Paul Hebden ‘Hebby’ R.I.P.
Well known local T-shirt entrepreneur and mainstay of the punk scene Paul Hebden aka ‘Hebby’ was found dead at his home on Saturday 23rd January 2010. There’s a report in the Sunday Sun.
It’s well known that Hebby hadn’t been having the best of times lately: he’d been made redundant from the Post Office, was having a legal dispute with a neighbour that preventing him from building an outhouse to resume his T-shirt printing business and his drinking had become excessive. The last time I saw him I asked if he was now an alcoholic and he admitted he was.
It appears that after several recent threats to commit suicide, he finally did. For someone who always seemed so chipper noone took these threats seriously.
Hebby was well known in the local punk scene, a larger than life character that was never short of an opinion, he never failed to remind everyone that he was the first person in the north-east into The Misfits, a claim which was true. While the rest of us were still listening to UK punk in the very early 80s Hebby had found and championed the USA punk scene and avidly collected bands like: Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Government Issue, DOA etc. to much scorn, but eventually he won us over and was proven right.
A friend for 30 years, Hebby worked as a T-shirt printer for companies and then himself. He printed shirts for many of the bands I worked with including The Dickies, Man or Astroman? and more recently Subway Sect.
He will be much missed by me and all who knew him.
Didn’t Hebby create that ‘PINK’ sauce you got at the moulin rouge pizza shop?…… red sauce and mayo mixed together……………..YUK!!!
This really is terrible news. I knew Paul really well in the mid Eighties as we became penpals through my fanzine. We traded tapes and met up on a few occasions. Top lad! Rest In Peace my friend.
Still cannot get my head around it…bless you R.I.P.
I was all set for the late arrival of Heb(always worth the wait) on Saturday night for The Coyote Men gig(he was the inspiration for our MULLET MAN 45)’n’ even had on my lucky OI! unders he’d printed(“Sorry Tubby we don’t do XXL!”).I hope some how he can feel how many people loved him
Sonia, I believe he did invent his own version, some foul mess a bit like Marie Rose sauce!
The tales are indeed endless and it’s a mark of how thought of he was when ya count how many people have posted on here.
I’ve done a big tribute to him in my fanzine NEGATIVE REACTION which has been sent to the printers , Hendy done a piece too (copied further up).
See you all Moday.
The fanzine will be out within a week and i will have BEATDOWN and REFLEX properly stocked up. he was that respected Paul is shutting the shop for the day
What a week. Trev never off the phone, having to give out the bad news, sharing the disbelief and remembering the good times.
No more Trev running out the door for his Wednesday and Sunday nights out with the ‘Shyster’ as he fondly called him and hearing all the tales afterwards.
No more light hearted banter with Heb and teasing Trev when he rang up for him.
Heb along with others made me feel very welcome when I moved up here and was always backing me up in trying to drag Scrooge into the 21st century. My heart goes out to all of you who have lost a long standing true friend.
It’s so sad that so many people loved him and would have done anything to help him if only he had shared his torment.
Rest in Peace and if there is anything on the other side, hope you’re in a better place
Dawn xxx
Fondly remembered
Sadly Missed
RIP or RIH
Hebby was one of my favourite people I’ve ever known – through the Mayfair days and then knocking “around the doors” in Ryton. I didn’t see him that often recently but whenever I did he made me laugh so much and made the world seem a brighter place. can’t believe he’s gone, it’s all wrong. RIP Hebby, love you loads.x
My head is still not around this! I have to say you have done what you loved to do! The Ryton rumour mill is going ballistic!!!!!!. Sad thing, it is about you!!!!! and you LOVE IT. What was with us, dies with you?????. Hope your toenails were painted. See you on the other side. I will be the one with the big purple baboons butt!
Whenever i ordered shirts Heb always gave me the option of paying after the tour when we got our money back. A one off.
Had many a pint with Hebby over the years ,from the Barley Mow 25yrs ago to gigs at Trillians.We always arranged to get the bus home together ,but i drank up and he just got one in.Big miss on the gig scene R.I.P
Been sat here a week trying to think of something to say, but all we can come up with is WHAT THE FUCK???????
Ian remember’s the bachelor in Liverpool when ya all saw the gorgeous bird they couldn’t take their eyes off her and all you could say was “look at her twiglet feet”.
Ya weird get!
But at least there is no Pub Watch where ya at now mate. No more HAIRY VIKING!!!!
Will miss ya big grin at 11.00pm when ya run in for the last one to upset the resident landlord!
Ya were a thoroughly good man although a little stubborn, but ya knew that too, will miss ya always.
See everyone tomorrow for a deserving send off.
RIP Hebby xxxx
I think it’s all been said already – I just took a look at my t-shirt collection – a hell of a lot of them are Hebbie shirts…..
why oh why hun ?,, your mates love and respect you soo much ,
ur soo loved ,and anything you wished for , there would have been a queue,!!
me and you laughing just a few weeks ago at our wilkos shopping basket with our cheapies,twas hilarious,and totaly you,, x,,
p.s
your very loved , u knew that ,
shine that northern star for us all young un ,, xxxxxxxxxxxdebzxx
really shocked & saddened like everyone else,he always seemed so ‘up’…just very tragic news,will be thinking of you on mon-lee.
well what a turn out today!! think hebb would have been proud to see all this mates there today we are gona miss you bud hope you have a better life on the other side.
p.s. you were bloody late today!!! but thats now new R.I.P Bud….
I met Hebby at the end of 1980 and spent the next 12 years with him getting pissed, arguing, waiting for him to turn up and ranting about music. The very first thing he said to me was “Do you like Anti-Establishment?” after I said yes, I think I’d passed his punk rock test.
He was the first person who discovered the American Hardcore scene after Sounds printed a tiny 3 line piece on the DC scene. He sent letters to Dischord and Glenn Danzig and received these little pieces of solid gold vinyl in return. He then got all the rest of us into it, Swedge, me, Biwer, Monk etc. He was always searching for punk that no one else had heard and if people got too much into a band he’d move on to the next. I remember him raving about the Rondos before anyone knew who the hell they were. As Has says he was really on the ball. I spent 26 years trying to buy the GISM album off him…..the sod would never sell it.
I’ll never forget the days hanging around Walker street corners, or destroying poor Swedge’s house on Friday nights after watching Tis’was. The times all the walker lot used to trip up to my house when we were all on the dole were great. There were some dodgy times though, like the time hebby emptied a can of butter beans into my bed and squashed them flat. Oh how he laughed. That sense of humour disappeared when Biwer, Carl and I slept at Heb’s house one night. I lay three crawfords cream crackers in his bed face up, all with an inch of butter or jam on them. We rolled on the floor pissing ourselves laughing as Hebby came running into his parents room to yell at me with three crackers stuck to his arse.
I haven’t seen Hebby that much for a good few years as I drifted in a different direction, but I still feel like someone has hit me in the face with a brick. The Hebby I knew was Teflon coated, so this was a huge shock. Stunned in not the word. He was larger than life, twice as funny and, at times, three times as cantankerous, but once you’ve met him you’ll never forget.
RIP Mate
just found out last night, and can’t get my head around it. RIP Paul – you were one of a kind xxx
Well punk rock kid I adored and loved you too bits and you have gone and left us all in a deep state of shock and full of questions which will never be answered the Q’s of people at the crem yesterday were testimony to your popularity….I could feel you there thinking I could charge all those bastards £25 to get in there make a very large profit…. and sell t.shirts inside also…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !!!! I also kept waiting for you to turn up at the labour club… I loved you to the bone young man…. my heart is breaking……….
Well was that the best send off ever or what? Hendy’s speech was great and it was good to meet loads of people i’ve never seen in years , and The Labour club ran out of vodka!
And a funeral without religion too!
What a turn out and how strange but nice it was to see people who I knew that knew Hebby from different circles. Swedge should’ve been at the fron tho, to me that’s what I’ll always remember ‘Hebby n Swedge’. Knew them from when i was about 13. Used to remember him running along Westbourne Ave from Walker school to his home, with a tennis ball hair vut, to watch the Sullivans at lunch time! Knocked about the street corners together in Walker, Swedge’s Mam n Dad’s house and Ros and April’s (RIP)house where he tried to learn me to play the bass guitar, without success. Remember my 18th birthday party where he came in the bedroom where me n me mate wwere sleeping, only wearing his Y fronts, lay on the bottom of the bed and asked if he could get in with us!! Then tried to put on my mates jeans to escape the room when my Nanna came knocking on the door! She chucked him out later that morning about 6am. He moaned at me after that about the lack of hospitality and how he had to walk home, it was only from Scrogg Road in Walker to Westbourne Ave where he lived with his Mam n Dad at the time!!! God, the stories I could go on to tell…..What a waste and what a loss to everyone who was there yesterday.
Biwer wouldv’e been there too but couldn’t get leave from the Navy 🙁
Lenny 2000 must’ve been proud to see how much Heb meant to people.It’s just a shame we couldn’t all meet up without such a sad loss…
still can’t believe it.gutted.you’ll be a big miss.there are so many tales to tell.like when we had a vase on the wall and heb weed in it.it was bright green and glowed in the dark.or when heb was in bed and couldn’t be arsed to go to the toilet and used to wee in a pot.don’t remember it ever getting emptied!what a miss.
God , I still can’t believe it! I only found out yesterday morning, but was so glad i got to say my good byes.Must have known Heb for twenty odd years, i first met him when Hendy brought him along to the print shop and so began a long friendship! I can remember his first venture into the t shirt printing business when me and him printed up 10 or 15 horror business shirts and we had to sit in my bedroom at my mams and hand colour the yellow and red !!!!!!! We were made up when they sold out in two days at volume records! wonder if there are any of those still knocking around!
Another fond memory is watching Heb creeping down the back stairs at the Mayfair brandishing his brolly in case the bouncers were lying in wait to throw us out, ” if any bastard jumps out I’ll batter ’em with it”
One final memory is finding out he got to see The Adolescents at Trillians despite still being barred AND getting in for nothing! only Heb could manage that!
Well, good bye Heb old mate,(wish i wasn’t saying that!)I bet you’re up there, tab in hand having a good laugh at us!
Catch ya later!
Fiends forever!
Heb, was a wonderful man, he was a true friend, he always loved and helped me I always felt safe and loved in his presence, I miss you so much Heb all the good things you did in life will never be forgotten. Forever in my heart, see you in Heaven my friend.
Love your friend always.
i have fond memories of a load of us sat in the back of a dodgy transit with hebby playing the VOID intro on his ghetto blaster on a trip to rochdale with the abductors, 1983. as has said above hebby and the walker lads were so far ahead of the game with the international punk/ hc – they got me into it and it changed my life. only saw hebby once since the 80’s at a discharge gig a few years back at the academy, he was there with cam, in fine fettle and we had a fuckin good laugh.
such sad news, r.i.p.
Used to hang around with hebby in the eighties,good kid and a good laugh, rip mate,
Yes Hendy ,you did him proud
Must have been so hard for you
Good to remember the good times
But he will stay in my memory forever
he was a one off ,and will be missed by more people than he could ever imagine
RIP Heb ,gone but never ever forgotten
Hats off to Hendy for his speech, it kinda defused things for me and i’m sure for many others and let us remember the daft stories we all have. One i can add was the first U.K. gig the reformed Misfits played, Edinburgh ’96. Heb was ,of course, there. I think by the state he was in he’d been there all day. Anyway, next time i saw him i asked if it was worth the wait, he couldn’t remember a single thing about it!!
Came across his numbers in my phone today. No point keeping them but can’t bring myself to delete.
R.I.P. Hebby mate.
Thanks Trev, Maureen & Nelly for the kind words. You could fill a Yellow pages about Heb. I managed to pull it off (just)
Thankfully all Hebs family loved the speech too.
I got the fanzine back yesterday and will be taking copies into Beatdown and Reflex. There is a 4 page tribute to Hebby in it, but even so none of the tales were duplicated in Hendy’s funeral speech, which just goes to show how much he entertained us over the years.
Another Wednesday and that niggling feeling as today was the day we had our midweek drinking session and yet again the realisation that these are gone for good. What a tragedy.
I’ve known Heb for years and was a friend to Heb thru Kirk and Aki.
Seen a few gigs with the man and gots pissed quite a bit with him, but I’m still wearin the t-shirts with pride, even at work when I can get away with it.
R.I.P. mate
Well held together Hendy. Took a lot of bottle that mate. Really funny. You done him proud.
Thanks Kev mate.
Really sad news. Living away, I haven’t seen Hebby for a while, but I have great memories of seeing him round town and sharing a beer or two, and of seeing him at various gigs. A top bloke who’ll be missed by all who knew him. R.I.P. mate.
Hendy and all,
My thoughts, love and and best wishes are with all of you right now. It’s been years since I saw a number of you, seeing your names and reading your messages takes me back to happier times and those memories will forever be with me.
Heb and I hadn’t spoken much since I moved to the US but this doesn’t take away or compensate for the sadness that I feel at this time. From jumping around a friends front room listening to Sham 69,striped jumpers and army pants, T.I.T.S, The Garage on Sunday Nights, Undertones at the City Hall, UK Subs and Hebby’s obsession with Charlie Harper, The Dodgey on Monday Nights, Spectro Arts Centre, Quayside Bars that no longer exist, Band practice with Swedge , Ken and Biwer, Rochdale with Blood Robots and Reality Control, Christmas on Earth 1982 and even prior to the “invention” of punk music, hanging out playing footy in the back lanes and hunting for birds eggs, Heb’s penchant for mischief was never far from the fore; Happy Days spent with a fellow who certainly knew how to enjoy himself and brought a great deal of love and friendship to this whole experince. He’ll be sadley missed and fondley remembered……… Carl (Craig)
i’m still remembering bits of Hendy’s tribute from the funeral, the bit about the bloke dressed in a daft promotional gimmick outside the Percy where Hebby took a draw on his tab and said “Great job that eh son?”
There are so many more tales that i forgot when putting the zine together too, you could spend all day telling em
Carl I`ve been given photos by Len of you all in your Teens. Kept yours aside mate and passed them on to Peter (Caps mate) he says he`s going to send them over to you.
Hope your well mate.
Hendy
Carl get ya ass on facebook so we can keep in touch bud, there’s a load of hebbs friends on fb so we can keep memory living on he was a good friend to all and we are gona miss him so much.regards Brian..
carl send your contact email to [email protected]……………….I really needed to talk to you about this amoungst old friends
Gary Young
As all,can’t quite believe it.I remember when we were around 18, hundreds of years ago, how totally obsessed Hebby was with all thing american punk!used to sit in his bedroom and he’d play all the new deliveries he had,drove me nuts!Half time record listening meant bacon sarnies,and usually I had to cut his already perfect hair into more coiffured perfectness.Absolutely gutted.RIP Heb.xx
Splendid speech on monday Hendy very brave…… Just remembering the times Hebby and I discovered SAMBUCA……God the mornings waking up with dried crystals on our lips and in the same bed and looking at one another bollock naked and saying at the same time ‘Oh no we didn’t DO it did we’….. Thank god we never did …….Miss you sunshine!!
Hendy, you held your head up high and made a true man proud! he will be with us always, probs taking the piss out of us all!! well done on the way you stood up tall and spoke about the little, big, loving shitza that he was and will always be!! love ya heb n always will xx
Thanks very much Sonia & Kelly.
Kelly – just remembered that night when Heb drank Stella out of your shoe! Next ime we went in to the Jolly Fellows you stood behind the Bar and said – “Pint of sweaty Stella Heb”?!!! He always had a thing abut womens Feet!
Dawn – Len has given me loads of photos from the past to give away. Nearly everyones took theirs. I`ve got around 10 of you & Heb, Christine Johnson & Mark Drummond are also on them. I`d really like these to go to their rightful owner. If you`d like me to send them to you please send your address to –
[email protected]
If Lizzie is reading this, same applies to you. I`ve got a pack of Holiday photos I`d really like to get to you.
My goodness Heb, you had such an impact on my life, and such an impact on so many other lives. A total hero, i am just so dissapointed that I can’t ring you up now and talk punk rock. I have so many memories of ringing you up in the punk rock shop early days – i had a flyer of yours so i rang you, i remember reading your prices in the flyer & i thought, he’s not ripping anybody off so I won’t rip anybody off. Bloody hell Heb, why would you end it when there may be another Turbonegro tour.. When I started PRS I spent so many nights ringing Heb, drinking beer, getting pissed, talking punk rock for hours. What a great man. Heb, part of punk died with you, rest well.
Love and respect, Paul McLellan
It seems that my Rock.com email doesn`t work anymore after not being used in a while so it`s deactivated so if Dawn or Lizzie read this then my email for the pics is [email protected]
Hebster, gonna kick yer arse when i see you next ;0) .. ?? Miss you man xxx
was just sat thinking, how long ago it was since i last saw some of you, and how sad that it took this to make the effort to see old friends. The one thing we know is life is to short, and maybe next year we could all get together again about the same time to remember heb, and to catch up with old friends, and enjoy the old times. xxx kathy
R.I.P mate, you’ll be sadly missed