Jane's Addiction
 It's
very difficult to overstate how refreshing Jane's Addiction felt
when they first emerged from LA in the late 80s.
They allowed the listener all the big dumb fun of prime
Hollywood metal, without burdening anyone with any of the
wearisome boorishness characteristic of most practitioners of
the genre.
Live, the band were confrontational with Farrell stalking the
stage like a transsexual high priest and their two genuinely
great albums, 1988's Nothing's Shocking and 1990's
Ritual De Lo Habitual, were delights, providing the
virtuosity and swagger of Guns N' Roses lightened by the roaring
camp of The New York Dolls and the ineffable cool of The Velvet
Underground.
Ritual De Lo Habitual delivered a UK Top 40 hit for Been
Caught Stealing, a funky paeon to the delights of
shoplifting. Inevitably Jane's Addiction incurred the wrath of
America's moral guardians (again) and the record was banned from
several US retail chains.
The band responded by re-releasing it in a plain white sleeve
with only the First Amendment printed on it.
The following year, Farrell organised the Lollapalooza tour -
a travelling festival of indie and alternative acts. It was
while headlining this jaunt that the band reached its final
messy conclusion, with Farrell coming to blows with Navarro and
splitting soon after.
Navarro subsequently joined Red Hot Chili Peppers and Farrell
formed Porno For Pyros with Stephen Perkins and a cast of
like-minded musicians.
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