Dead Boys

The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed in 1975 by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer Johnny Blitz—the latter two having splintered from the band Rocket from the Tombs. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums: Young, Loud and Snotty and We Have Come for Your Children.

The Dead Boys were active from 1975 to 1980, briefly reunited a few times in the mid-1980s, and regrouped in 2004 and 2005 for the first time without Bators, who had died in 1990. In September 2017, Chrome and Blitz reunited the band with a new line-up for a 40th anniversary tour along with a new album, Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40, a re-recording of their debut album. This lineup included Chrome and Blitz with vocalist Jake Hout, guitarist Jason "Ginchy" Kottwitz and bassist Ricky Rat. Hout quit in November 2024 over plans for a new Dead Boys album with an AI-synthesized Bators vocal.