Oh please, NYC burrough man!!! Only originals here:
Plastic Bertrand/Roger Jouret was/is a Belgian musician who wrote the song in 1977. UK punks - The Damned among them - loved it, I always preferred the snotty French of the original.
They probably nicked not just the music, but the title too, David Johansen and his boys/girls were regarded as deities in the UK in the Punk Summers of 1976/77. (After having been slaughtered by the same music press three years before, go figure.)
That said, I've always liked The Damned. More relatable to me than either the over-hyped Sex Pistols or the mock-stern The Clash who pretended to have invented message rock. Vanian's voice always reminded me of Jim Morrison.
