Biography
The Los Angeles power pop artist recording as Martin Luther Lennon is in fact singer-songwriter Tony Perkins. An obvious clash with the actor best known for Norman Bates ruled out his legal name, so Perkins borrowed the alias from a Paul McCartney interview in which the former Beatle objected to the posthumous sainthood conferred on John Lennon after the murder; neither McCartney nor Perkins intended any disrespect. A native of the San Fernando Valley, Perkins adopted the name in the late 1980s and applied it to any group he fronted, much as Alice Cooper had done in its formative period.
The first MLL tracks were cut between 1988 and 1990. An Epstein-Barr Syndrome diagnosis in the early 1990s imposed a lengthy performing break. Those five songs finally surfaced in 1995, one on the third Yellow Pills compilation and the other four on Sympophony #1, Not Lame Records’ inaugural release. Not Lame signed Perkins later that year, issuing the first proper Martin Luther Lennon album, Music for a World Without Limitations, in 1996. Perkins played bass, supported by Steve Refling and Robbie Rist on guitar and drums, with guest guitar and vocals from Adam Marsland, leader of Cockeyed Ghost. The same musicians reconvened for 1999’s Escape to Paradox Island.
Perkins also created and produced the annual Poptopia power-pop festivals in Los Angeles and served as executive producer of Rhino Records’ three-volume 1997 anthology Poptopia!, which surveyed the genre’s history.
The first MLL tracks were cut between 1988 and 1990. An Epstein-Barr Syndrome diagnosis in the early 1990s imposed a lengthy performing break. Those five songs finally surfaced in 1995, one on the third Yellow Pills compilation and the other four on Sympophony #1, Not Lame Records’ inaugural release. Not Lame signed Perkins later that year, issuing the first proper Martin Luther Lennon album, Music for a World Without Limitations, in 1996. Perkins played bass, supported by Steve Refling and Robbie Rist on guitar and drums, with guest guitar and vocals from Adam Marsland, leader of Cockeyed Ghost. The same musicians reconvened for 1999’s Escape to Paradox Island.
Perkins also created and produced the annual Poptopia power-pop festivals in Los Angeles and served as executive producer of Rhino Records’ three-volume 1997 anthology Poptopia!, which surveyed the genre’s history.
Albums
Singles
