10.04.2010

Never Seen: Hells Angels 1965. LIFE Magazine.





















In 1965, veteran LIFE photographer Bill Ray and writer Joe Bride spent several weeks riding around Southern California with the Bernardino chapter of the Hells Angels. In a culture where the Beach Boys and the Beatles fought a squeaky-clean battle for the hearts and minds of America, the Hells Angels were, in the words of Hunter S. Thompson, a "burst of dirty thunder" that shocked folks wherever they went. The Hells Angels are now a worldwide phenomenon, incorporated, licensed and branded. Forty-five years after the photos were rejected by a LIFE managing editor, they are a reminder that the outlaw bikers still have a secret sweet spot in the American psyche.
billray.com

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