The Fleshtones, Gibus Club, 1985

I came across this priceless cache of photos taken by MaxWell Max of the Fleshtones at the Gibus Club in Paris in March 1985, a two-week residency during which the band was recorded—by Richard Gottehrer!—and a live album produced and for sale at the club within a week. An Instant Record, indeed. Read all about the epic residency—featuring a bombed-out Johnny Thunders, a bathroom set on fire, piles of heroin, and Super Rock—in Sweat: The Story of the Fleshtones, America's Garage Band.

Below is a taste of the mayhem. The rest of the photos can be found here.

l-r: Peter Zaremba, Gordon Spaeth, Keith Streng

Zaremba, Spaeth

l-r: Spaeth, (Bill Milhizer, hidden), Zaremba, Streng, Marek Pakulski

Zaremba, Streng

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ScottishTeeVee has unearthed this terrific footage shot during the Gibus residency, an interview with the band (minus Spaeth, plus wig) at a recording studio, presumably Le Grand Arnet, and a killer version of "Way Down South" recorded at the club before a show. ("Way Down South" wasn't included on Speed Connection, I or II;, Robert Warren played bass on the studio version cut the following year, so here's a rare chance to see original bassist Pakulski buckle in.)

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Here are a couple tracks from Speed Connection II: The Final Chapter, soundtrack to the nuttiness: