Episode #278 | 6.30.26

Wendy O. Williams: The Shocking Final Act of a Shock Rock Provocateur

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In this episode

This is the story of one of the most extreme shock rockers in music history. On stage, Wendy O. Williams would smash TV sets with a sledgehammer, chainsaw electric guitars in half, and blow up Cadillacs. Her reputation for chaos, violence, and sexual provocation was so extreme that it led to a brutal assault by police officers in Milwaukee. But what happened to such a fearless, uncompromising artist that she would take her own life? Listen to hear this unbelievable and tragic story..

Sources

Into the Void, Season 1 Episode 5: Wendy O. Williams (Hulu)

The story of Wendy O Williams and the Plasmatics: "I woke up in a pool of blood on the way to the hospital" (Louder)

Plasmatics' Wendy O. Williams Commits Suicide (Rolling Stone)

Wendy O. Williams, 48, Star of Explosive Punk Rock Act (NY Times)

Flash Metal Suicide: Wendy O. Williams (Louder)

The Plasmatics destroy the stage with an exploding Cadillac (Dangerous Minds)

Butcher Babies: The Day The Plasmatics Incinerated Pier 62 (Joel Gausten)

RELIEF AND RELEASE: REVISITING WENDY O. WILLIAMS & THE PLASMATICS (Please Kill Me)

Revolution, Evolution, and Rock 'N' Roll: An Exclusive Interview with Plasmatics Founder Rod Swenson (Vice)

PLASMATICS Sounds May 31st 1980 (Punk Rocker)

The Sexes: Sex Fantasy on Broadway (Time)

The Plasmatics: An orchestrated display of punkish heavy metal thrash, trash, and crash (Underground)

Contemporary Musicians, edited by Lee Ann DeRemer

Times Square’s Most Outrageous Sex Show, the Queen of Shock Rock, and the Svengali – Part 2 (The Rialto Report)

See punk rocker Wendy O. Williams get her day(s) in court in Milwaukee (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Punker Wendy O. Williams files lawsuit against police (UPI Archives)

The Plasmatics, a rock group whose lead singer Wendy… (UPI Archives)

The Love Song of Wendy O. Williams (SPIN)

Credits

Hosted by Jake Brennan.

Written by Zeth Lundy.

Copy edited by James Sullivan.

Mixed by Colin Fleming.

Produced in partnership with the Exactly Right Network and iHeartPodcasts.

DISGRACELAND theme song, “Crenshaw Space Boogie,” written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava, and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.

*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak