Billy Childish

Artist, poet, musician and all round cult hero of the British garage rock scene, Billy Childish has released over 100 albums and been cited as an inspiration by Kurt Cobain, Jack White and Graham Coxon. Born in Chatham, Kent, Childish (real name Stephen John Hamper) worked as a stonemason before enrolling at St Martins College of Art in 1978, where he spent most of his time playing in punk bands before dropping out a year later. Viewing himself strictly as an amateur in everything he does, his 1980s bands Pop Rivets, The Milkshakes and Thee Mighty Caesers crafted an eccentrically British style of ragged punk based on the spirit and excitement of early rock'n'roll. His profile rose in the 1990s when he dated artist Tracey Emin and his own paintings became part of the "stuckism" movement; but his outlook never changed and his musical template stayed much the same with later bands The Headcoats, The Buff Medways and The Members Of The British Empire.

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