biographical info
In 1976 rock music had become boring, pompous, and bloated. Rock n Roll received a much needed kick in the ass starting with the Ramones in New York City, the Sex Pistols in London England, and Rotten from Toronto’s east end.
Because London and New York were higher profile cities, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols garnered major media headlines, while Rotten received none.
When the members of Rotten realized their name had been taken by the Sex Pistols lead singer, they quickly changed their name to The Ugly.
Even in their own city, the Ugly were not part of any clique. Clearly the loudest band in the city, they scared punks as well as the bands from the art scene. Thus earning the exclusive moniker “hoodlum rockers”.
Tony Torture, when asked the difference between a hoodlum rocker and a punk rocker responded “a hoodlum rocker has always got a crowbar in the trunk of the Cadillac, and he don’t use it for taking the tires off, he takes heads off with it.
Easily the heaviest band on the scene, the Ugly were always bypassed by the media, and other bands with professional management. Their progress wasn’t helped by the fact that at least one member was often in jail.
Screamin' Sam Ferrara; “If the Toronto punk scene was underground, we were below that, we were the outlaws of the underground.”
In 1978 the original line up disbanded as a result of the never ending chaos.
Miraculously on Dec. 1, 2007, a new line up of the band played three songs at Toronto’s Horseshoe tavern as a one-off. The response was amazing, and the band had such a great time, they played a full show at Toronto’s Bovine Sex Club July 12, 2008 to an over capacity crowd.
Original members, bassist Screamin' Sam Ferrara and drummer Tony Torture have been joined by guitarist Steve Koch (Demics/Viletones) and lead vocalist Greg Dick (Dream Dates). Who knows what lies ahead?