The Ugly

Photographer: Brad LeMee

Location: Toronto, ON

Date: 1978

"One of the loudest and most notorious punk bands in Toronto during the late 1970's was The Ugly. They were known as scary guys with criminal records who played "hoodlum rock" … In an interview with Robin Benger for CBC Radio in January of 1978, lead singer Mike Nightmare said that "if I wasn't in rock and roll, I'd be making you guys lie on the fucking floor and I'd be taking your wallets." As a film student during those days, I asked The Ugly if I could photograph them for one of my college assignments. We had a mutual friend and they were happy to have some pictures taken. As it turns out, The Ugly never did see any of the prints from our shoot and the negatives were only recently discovered after being misplaced for close to forty years. What I remember best about The Ugly is that they were very comfortable in front of the camera. For some of the photographs they wanted to use chains and weapons as props. It was a fun afternoon. At the time, I didn't recognize that I was documenting a vital part of Toronto's punk rock history and although they didn't last long or score a record contract there is no dispute that The Ugly were the real deal."

Print Size: 16x24

Framed: Yes