Henry Rollins, born Henry Lawrence Garfield on February 13, 1961, first came to public attention as the new frontman for hardcore punk band Black Flag in 1981. His first recording with the band was the seminal ‘Damaged’, an album that continues to influence hardcore bands to this day. Unlike most of their peers, Black Flag were always trying to push the envelope of their music, incorporating influences from jazz, metal and contemporary classical music but an unforgivable faux pas for the punk rock elite. Thus, as the music evolved and slowed down, Black Flag started to turn away a considerable contingent of their original fan base, but later releases, such as 1984’s ‘My War’ would go on to influence groundbreaking bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana.

After the break-up of Black Flag in 1986, Rollins went on to front his own Rollins Band, slowly becoming an alternative music icon as he was pushed further into the spotlight. The Rollins Band was eventually signed to DreamWorks and their 1994 release ‘Weight’ spawned two international hits, “Liar” and “Disconnect”, both of which received considerable airplay on MTV. The band continued to record and tour until it dissolved in 2001, leaving Henry to concentrate more on his spoken-word career and writing.




As a spoken-word artist Rollins regales audiences with his experiences travelling around the world, socio-political musings and anecdotes from his time in bands in a lucid style reminiscent of Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks. It is far removed from normal stand-up comedy about relationships, shoes and lampshades, and an average Henry Rollins spoken-word performance lasts about two and a half to three hours. While Henry was doing spoken-word performances - even while in Black Flag - his best material has been in the last 10 years and has given him a loyal fanbase around the world.

As a writer, Henry is best known for his tour diaries, the Black Coffee Blues trilogy and ‘Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag’. Written in locations as diverse as hotels in London to the jungles of Africa, it provides insight into the world of the touring musician and the highs and lows that come with commercial success and failure. An abridged audiobook reading of ‘Get in the Van’ was awarded a Grammy in 1995.

Henry continues to tour for about 9 months of every year, and was last in Britain this summer, which included four sold-out performances during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He is due to return to these shores early next year, doing 8 dates across the UK and Ireland in January and February, proving that even after over a quarter of a century on stage, punk rock’s renaissance man isn’t slowing down just yet.