Dennis 1983 unseen pics on Facebook

[Gohi]

Color me insane, but Dennis actually looks pretty good to me.

I agree. A lot of 1983 Dennis pictures are tough to look at, but he looks pretty good and happy here. Maybe it's because Mike wasn't there. 

And yes, if Brian had missed shows in 1981 or 1982, Barry Blakelee could have sat at the piano and people might have bought him as Brian.

His face looks swollen as hell and he looks around 50.

[Pretty Funky]

Its also been mentioned in the past that his teeth were in a bad way and he rarely smiled. These pictures seem to back that up. Real sad.

[Jay]

His face and upper lip are pretty swollen, but to me he still seems somewhat fit. I think the beard made him look older.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Wait a minute...something else is fishy here.

That's fat Brian.  Brian had slimmed down by June '83.  This has to be '82.  (I am pretty sure it is not '81 because Brian wasn't quite that big then, and I also remember seeing them in Sept. '81 in Syracuse at the New York State Fair...so if they had been in Binghamton I think I would have gone)

EDIT:  Sorry, I missed the posts above...that's NOT Brian?  Holy crap.  You guys are right...scary resemblance.

Well, I guess it was '83 then.  Weird.

I made the SAME mistake myself.

[Jay]

These pictures kind of remind me of the pictures of Gene Clark playing his last public shows at the Cinegrill in 1991.

[Mike's Beard]

His face looked puffy and tired from all the lifestyle choices but Dennis didn't look like some old homeless guy here. He actually looked like his real age.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Color me insane, but Dennis actually looks pretty good to me.

I agree with you but the fact that he wasn't even in his 40s yet makes me sad  .  If he was still alive today and looked like that, no doubt he would still be considered "the hot one"  .  his beard suited him well but not all the time, (sometimes I thought it was too thick) I also agree with the poster who said he was the best looking one without the beard, and I think for the most part the best bearded BB was Carl  

Yeah, it's like Elvis.... Near the end he looked much fatter and worse off BECAUSE he was Elvis!

Same with Dennis. He was still a handsome as all hell guy, just not in quite the rock hard shape of his best years.... Happens to most of us, sadly. Though none of us are Dennis, so it's not so much noticed.

[Jay]

Is it just me, or does the general atmosphere of the pictures make it seem like the venue is a small club or bar?

[Alan Smith]

Is it just me, or does the general atmosphere of the pictures make it seem like the venue is a small club or bar?

It's not you; I took away a similar impression.  Maybe it's just us...

[Pretty Funky]

Had a look at some pictures of the place. Looks like a hockey and basketball stadium.

[Jay]

Is it just me, or does the general atmosphere of the pictures make it seem like the venue is a small club or bar?

It's not you; I took away a similar impression.  Maybe it's just us...

Especially the first picture. Why would there be a wall(that's what it looks like to me) right behind Dennis? Also in the first pic, on the left you can see a hand on the fret of a guitar. Note the very close proximity to Dennis. Band members usually aren't that close to each other, unless it's a small and cramped area. There are more pictures on that guys Facebook page that sure as hell look like they were from a small bar. You can see Ed Carter, Mike Meros and BIlly Hinsche. Maybe an after show jam somewhere? Dennis is the only actual Beach Boy in the pictures.

Edit: I just noticed that in one of the pictures Dennis is wearing a yellow shirt, but all of the other photos show him in a grey shirt. Hmm.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'm guessing that the "Zanzibar" referred to in the FB post was/is a bar they repaired to after the gig.

Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in 2011:

[RangeRoverA1]

Seeing these pictures of Dennis is a real downer. He turned into a role model shouting "That's how ugly you will look if you drink alcohol & do the drugs!" If only he would've been much smarter, he had lived to his old age.

[Jay]

It's not about intelligence. Once addiction hits you, you're a virtual slave to it. You could be Einstein and still end up like Dennis, if you have a drinking or drug problem.

[RangeRoverA1]

It's not about intelligence. Once addiction hits you, you're a virtual slave to it.

Well, he shouldn't have started drinking & drugging, in the 1st place. It's not that difficult of a task, hence my use of the word "smart".

[Jay]

True. Dennis made a few bad mistakes along the way. I don't condone any of it. But try piling up half a dozen demons and probably a good amount of physical pain(at least in his last year or so), and you may find it difficult to not self medicate in one way or another.

[RangeRoverA1]

But try piling up half a dozen demons and probably a good amount of physical pain(at least in his last year or so), and you may find it difficult to not self medicate in one way or another.

I agree that people are different & thus have differing ways of cheering themselves up. Nevertheless, he could've helped himself without going downhill. F.ex., by doing his best thing he's capable of, like making music, performing on stage, surfing, family stuff etc. He just shouldn't have to give up. Although I realize it's easier said than done, but still.

[Andrew G. Doe]

It's not about intelligence. Once addiction hits you, you're a virtual slave to it.

Well, he shouldn't have started drinking & drugging, in the 1st place. It's not that difficult of a task, hence my use of the word "smart".

Such a sweeping generalisation: have you ever experienced addiction, personally or among family & friends ? I'm thinking not. If you have an addictive personality, it is a difficult task. I know - my own addictive personality manifests itself, in one form at least, as having to know as much as is humanly possible about any subject that really engages my interest and attention. That's why I'm here, why I've apparently attained such fan status as some claim I have and why the 10542 website exists. Can I just turn that off ? No. Should I have stopped back in 1975 ? Yes, but the fact is, I couldn't. This aspect of my addiction has only (only !) cost me untold thousands of pounds, most of the space in my house and the wrath of some oddly amusing posters across the 'net. The drinking... ah, that was another matter. Wasn't just the bucks.

As DM stated, it's nothing to do with intelligence. However, making sweeping - and crass - statements like yours would indicate a lack of both intelligence and compassion. BTW, in case you've not noticed, Dennis had a brother who was, possibly, a worse example: by your logic, Brian wasn't too smart either.

[Ovi]

It's not about intelligence. Once addiction hits you, you're a virtual slave to it.

Well, he shouldn't have started drinking & drugging, in the 1st place. It's not that difficult of a task, hence my use of the word "smart".

Such a sweeping generalisation: have you ever experienced addiction, personally or among family & friends ? I'm thinking not. If you have an addictive personality, it is a difficult task. I know - my own addictive personality manifests itself, in one form at least, as having to know as much as is humanly possible about any subject that really engages my interest and attention. That's why I'm here, why I've apparently attained such fan status as some claim I have and why the 10542 website exists. Can I just turn that off ? No. Should I have stopped back in 1975 ? Yes, but the fact is, I couldn't. This aspect of my addiction has only (only !) cost me untold thousands of pounds, most of the space in my house and the wrath of some oddly amusing posters across the 'net. The drinking... ah, that was another matter. Wasn't just the bucks.

As DM stated, it's nothing to do with intelligence. However, making sweeping - and crass - statements like yours would indicate a lack of both intelligence and compassion. BTW, in case you've not noticed, Dennis had a brother who was, possibly, a worse example: by your logic, Brian wasn't too smart either.

And neither are 99% of the rock-stars according to RangeRover, all of which "started drinking & drugging" at some point or another.

Great post, AGD.

[RangeRoverA1]

Such a sweeping generalisation: have you ever experienced addiction, personally or among family & friends? I'm thinking not. If you have an addictive personality, it is a difficult task. I know - my own addictive personality manifests itself, in one form at least, as having to know as much as is humanly possible about any subject that really engages my interest and attention. That's why I'm here, why I've apparently attained such fan status as some claim I have and why the 10542 website exists. Can I just turn that off? No. Should I have stopped back in 1975? Yes, but the fact is, I couldn't.
As DM stated, it's nothing to do with intelligence. However, making sweeping - and crass - statements like yours would indicate a lack of both intelligence and compassion. BTW, in case you've not noticed, Dennis had a brother who was, possibly, a worse example: by your logic, Brian wasn't too smart either.

I certainly do not have alcohol/drug/any other bad addiction. Regarding "smart" comment, I didn't mean Dennis (& Brian for that matter) are complete fools, as in they have little to no brains, I more leant towards "careless way of living", that he didn't think much before doing his actions. Why not turn that addictive personality into sth. good-willed (as you did), not self-destructive? There's no way I'd indicate Dennis & more so Brian are idiots, you misunderstood me (though maybe it's my fault). As for my own intelligence & compassion, maybe you're right about the former, but the latter... well, if I didn't sympathize anyone, I wouldn't even waste time on writing what I wrote 2 posts up.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The BB aside, I can also bore for England on the subject of:

Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid & the Wild bunch (the real people, not the movie)...
Pre-Victorian cricket...
Jack the Ripper...
Silent movies...
The novels of Arthur C. Clarke...

... but in deference to the nature of this forum, and also not wanting to alienate you any more than I usually do anyway, I'll stick with The Beach Boys, if that's OK by you. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Why not turn that addictive personality into sth. good-willed (as you did), not self-destructive?

You don't understand: my obsession with accurately documenting the history of Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys is only one aspect of my addictive personality, one which ran in tandem with the less laudable seriously excessive drinking and others (which I'd rather not detail here) even more damaging to my general wellbeing, physical and mental. You can't divert the flow from the destructive to the creative at the drop of a hat. You have an addictive personality... or you don't. That's possibly the only simple, black & white aspect of it. The degree can vary. I happen to have the BB bit bad: the drinking, etc., I "got over" when my doctor told me I had an excellent chance of leaving the building for good if I didn't stop. That was the only thing that worked, in that situation.

[Jim V.]

Why not turn that addictive personality into sth. good-willed (as you did), not self-destructive?

You don't understand: my obsession with accurately documenting the history of Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys is only one aspect of my addictive personality, one which ran in tandem with the less laudable seriously excessive drinking and others (which I'd rather not detail here) even more damaging to my general wellbeing, physical and mental. You can't divert the flow from the destructive to the creative at the drop of a hat. You have an addictive personality... or you don't. That's possibly the only simple, black & white aspect of it. The degree can vary. I happen to have the BB bit bad: the drinking, etc., I "got over" when my doctor told me I had an excellent chance of leaving the building for good if I didn't stop. That was the only thing that worked, in that situation.

Right on, AGD. You sum up addiction perfectly. And RangeRover is just one of those people who oversimplifies drug/alcohol/anything addiction. She/he/whatever would be greeeat for something like that useless DARE program.

[pixletwin]

I think perhaps with rangerover language is getting in the way.

Drug addiction has nothing to do with intelligence. True.

But predisposed/addictive personality or not, perhaps a person who begins to dabble in drugs isn't being wise. I think maybe that is what she meant.

[buddhahat]

Taken at face value are these pictures really that sad? He's a couple of years older than me in these photos and looks in marginally better shape. He looks a little boozed but it's not as if he's passed out in a pool of his own vomit. Plus it's post show right so he would be sweaty and well oiled. I don't see what's so sad about them really other than we know he had serious addiction problems and that he'll be dead less than a year later. Sure those facts are sad but I see no evidence of them in these photos.

Great to see these intimate snaps though. Thanks for the link, OP.

Edit: Actually on rereading the thread I see most people agree that the photos do not show Dennis' deterioration so please ignore the above!