SPIN

The influence of New York City's early punk scene is an often told tale — just ask your "cool" uncle to talk about his collection of tattered Ramones and Patti Smith t-shirts.

But a lesser known success story is the late-'70s movement in Los Angeles, where boundary-pushing bands like the Germs, X, Black Flag, the Plugz, Fear, the Bags, and the Circle Jerks brought punk power to the land of palm trees and endless summers.

Or as X singer Exene Cervenka puts it now: "I was twenty-one or two. I was surrounded by amazing, brilliant, hilarious renegades and runaways. We were creating a new social order, a new music, and new identities. It was nothing short of magic."

The new book The Beautiful & The Damned — edited by Kristine McKenna with gorgeous photographs by Ann Summa — chronicles this period, from 1978-1982, when the vitality of the local club scene made L.A. the must-visit destination for musicians from Johnny Lydon and Joe Strummer to Chrissie Hynde and Siouxsie Sioux.

Click through the following pages to see some of the musicians who made the scene great — and read the recollections of McKenna and Summa.

START THE GALLERY NOW>>>

Summa photographed the reigning king and queen of L.A. punk at their West Hollywood home (left) and on the town in Los Angeles. "They were much more successful than the other bands in the scene," says Summa. "But I think they all worked together and it never felt like people were jealous of them."

Alice Armandariz and Pat Morrison formed the punk group after meeting at an audition for the band Venus and the Razorblades, Kim Fowley's attempt to find the next version of the Runaways. "When they first performed, they played with bags on their heads and people would jump on stage and rip the bags off," says Summa. "It was pretty thrashing and hardcore music. People were really into them."

Summa photographed the Slits' frontwoman at the ramshackle Tropicana Motel in L.A in 1980."She was laying on this awful skuzzy Astroturf next to the pool," Summa recalls. "I remember at the end of the shoot she said to me, 'OK, now fuck off!' And I was like, 'What did I do?,' but I wasn't scared.

The Clash guitarist performing at L.A.'s The Roxy. "L.A. punks worshipped the Clash — totally!" says Summa. "Their shows were always sold out. Everybody loved them."

"Billy was already a seasoned musician when he joined X," says McKenna. "He knew how to play really well — they rehearsed a lot, too. But at the beginning, they'd also occasionally be bombed on stage and even when they were like that, they were fantastic." Zoom is shown photographed at The Arena club in October, 1980.

Cancer, photographed in a Hollywood Cemetery in April 1982, was essential to bringing goth flavor to punk. "They were goth before goth existed," she says. Cancer formed 45 Grave in 1979 and led the group until they broke up in 1985.

Mexican-born Larriva, who fronted the Plugz, bridged the punk scene with East L.A.'s Chicano community and paved the way for bigger acts like Los Lobos. (Astute pop culture nerds might recognize him from his Hammy character on The Pee-wee Herman Show.) "Everything is so segregated in L.A., but he was from the east side and helped get the scene to move downtown," says Summa.

Unidentified scenesters at The Punk Prom, a one-off party hosted at an L.A. Elks Lodge. "That was a style among women, wearing vintage wedding dresses with spiky dog collars or piercings," says Summa. "Everything was torn up and shredded. And that was shocking at the time. Like, cutting holes in your clothes? OK!"

Rotten (shot in April, 1980 at a Public Image Ltd. gig) and Byrne hailed from London and New York punk scenes, but were still welcomed by those in L.A. "They were totally embraced," says Summa.

The influential art-punk group photographed at the Tropicana Motel, November 20, 1980.

Annabella Lwin (shown in September 1981) was only 14-years-old when she fronted this British New Wave group, which was manufactured by Malcolm McClaren to promote a business with designer Vivienne Westwood. "The hardcore punks had a lot of attitude about what was authentic and who was a poser," says McKenna. "And anybody who came from out of town, from New York or London, they had to prove themselves. Annabella was great live."

The gothabilly band, fronted by Lux Interior, photographed at the Whiskey a Go Go on May 5, 1980. "Lux was just an extreme, funny, and powerful performer," says McKenna. "For starters — those pants! I don't know how he kept them on, they were always so low."

The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, Lene Lovich, Siouxsie Sioux, and Exene Cervenka photographed at various points in Los Angeles from the late 70s to early 80s. Despite the male-dominated punk community, women proved their worth as musicians. "There was so much misogyny in that world and they were underrepresented," says Summa. "I think the women were just like, 'Fuck you! I can do this if you can do it!'"