L.A.M.F.

L.A.M.F. (abbreviation of Like a Motherfucker) is the only studio album by the American punk rock band the Heartbreakers, which included Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Walter Lure and Billy Rath. It was released on October 3, 1977, by the British independent record label Track Records, and the music of the album is a mixture of punk and rock and roll.

In a 1977 interview in the UK monthly magazine ZigZag, Thunders said the album title originated from New York gang graffiti. Thunders claimed the gangs would add the LAMF tag after writing their gang name. However, if they were on another gang's territory they would write "D.T.K.L.A.M.F" (Down to Kill Like a Mother Fucker). The original, vinyl release of the album has been criticised for having a lackluster sound despite several attempts to remix it.

Background

The Heartbreakers had been trying to get a record contract in the United States since their formation in 1975.

In the autumn of 1976, Malcolm McLaren, who had informally managed the New York Dolls in their waning days, invited the band to come to England and participate in the Sex Pistols' Anarchy tour, along with The Clash and The Damned, who were replaced by Buzzcocks shortly after the tour commenced. The band accepted the offer, arriving in London on December 1, the same day that the Pistols swore at Bill Grundy on live, prime-time television, which precipitated the cancellation of most of the tour.

Stranded in England with little money after the Anarchy tour came to a halt, the band contemplated a retreat to New York, but their manager, Leee Black Childers, convinced them to stay in England, believing that they would be more successful there. After several gigs in London, Track Records offered the Heartbreakers a recording contract.

Track asked the band to sign to the company as "The Chris Stamp Band Ltd." a holding company owned by Track, with the proviso that if that holding company went out of business, the rights to any recordings the band made would revert to the band's own business partnership. The band agreed and signed on to Track.

Recording session order

The band prepared for the album with a three-day demo session at Essex Studios in late February 1977, followed by two live shows at London's Speakeasy Club, which were recorded by Track Records for future release.

Six songs: "All By Myself," "Let Go," "Get Off The Phone," "I Wanna Be Loved," "Can't Keep My Eyes On You," and "I Love You" were recorded at Essex with Track staff and Motörhead producer Speedy Keen. The band then switched to Ramport Studios (owned by The Who) to record eight more songs. During a break in the recording, the Who's Pete Townshend invited the Heartbreakers to appear as extras in the movie version of Quadrophenia.

Critical reception

L.A.M.F. would be released by Track Records on October 3, 1977, and reached No. 55 on the UK Albums Chart during its one-week stint on the charts. Critic Jon Savage wrote in Sounds magazine, "The sounds (mostly) are great, the playing assured ... so what's the problem? The mixing. The fantasy that they are includes an element of self-destruction, and here's where it operates — they can't seem to get it quite right ... Whichever way, some of the songs ... sound muddy — irritating 'cause you know how good they could be."

Jerry Nolan told the rest of the band that if the album was released "without a proper mix", he would see no reason to remain in the band. Nolan quit during a UK tour, during which time Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook filled in, until Nolan was asked to return as a hired hand.

Music critic Robert Christgau named the album one of the few import-only records from the 1970s he loved yet omitted from Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).