Henry Rollins: biography and career

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Henry Rollins is an American musician, actor, journalist, radio and television host, social activist, writer, and comedian. He became famous thanks to his participation in the punk rock band Black Flag. After the breakup of the group, he founded his own label and began his solo career. He constantly expands his field of activity, takes on new projects and tries himself in new roles.

Childhood and youth

Henry Rollins was born on February 13, 1961 in Washington, DC. His real name is Henry Lawrence Garfield. When the musician was three years old, his parents divorced, and his mother raised him in one of the suburbs of Washington. According to Henry, he has not seen his father since he was eighteen.

As a child, he suffered from hyperactivity, took special drugs that allowed him to calm down and concentrate. As a teenager, he moved to a boys' school in Potomac, Maryland. It was there that he began to write and be creative.

After graduating from high school, he entered the University of America at Washington, but dropped out afterfirst semester. Henry Rollins started working in low-paying jobs and became interested in punk rock.

Music career

In the early eighties, Henry started touring with various punk bands as a technician. When the lead singer didn't show up at one of the Teen Idles' rehearsals, Rollins convinced the musicians to let him sing. The experiment was successful, and soon rumors about a talented young vocalist spread among punk musicians.

At the age of nineteen, Henry Rollins became the frontman and vocalist of S. O. A. The team recorded one mini-album, gave several dozen concerts and soon broke up. However, the band's frontman has been able to make a name for himself, especially through his aggressive behavior at concerts and fights with fans.

Back in 1980, the musician found out about the Black Flag group and became its devoted fan, attending all the concerts he could and exchanging letters with the members of the group. When the band's current frontman and vocalist, Dez Cadena, wanted to concentrate on playing guitar, the band members decided to call on rising star Rollins to fill in on vocals. He left his job, sold the car and moved to Los Angeles, where the band was based. He also chose the pseudonym Rollins for himself and got a tattoo with the name of the group on his left bicep, which can be seen in many photos. Henry Rollins quickly fitted into the band and won the love of fans and music critics.

However, the aggressive behavior of the frontman and his constant fights with fanssoon began to annoy other members of the team. Also, the band could not release new material due to a legal conflict with the label, and when they did, they decided to change their style. This did not sit well with many fans, who began physically and verbally attacking Henry Rollins at concerts.

In Black Flag's last year, Rollins began touring with spoken word solo material. After the group broke up, he concentrated on an independent career, put together a live band and released material on his own label for the next few years.

In the late nineties, Henry Rollins' group broke up, and he himself stopped recording new material, only occasionally producing young punk bands. In the middle of the 2000s, in an interview, he stated that it was quite possible that he would never release new music.

Acting work

Henry Rollins began acting in films in the early eighties, often in fiction and documentaries about the punk scene. In the mid-nineties, he began to act more actively, appeared in small roles in the famous films "Johnny Mnemonic", "Fight", "Lost Highway" and "Bad Boys 2".

He continued to work actively into the new century, starring in the sequel to the horror film "Turn to Nowhere". He played one of the villains in the second season of the successful series "Sons of Anarchy". Voiced the main antagonist in the third season of the popularthe animated series "The Legend of Korra".

Journalism

In the mid-nineties, Henry Rollins began to appear frequently on television as a guest on various talk shows. In 2006 he launched his own evening show, which was canceled after the first season.

Also hosted several documentaries on the National Geographic Channel, and began hosting the educational show 'Ten Things You Don't Know' in 2013.

Successfully worked on the radio since the mid-nineties, led several programs. He has also written more than ten books, many of which are autobiographical. He is a regular columnist for Rolling Stone magazine in Australia, maintains a personal blog, and collaborates with other publications as an author.

Personal life and views

The musician adheres to the philosophy of childfree and, despite his impressive age, does not even think about the family. Henry Rollins, in his own words, didn't even have a romantic relationship for about thirty years.

Henry does not use alcohol or drugs. Despite this, he advocates the legalization of marijuana. He is a social activist, opposes homophobia and racism. Supports the US Army, often speaking for the military in hot spots.