Sold Date: May 27, 2024
Start Date: May 13, 2024
Final Price: $245.00 (USD)
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LEGIONAIRE'S DISEASE BAND: "RATHER SEE YOU DEAD / DOWNTOWN, DISEASE UNLIMITED RECORDS A-1001 / B, In Excellent Condition. RARE ITEM IN THIS CONDITION.  What you see in the photos is what you will receive. Shipped Quickly With Tracking. Satisfaction Guaranteed!  Thanks. Julie.                                                                                                          (onleft)
Legionaire's Disease Band
Rather See You Dead b/w Downtown
Disease Unlimited (1001), 1979

Jerry Anomie was born in Tennessee but moved to Houston as a young child. Music never appealed to him growing up until a friend of his who worked at a record store played him the Sex Pistols and Iggy Pop. He ended up meeting Iggy soon after that, which helped give him a new outlook on life. Having recently spent five and a half years in prison, he started realizing he didn't have to be a criminal. He could be in a band!

Initially taking on the role of manager for his friend Dick Long's contrived band, The Niggers, Jerry's duties included rallying up musicians and finding them a rehearsal space. It soon became apparent that Dick wasn't actually up for being a front man, so Jerry hopped on board. He continued playing with the group for a few months after that, but since they had no original material to work on, he decided to get a new band started.

They self-released the "Rather See You Dead (Than With Wool On Your Head)" single on their own Disease Unlimited Records in a reputed edition of somewhere between 500-1,000 copies. The cover of the record shows a picture of Jerry's grandfather in a casket. It gave Jerry the idea to stage his own funeral as a promotional ploy. So he started calling around to all the big funeral homes to try and rustle up a casket, explaining to them it was to promote a record. Unsurprisingly, he was turned down time and again. But when he promised Sunnyside Funeral Home he'd get their name on the radio, they anxiously took the bait.

Jerry called his friends at KPFT and asked if he could make an announcement on the air. It went something like this: "We are sad to report that Jerry Anomie has passed away. The funeral will be held at Warehouse Records & Tapes this Saturday. The funeral will be brought to you by Sunnyside Funeral Home; they've never had a customer complain!"   etc.....