Aussie Punk Legend Bashed By Teens

Peter "Blackie" Black, guitarist for legendary Sydney punk rock powerhouse the Hard-Ons, remains in hospital today following an assault suffered on Thursday night.

Blackie was driving his cab when the assualt took place, police finding him on the ground outside his cab on the Pacific Highway near Rocklands Road in Crows Nest. He was taken to Royal North Shore hospital after suffering injuries to the head and face.

Police arrested a 16-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl at the scene, the boy charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and released on bail, to appear in Hornsby Children's Court on Thursday 21 June.

Bassist Ray Ahn has kept the band's fans in the loop through their Facebook page over the weekend.

"None of it was his fault," he said  The two assailants were arrested by police. Blackie has been in hospital since Thursday night with a skull fracture and 16 stitches, swelling on the brain. We will be there for a few days still, while the docs make sure all tests are done. Thankfully he has been moved from the critical room to where they keep stable patients. He does not remember all details but he is getting better every day. Not sure when he can play music again. We will know more in the coming days. He has already been told he cannot drive for 6 weeks due to his head trauma. Please send him a get-well message through facebook , he'll read it all when he gets out in a few days. I'm sure he'll get better soon. He is a pretty tough cookie. I've known him for many years and I know he wants to get back playing music again as soon as possible, but he will go with medical advice, it's gonna be best to give playing live for a while, so that he can fully recover and come back fitter than ever. Will keep everyone posted. By the way thanks for all those messages. I'll pass 'em on to Blackie and I'm sure he'll really appreciate them."

Ahn has also stated that Hard-Ons will not be cancelling their forthcoming NSW shows.

"Hard-ons WILL NOT CANCEL our ANNANDALE HOTEL or GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL NEWCASTLE gigs on Friday JUNE 1 and SAT JUNE 2 respectively!!!" he said.

"We will perform a set with a new line-up. Ray (bass), Peter Kostic (drums), Murray Ruse (drums) and Keish (lead guitar/vocals) will hit the stage doing what songs we know between us. Whatever we make those nights, we'll toss it Blackie's way. Come along if you can."

As well as being a founding member of the Hard-Ons, who are still a regularly touring force 31 years after forming, Blackie has completed his first solo album which is due to be released some time in the near future.

The band are taking donations that will be passed onto Black to cover his medical bills and the major loss of income he will suffer from not being able to drive his cab. You can donate via PayPal using the address rahn666@yahoo.com or visit this page.