Sable Starr
Starr, taken in 1973 at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco
Born
Sabel Hay Shields

(1957-08-15)August 15, 1957
Florida, U.S.
DiedApril 18, 2009 (aged 51)
Gardnerville, Douglas County, Nevada, U.S.
Known forRock 'n' roll groupie
Children2

Sabel Hay Shields (August 15, 1957 – April 18, 2009),[1] better known as Sable Starr, was a famous groupie, often described as the "queen of the groupie scene" in Los Angeles during the early 1970s. She stated during an interview published in the June 1973 edition of Star magazine that she had met Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Elton John, and Marc Bolan.[2]

Life as a groupie

Starr first attended concerts around Los Angeles in late 1968 at the age of 11, together with older friends who had dropped out of school. She claimed to have lost her virginity when she was 12 to Spirit guitarist Randy California after a gig at Topanga, California.[3] Iggy Pop slept with her when she was 12, as reflected in his song "Look Away".[4][5] Starr also claimed to have had relationships with David Bowie, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Johnny Thunders.[6]

Starr became one of the first "baby groupies" who in the early 1970s frequented the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the Whisky a Go Go, and Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco; these were trendy nightclubs on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip. The girls were named as such because of their young age. She got started after a friend invited her to the Whisky A Go Go at the age of 14.[7] Starr later described herself at that period as having been "nuts to begin with. I always liked getting into trouble".[7] She had considered herself unattractive, so she had a nose job when she was 15.[7] During the time Starr was a groupie, she continued to live at home with her family and attended Palos Verdes High School to placate her parents.[2][7]

In 1973, Starr gave a candid interview for the short-lived Los Angeles-based Star magazine, and boasted to the journalist that she considered herself to be "the best" of all the local groupies.[2] She also claimed that she was closely acquainted with some of rock music's leading musicians, such as David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Alice Cooper. When asked how she attracted the attention of the musicians, Starr maintained it was because of the outrageous glam rock clothing she habitually wore.[2] She was often photographed alongside well-known rock musicians; these photos appeared in American rock magazines such as Creem and Rock Scene.

Starr admitted to having gotten into fights with rival groupies. Lori Mattix, a fellow baby groupie, claimed that Starr once told her to "keep her hands" off Jimmy Page, saying "if you touch him, I will shoot you. He's mine."[8] Her closest friends in Los Angeles were fellow groupies Shray Mecham and "Queenie".[2] Model Bebe Buell described Starr as having been one of the two top Los Angeles groupies of the era, adding that "every rock star who came to Los Angeles wanted to meet her".[7]

Starr ran away from home when she was 16 after meeting Johnny Thunders, guitarist in the glam rock band the New York Dolls.[9] She went to live with him in New York City. Their relationship did not last, mainly due to his violent jealousy and drug addiction.[10] He had wanted to marry her after she became pregnant with his child, but she refused and instead had an abortion.[10] Tired of the physical abuse Thunders often inflicted upon her, and unable to adjust to life in New York, Starr moved back to Los Angeles. She claimed that "he [Thunders] tried to destroy my personality. After I was with him, I just wasn't Sable Starr anymore. He really destroyed the Sable Starr thing".[10] Starr made frequent visits to New York, where she had an affair with Richard Hell, befriended Nancy Spungen, and participated in the local burgeoning punk rock scene. By the early 1980s, she was no longer part of the groupie milieu.[10]

Later years and death

Starr later moved to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. She became a table game dealer at Carson Valley Inn in Minden until shortly before her death.[1]

Starr died at her home in Nevada on April 18, 2009, of brain cancer at the age of 51.[1] She was surrounded by her partner, her daughter, and her son.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sabel Shields's Obituary on Reno Gazette-Journal". Legacy.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Sunset Strip Groupies". Star Magazine. No. 5. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing. June 1973. pp. 59–61.
  3. ^ Taylor, Trey (April 20, 2018). "Obvious History: Rock'n'roll's baby groupies Lori Lightning and Sable Starr". Interview. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Chapin, Angelina (January 18, 2016). "The Danger in Treating Celebrities Like Gods". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Underage girls unabashedly treated as objects of desire in rock lyrics". Toronto.citynews.ca. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  6. ^ Bonhomme, Lil (September 20, 2020). "The extraordinary and troubling life story of Sable Starr, the enigmatic 'Queen of the Groupies'". Far Out. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (1996). Please Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk. New York City: Grove Press. pp. 137–139. ISBN 978-0802125361.
  8. ^ Mattix, Lori (November 3, 2015). "I Lost My Virginity to David Bowie". Thrillist. New York City: Group Nine Media. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  9. ^ McNeil, Legs, McCain, Gillian (1996). Please Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk. New York: Grove Press. p.150-151
  10. ^ a b c d McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (1996). Please Kill Me: the Uncensored History of Punk. new York City: Grove Press. pp. 151–154.
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