Blank Generation is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

[1] Hell had an energetic stage presence and wore torn clothing held together with safety pins and spiked his hair;[2] in 1975, after a failed management deal with the New York Dolls, impresario Malcolm McLaren brought some of Hell's ideas back with him to England and eventually incorporated them into the Sex Pistols' image.

[3] Disputes with Verlaine led to Hell's departure from Television in April 1975, and he co-founded the Heartbreakers with New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan.

[12] According to Hell, they recorded and mixed the entire album at Electric Lady Studios in New York City across three weeks beginning on March 14, 1977.

He asked their label if they could re-record the album, and after getting their approval, they booked three weeks in late June and early July at Plaza Sound Studio, located on the eighth floor of Radio City Music Hall.

It's saying 'I entirely reject your standards for judging my behavior'.Julian opens "Blank Generation" with a riff loosely inspired by the Who's 1970 song "The Seeker".

[13] The original album sleeve features a front cover photo by Bayley of a shirtless Hell in black jeans, opening a frayed jacket to reveal the phrase "YOU MAKE ME _______" written across his chest.

[20] In a contemporary review of Blank Generation, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that the Voidoids "make unique music from a reputedly immutable formula, with jagged, shifting rhythms accentuated by Hell's indifference to vocal amenities like key and timbre", and that he intended "to save this record for those very special occasions when I feel like turning into a nervous wreck.

"[31] In the first edition (1979) of The Rolling Stone Record Guide, Dave Marsh rated it 2 stars out of 5 and described it as "bull-oney", writing "In the first place, Jack Kerouac said everything here first, and far better.

[33] Ira Robbins of Trouser Press wrote that "the album combines manic William Burroughs-influenced poetry and raw-edged music for the best rock presentation of nihilism and existential angst ever.

In October 2017, it was announced that a 40th anniversary limited edition of the album would be released on CD and vinyl on November 24 for Record Store Day's Black Friday sale.

[41] Punk became a phenomenon in England, with the quick rise and fall of the Sex Pistols and with longer lasting bands such as the Clash.

[38] Glen Matlock was inspired to write "Pretty Vacant" in 1976 after seeing a handbill containing the names of Hell's songs, including "(I Belong To The) Blank Generation", that Malcolm McLaren had brought back to England with him from the United States.

Hell was at first offended at how much McLaren had taken from him—musically, lyrically, and visually—but came to accept it, as he believed "ideas are free property",[43] and praised the band's vocalist Johnny Rotten for taking his nihilist persona further than he felt himself able to do.

[44] The Voidoids toured England with the Clash in 1977, and during one show, Rotten appeared on stage and goaded the audience into demanding an encore from Hell and his band.

[46] Hell became mired in heroin addiction,[38] and the group did not release another album until 1982's Destiny Street, by which time punk had passed from headlines in favor of new wave.