex Pistols but dressed as a Teddy Boy, how did that work? And did you experience backlash from the Teds?
A. As a real Teddy Boy from Essex I personally was a little uneasy with going with Leee and the boys to see punk bands, but when we’d meet up on Wardour Street and hang out with Joe Strummer, Thunders, Sid and many more, I started to enjoy and embrace the new sub culture called punk rock .
I felt that the Ted’s were kinda stuck in a time zone with old fashioned attitudes and not wanting to accept any changes to the scene.
In turn we could never play to the Teddy Boys because we were punks to them .
Q. You spent time with Sid Vicious, what’s your Sid story?
A. I met Sid many times my most memorable story is when Levi and the Rockats were the house band at the Speakeasy club. Sid would go up to everyone and ask for a pound because he said he was hungry and Malcolm wouldn’t give him any money.
Q. How would you describe your style pre-forming Levi and the Rockats?
A. My personal style was always a mix between Teddy Boy, gypsy, leather rocker and The Wild One, Brando style.
I always loved the fact that the original Ted’s took from the Edwardian style and crossed it with the Mississippi River gambler, western ties and Chantilly lace with flamboyant waistcoats.
Q. You wore loads of leather during your time as a rockabilly ace-face in NYC. What’s your perspective on leather for styling a rockabilly revival look?
A. I always loved leather, going back to my Gene Vincent and Vince Taylor roots. Lots of the Ace Cafe early pictures really inspired me, especially since some of them had big Gene Vincent pictures hand painted on the back of their jackets. My dearest friend who sadly passed away did a great book called Rockers, his name was Johnny Stewart.
Love leather always have.
Q. Was Warhol and The Factory really amazing?
A. Warhol was amazing, definitely amusing and extremely charming. I first met him at the factory in 1978.
We had been invited for lunch and we demolished the food table in minutes. Andy asked, after he’d followed me around for a while ‘Can I take your picture?’
I replied ‘What do you do and what do I get out of it?’
Leee later laughing said ‘Smutty you’re probably the only person ever who’s asked Andy that, and that’s why he likes you so much.’
After that I became a regular hanging out at the factory with all the Andy drag queens and super stars.
Q. In 1981 you were photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe and wore many leather LV4 Wristbands including ones with coffin studs, square studs, round disc studs. How did you come to be photographed by Mapplethorpe and do you remember the leather wristbands?
A. Robert I met partly through Leee and meeting him at NYC nightclubs like Mud Club, Area and Max’s.
He loved my hair and style and I often wore leather. I started out at fifteen in Essex as an apprentice hairdresser and did a good quiff cut and style. I told Robert and he said ‘I want a Teddy Boy haircut’. So I agreed and he invited me to his loft in Soho NYC. After that he said ‘By the way I’m a photographer can I take some pictures of you?’
I agreed and we became good friends.
My leather cock ring wristband I got from a shop in Los Angeles in 1978 called the Pleasure Chest.
Smutty in leather, photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe.
Q. You stock a selection of Pride & Clarke Speedway Caps at Wildcat Vintage 59. What’s your perspective on why they’re such a stylish cap and how do you style yours?
A. I absolutely love my Speedway Cap, the design is flawless the workmanship unsurpassed and timeless. I almost sleep in it!
Q. What are your three favourite pieces of clothing available at Wildcat Vintage 59 right now and why?
My Three favorite pieces right now are my vintage customized studded leather.
A bright yellow Billy Fury style jacket
A custom wool hand made skull and crossbones jumper.
You can shop Smutty’s exclusive Lee Black Childers prints & Vince Ray collaboration T-shirts here: WILDCAT
And visit Wildcat Vintage 59 at Alfies Antique Market, Top Floor, 13-25 Church St, NW8 8DT, London.