Frankie Venom, RIP
October 16th, 2008 at 4:01 am by GerardThe Winnepeg Sun’s Jason McNeil on the passing of Teenage Head vocalist Frank Kerr, aka Frankie Venom.
The Glasgow, Scotland-born Kerr, 51, was the lead singer of the Hamilton-based band which formed at Westdale High School back in 1975.
Guitarist Gord Lewis announced the death in a press release yesterday afternoon which was later posted on the band’s official website teenagehead.ca.
Teenage Head released its first independent single in 1978 and released its legendary self-titled debut the following year. The group, who performed in Hamilton in early August and were slated to play at this year’s Grey Cup festivities in Montreal, is perhaps best known for the song Let’s Shake which appeared on its Frantic City release.
The band also made national headlines for a June, 1980 concert at Toronto’s Ontario Place Forum when thousands of fans were denied access to the gig. It resulted in what’s known as the Riot at Ontario Place which led to the cancellation of all rock shows at the lakeside venue. There were several arrests and injuries but the attention made Frantic City reach gold status.
