Mink DeVille

Mink DeVille was one of the most distinctive bands to emerge from New York’s mid-1970s punk scene. Though they shared the CBGB stage with artists like Television, Blondie, and Talking Heads, their sound was not punk, but rather a post-Brill Building mixture of rock and soul, blending New Orleans funk, Latin salsa, Zydeco and doo-wop.

Frontman Willy DeVille was born William Borsay in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1950. Growing up in a lower-middle-class household, he spent his weekends in New York City visiting blues and folk clubs and frequenting Harlem’s Apollo Theatre.

By the late 1960s, Borsay moved to New York City, but feeling out of place in a US music scene dominated by heavy rock, he relocated to London in the early 1970s. He performed at The Troubadour in Earls Court and connected with Dave Robinson (who later founded Stiff Records), but failed to generate serious industry interest.

Borsay returned to the US and travelled the country in a truck. His travels were financed by his wealthy wife, Susan Berle (known as “Toots”), a petite Jewish woman who looked like one of The Ronettes.

The couple eventually settled in San Francisco, where Borsay formed a band initially called Billy DeSade and the Marquis (and briefly The Lazy Eights), then renamed it Mink DeVille. At Toots’ insistence, he changed his surname to DeVille.

Finding the San Francisco music scene stagnant, the band played anywhere that would book them, including gay bathhouses, but realising the industry heart was in New York, DeVille, Toots, and his rhythm section returned to NYC. There, they recruited guitarist Louis X Erlanger and pianist Rich Colbert.

In 1975, Mink DeVille auditioned for CBGB, then a rundown Bowery rock bar. Owner Hilly Kristal was impressed and made them the house opening band. Playing alongside Patti Smith, The Ramones, and The Heartbreakers helped forge them into a formidable live act.

Imposingly tall and whippet-thin, Willy DeVille had a striking visual presence. Dressed in sharp suits, pointed Italian shoes, a pencil moustache, and an exaggerated pompadour, he resembled a cross between a pimp and a character from West Side Story.

Despite a tough media image that highlighted his penchant for switchblades and the fact that he lived in a high-crime area of the Bronx, DeVille’s vocals and songwriting were deeply expressive, focusing heavily on themes of love and affection.

The band signed to Capitol Records and recorded their debut album with veteran producer Jack Nitzsche. Released as Mink DeVille in the US and Cabretta in the UK and Europe, the album produced the hit single Spanish Stroll, which reached the UK Top 20 in August 1977.

Sent to the UK to promote the album and play alongside artists like Dr Feelgood, Nick Lowe, and Elvis Costello, DeVille clashed with the British music press. He despised the “punk” label, famously stating, “To me, a punk is someone who doesn’t turn up for a fight.”

After throwing NME journalist Nick Kent out of an interview over a minor slight, DeVille established a strained relationship with the British media. This friction worsened over the years, leading him to stop performing in Britain entirely by the early 1990s.

Nitzsche produced the band’s second album, Return to Magenta (1978). Following its release, DeVille fired everyone except guitarist Louis X Erlanger and moved to Paris to record Le Chat Bleu (1980).

Backed by Elvis Presley’s final rhythm section (Jerry Scheff and Ron Tutt), and with several songs co-written with Doc Pomus, the new LP featured Cajun-style accordion, washboards, cabaret music, and vivid string arrangements.

Capitol found the shift to romantic ballads jarring, and initially refused to release the album, dropping DeVille from the label. Strong import sales eventually forced them to issue the record.

Following these events, DeVille signed with Atlantic Records, dumped guitarist Erlanger, and Mink DeVille effectively became a solo venture.

Willy DeVille battled heroin addiction throughout the 1980s but achieved critical milestones, including an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his song Storybook Love from the film The Princess Bride.

He later relocated to New Orleans, immersing himself in the local culture. His 1990 album Victory Mixture celebrated New Orleans R&B, and 1992’s Backstreets Of Desire yielded a mariachi version of Hey Joe that topped the charts in France and Spain.

His later work, particularly 2005’s Crow Jane Alley, marked a sober, creative return to form.

Willy DeVille died of pancreatic cancer in Manhattan in 2009 at the age of 58.

Willy DeVille (William Borsay)
Vocals
Louis X Erlanger
Guitar
Rubén Sigüenza
Bass
Bobby Leonards
Piano
Rich Colbert
Piano
Steve Douglas
Saxophone
Thomas “Manfred” Allen
Drums

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