Real name: Howard Kusten

Howie Pyro (June 28, 1960 – May 4, 2022) was leader of the scrappy band the Blessed — all of its members were underage — he played fearlessly in front of luminaries like Joey Ramone and Debbie Harry at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City in the Seventies, befriending many future stars along the way. Among them: the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious, who overdosed in 1979. Pyro was one of the last to see him alive.