Punks Never Say Die:

The Hanoi Boys Back Together?

Imagine this reporter’s shock when word got out that the Hanoi Boys had been seen as a whole unit in Barcelona Spain. I had to check this out for myself. I bought my ticket and flew into the morning sky, mobile phone, and recorder in hand. I landed and was met at the gate by one of a handful of English speaking vampires in the city, Rene [Callas] Jevah, who by chance was also a non-official Hanoi Boy.

Rene has been a HB loyalist for years, having stuck with them through good and bad. Even, as he says with a laugh, when “Blues tried to mug me”. He has an olive complexion, wears long dark hair, and rock and roll clothes that mark him as an apostle to the raucous crew. He covers his eyes with dark sunglasses, although it was only hinting at morning’s approach when we met.

He openly told me of a time Blues had tried to take, by force, a necklace around his neck, but did not get it and gave up. All of this Rene re-inacts with a smile and a laugh. It was not a frightening experience for him, because he loves Blues, as all his amigos do. Rene invited me for a drink and to meet friends, he motioned towards a Finn Stalgerholm look-a-like, Mika[Johann] Exstacie, standing near the metal detectors. He like Rene, was wearing a rock and roll get up. His button shirt was electric blue with black stars, while Rene’s was black with white skulls. Both wore tight black jeans with studded belts. They had bracelets on their wrists, and silver hoops in their ears, glimmering against their black hair.

I asked Rene if any Hanoi Boys would be there, at the get together. He said they had taken off not an hour before I arrived. He acknowledged that they were together. He said they had been performing as a ‘Geisha Roki’ at Magic, a rock club in cosmopolitan Barcelona.

A couple stragglers, from the Hanoi camp, stayed in town with Mika and Rene. Runaround and Nox were waiting for their friends at Razzmatazz another one of Barcelona’s club. They had to go soon.

I knew I couldn’t stay. I needed to catch up with the boys, but where? This was the last question I put to Rene. He bobbed his head side to side, drawing his breath in. He put his hands on his hips. “Oy,yoy,yoy, yoy, yoy..” he said, contemplating. “ I think they returned to Los Angeles.” Rene replied. Mika sidled up to Rene. The two conversed not in Spanish as I’d have assumed, but in Finnish.  Mika nodded. “ Yes, Los Angeles. . That’s where they went.” Mika said to me. He had the unmistakable accent of a Scandinavian.  He and Mika bid me farewell as I jumped on the next flight. If the boys were in L.A., I’d know where to find them!

It was more difficult than I thought, tracking them through L.A. . My first instinct was to phone Blues at his home. Harlow, his wife, answered and stated she and he had a fight and he was staying elsewhere. I asked where that might be, she replied “ With one of his playmates. .”. My next call was to Saigon’s house he, sometimes, shares with his wife Michelle Rocket-Jaffe. The phone had been disconnected. Monroe had his mobile phone turned off, so he was not available. I used my connections with Vampire Free Radio, to speak with Soozey Blues[Juxeh Reijaa], an Icelandic import who’s been associated with the Self Destruction Twins. She works for the station as a morning dj. She was mum about any locations. She told me, that they were in town, and she could tell them I was looking for them. “I did throw Finn out,” she said “ But he’ll be back. . .”. Soozey would not go on record with anymore information.

Two days later, at three a.m., my mobile phone rings. It’s Monroe. He’s talking almost too fast and with a slight giddiness. I hear the boys in the background, horsing about. I hated phone calls like this. I was just happy it wasn’t Blues slurring obscenities through the receiver!

“We’ll talk. . . Now if you want.” Monroe states. I declined. I told him, if he remembers, in the morning to call me again and we’ll set up a meeting. He agreed. He laughed and dropped the phone. After the crashing ring of the mobile hitting the ground, there was more hyper laughter from the boys. After Monroe said “ Whoops.Ha-ha-ha. .” the line went dead. Had I gone back in time? They behaved like kids.

Next afternoon, my mobile rang and sure it enough it was a much more sober Monroe. The wind was rushing all around him, so I imagined he was driving as he spoke. He apologised for the call in the middle of the night. He assumed I’d keep hours like they did. Also, he said they’d not only gotten really high, but drunk. Monroe told me, he doesn’t drink. He couldn’t refuse this one time, since it was a booze up to forget the balls an’ chains. Then they’d smoked ‘kwon-fah’ got too sleepy and downed speed to stay up. They’d been on a tear for three days. “We were in hell so we took ourselves to heaven for a bit, that’s all.” he said in that sweet, featherweight voice of his. He told me that this would be the last transmission from his mobile phone. Before I could ask him anymore questions, he said for me to go to Blues’ house, and wait. Monroe said no more than that. There was a sound of traffic. A horn. A skipping thump. The phone tumbled? I guessed what he had done. He'd pitched the phone from his car and left it to be crushed by other cars. The grinding, apocalyptic, desintegrating end to the call was all I needed. I was on my way.

There we were all assembled in Blues home studio, in the basement of  his suburban home. Monroe sat by Blues, and Finn and Saigon sat together. Dressed in their usual fashions,  they were all cleaned up nicely. No trace of nursing hangovers. I expected hunched shoulders, and sunglasses, however it was quite the contrary. “We stopped getting hangovers by the time we were twenty-one.  Well, us older boys can handle the dricka no pa sarkee.” Blues said proudly, tapping the side of his head.

VFP: “ Well, lets get caught up. How’s life been since the last interview?”

HB: “ Hell.”[They chime in at once.]

VFP: “ Can you be more specific? Saigon? What about you, what’s changed?”

ASJ: “ Where to begin, about that?! Life was okay, I was staying in Barcelona with friends. . . I keep a beeper in case of  emergencies, with Sami. So it went off during a party at a club called Bikini. I called the number and got no answer. I couldn’t help but panic, the beeper was to be used only for Sam. I ran out, caught the first plane here. Came home and there was no one there. Dishes were in the sink, bills piled up on the kitchen table. All my shit was boxed up. Sami and all his belongings were gone. A note was pinned up to the wall, from Michelle, said ‘Sami’s with Andi, I’m off for a road trip. See you later, Sai. -Chelle, p.s. Rent is three months overdue.’ I loaded up my gear and came over here. Sami was playing in the backyard. Michelle left him there in February! I packed him up and we went back to Barcelona. That was the core of my adventures..”

VFP: “ Is Sami still with you?”[Saigon nodded.] “ Have you heard from Michelle?” [Saigon shook his head no.]

ASJ: “ She took off three months ago, she didn’t even tell Sami she was going to be gone! She told him she was going out for a pack of fags and for him to mind Tahtii Harlow. We’re through. Completely!”[ Saigon folded his arms, nodding his head self assured.] “ I didn’t love her anyway. . I’ve filed for divorce and sole custody of Sami. It’s just me and him now.”

VFP: “ I’ve noticed, Runaround stayed in Barcelona, why?”

ASJ: “ She met Rene and was much happier with him. Me, Rene, and Runaround went to the Barcelona Policies and I freed her.”

VFP : “ Finn, what’s up with you?”

JFS: “ Long story short, Juxeh says, ‘ Babe, I’m going to visit my parents in Iceland, you can’t come and you can’t stay here.’. She unceremoniously sent me packing. She had two answering machines burned out with hate calls, I inspired. I went back to Europe for a while. Ran into Mika Exstacie in business class on a flight to Stockholm. We shared a few drinks, decided to hook up as a group, called ourselves, ‘Agony and Exstacie’. We actually hung out in Helsinki for a couple weeks, did a show at Tavastia. In Turku we played Memphis, a really big club. We also played Saatamo, and Pelimis.

When we went to London, we did a three week stint at Blues’ Born Again Electric [club]. Me and Mika met up with Rene and Nox, who had come over for the show. We sort of all wandered off to Barcelona in a traveling party.

The group got a little bigger once in the city. Saigon, showed up asked if we needed a bass man. That was ace with us. Runaround joined on. Rene banged the skins for us. We were going under the name ‘Heart Attack’. Monroe happened by to visit Rene, and hung around. He eventually replaced Runaround. It was all up to Blues. And he was doing his own thing.”

VFP: “ Monroe, you couldn’t have had that much trouble, as the others?”

MS: “ Well, not from any one person.  My cartoon movie deal for ‘Blvd’ fell through. They said it was difficult to follow and of course they expected me to be Japanese. One of the executives, a chain smoking woman, said to me ‘ Honey, if we wanted a blond guy who could draw cartoons, we’d have hired Mike Judge[Creator, of ‘Beavis and Butthead’, as well as ‘King Of The Hill’].’ They made it very clear they wanted and expected a Japanese artist. I told them where they could put their deal. I’m like pretty burned out. I got Shogukukan to give me leave. When I got back from New York, I nearly jumped out a window in Tokyo. My partner had to stop me. She pulled me off the sill. So my bosses, they fired me. I don’t care. They’ll ask me back or a rival will scoop me up. I’m on sabbatical. I wandered around, visiting friends. My partner [Judah Fire] and I went to London for a while. We did some accoustic gigs in London, ourselves. We were having so much fun we decided to stay on the road.

 Barcelona is one of the few places where The Exterminators are banned from, I mean they won’t go near the city limits. I don’t even think they dare to step foot in Spain.. Barcelona polices executed somewhere around five [Exterminators] of them ten years back. Because of that whatever remaining Suomalainen [ Finnish] vamps always find safe haven in Barcelona. There is a nice community of us there, although they are mostly war orphans, as it were. Not a single one of us over forty years old.

Anyway, so we were there and checked out a Heart Attack show at Magic. They were great, really tight. I was dying to jump up on stage, so I did and we jammed on some songs together.  Everyone was saying ‘ Oh, Monroe, you should join the group, it’ll be fantastic!’ so Runaround stepped aside and let me front the group. My partner had to go back to Japan, for business. I stayed on. I hadn’t had that much fun in years. Extremely rejuvenating.”

VFP: “ Blues?”

BVH: “ What?”

VFP: “ What were you up to?”

BVH: “ Well, me an’ Harl had a real knock down drag out not long after the last interviews came out. I’ve been puttin’ up with her temper, her frustration, as of late. She thumped me about the head an’ back in the past. I cover my head, and try to walk off, y’ know? She balls up those fists and pounds on me. Normally, I ain’t gonna smack her back. Yeah, I’ll threaten it. I’ll menace ‘er, even. I know I’m stronger, and all, but I think on a bad day she could kill me.  Just as I could kill her as easy.

So Harl’s all pissed cos Chelle, P.E.A.C.E. , an’ Buick took off for a motorcycle ride through the States. Plus, y’ know, Harl’s ego took a bruisin’. It had to sting somewhat, hearing about my ‘friends’ . She always knew about ‘em. . Not like she doesn’t screw around. Puta. . .[ Spanish for whore.] She was on the saint Harl kick, pissing and moaning about how I mistreat her.

Out of the blue, right in front of Andi she belts me one across the jaw. Knocked me right down. I didn’t hit ‘er, but I pitched an ashtray at her. She started talking shit to me in front of me girl, tellin’ ‘er what kind of scum I was an’ all that.  No way I was gonna take that. I shoved Harl against the wall and gave ‘er a good smack ‘cross the mouth. She grabbed me, while I was heading to our bedroom. She didn’t want me to leave. I pushed Harl out of my way bundled up my gear and got the fuck outta Dodge.  I walked an’ she wasn’t happy about it. She followed me, yelling to come back. Neighbours were standing at their door watching us. I shouted at them. It didn’t make no difference to them.”

VFP: “ How long have you and Harlow been fighting like that?”

BVH: “ We were good as gold when we was young. Then I moved to London, and she refused to go with me. She didn’t want to leave Baz alone. That hurt, she wouldn’t go with me. I started playing the field at that moment. I hadn’t been off the plane five minutes before I met a girl. My little secret. Then she started her own little secrets. Our secrets then weren’t so secret. By then, I was settled in Osaka.

Sadly, it was when I found out about Andi that our fighting got going. I love my lil’ girl, but I was tricked. Harl hid her pregnancy from me until there was nothing to be done about it, but tell me. I had come back to L.A. to take ownership of my club, House of Ecstasy, and to serve Harl with divorce papers. I lost my club and burned the divorce papers, the same day. She didn’t find out about the papers for a long time, but when she did, our relationship went straight to hell. I was a fool to leave Osaka. I was getting deported anyway, but that was besides the point. I should ‘ave just settled in England. But no, Harl insisted I needed to be around Andi more. I don’t mind being with Andi, but I’m in a house full of  females who don’t take me seriously. I get frustrated, which makes me drink, which makes me take drugs, which leads to fights. I prefer to be master of my house, not the jester. I was being made a fool of. My revenge was to up and disappear for weeks and months. I’d get home and me and Harl would go at it. ‘Er bitches would try to put the boot in as well.

This time,  I got out of there with only  my demo tapes and clothes. Luckily, I stash a guitar and amp with Soozey. She was in Iceland living it up at a festival. I let myself in ‘er flat, stayed a couple days. Headed off to Iceland, first. Harl was so pissed to froze my accounts the minute I left the house. Soozey always gave me money if I needed any. She can’t say no to me. She never could. It was quite nice in Iceland. Tha parties  were happenin’. It was a festival going on, in Akranes,  when I arrived. So mainly we spent a week staying up all night and drinking, celebrating. Soozey, she has a thing for me. Who am I to refuse ‘er? Am I right, mate?”[Blues lit a cigarette. He’s looking at Finn.]

JFS: “Oh, me an’ all. . A bloke don’t turn down a pearl like ‘er! Those tehts, and face,  that hair..”

BVH: “ Stayed on until the holiday was over. Then Iceland was boring. Soozey was heading back home, so she treated me to a ticket to borin’ old London town.

 I got a couple cousins who hold up there[Joe ‘Clash’ and Michael ‘Mickey’ Vanhalkal]. I figured they could loan me some bockas.  Just to get me through, y’ know? Didn’t happen, cos they moved on to New York. There I was, no cash, no band, no business. . Only my demo, my guitar and amp, and myself.

Jr. was living with his mumma. She’s not doing well. He let me live with them for a bit. I mean it’s not like he had a choice. I am ‘is master. . .We were looking for work. I read on a posting on a bulletin board about a guitar player needed for a group, called ‘Break The Chain’. I phoned the number and went down to audition. The singer, and manager/svengali hired me before I plugged in. The singer was a dynamite chick. Powerful lungs, she ‘ad.We hit it off, me  an’ her. I moved out of Jr’s. Her flat was nicer. But it worked out really well. The group was made up of American kids who’d expatriated. They hadn’t been there long enough to have a foot hold. They needed me. I got Jr into the band with me. Created a power balance. Three against the others. It’s just the way I work. I need to shift the balance of power in my favour.

 I took my demo, had the manager and the chick, Cheyenne have a listen. They thought it had a good sound. On the sly, we re-recorded the songs with me and Cheyenne singing. She sang a cover a of a really rare, Hanoi Rocks’ tune  ‘Oil And Gasoline’ that was fucking fantastic, if I have to brag.” [Blues smiled smugly. He changed postion in his chair, leaning forward.] “Basically I waltzed in and took over the group. Went from being a little too pretentious, with a controling, inaffectual, manager, no musical direction, I shouldn’t fail to mention, too many members not doing enough. I mean Cheyenne did a lot of ‘carrying’.  They went from that to being under my control.

We took off, really getting gigs. I changed the band’s name. First idea that was rejected, ‘Roskeeah’ [Trash in Jippenish]. They didn’t like ‘Roovi’ [ Jipp for screw]. I strong armed to get my way and we became ‘Suberian Street Kids’. SSK, for short. Couple members left after I joined. They didn’t like the format or the shows I was setting up. The manager, a bloke named Jade, took off. With my guidance, SSK went not only through England, but were playing Belgium, Germany, and even Italy. 

By the time, the band skittered into Barcelona, it was down to me, Jr. and Cheyenne. I was talking to Rene a couple days before that. He told me the guys were there. Not only that but playing in a group.  I can’t say I was in the neighbourhood when we crashed the Heart Attack gig at Garage Club.

 I forced my way up onstage. Rene turned the drums over to Jr. . We blew the roof off the joint! Place went mad. Next thing we know, the buzz was Geisha Roki was reformed. We went with it. We left Heart Attack to Mika, who quickly restore it with Run’round, Rene, and Nox.”

VFP: “ So you guys are just hanging out and playing rock and roll?”

MS: “ Well, we always wanted to be rock stars. I know we aren’t going to be famous. We don’t need to be, we just like being a band.”

JFS: “ Yeah, as a gang we’ve got not much going for us. Our old territories were snapped up in Los Angeles. We got no schemes going.  A lot of the gangers wish they could just up and take off, playing as a band, but they can’t.”

VFP: “ Saigon, you’re touring with Sami?”

ASJ: “ I’m not going to leave him behind. His Aiti[mom] already did that to him. I make sure he’s getting his schooling. In fact, he’s mastered Jipp, English, and is learning Spanish. I’ll have him understanding Vietnamese in no time. He’s finding out all about life, and cultures. He’s having a hell of a time. He’s getting the best kind of education. He does miss Andi, though.”

BVH: “ I’d rather be in a band, too. I like being on the road. I’m more of a creative person, than a business man. Business was means to an end. Harl had froze my income. She had power of attorney over my businesses. I was up the hook over money. Had to crawl back to Harl. She was pleased to see me on my knees.

In fact, as far as business goes, I’ve chucked it all in. Harl and I sold my cafe chain to a British company for a rediculous price. She was kind enough to allow me to sit in on the negotiations. They wanted to deal with a bloke anyway. All I have to do is run my clubs. Harl’s got her piece of my action. Andi has a trust fund. .  I have a great weight lifted off my shoulders.”

VFP: “ What happened to the singer of  SSK, Cheyenne?”

BVH: “ Oh, she’s around. We do good work, so we keep in touch. She understands I need to be with Geisha Roki right now. If I call she’ll come running.”

MS: “ My partner’s the same way. I don’t mean, I call and she comes running. She’s understanding about the group. It’s been really really good. Me and Blues we wrote some tunes. Finn and Sai even knocked out a few gems of their own.”

VFP: “ So are you playing any dates here?”

JFS: “ Oh yeah, we got two nights at The Roxy.  The Palace is actually letting us onstage. House of Ecstasy gave us three nights in the main room, just to start. Like Monroe said, we aren’t going to get famous. We just like fucking around, that’s all.” [Finn shrugged in a non-committed way.]

VFP: “Blues, so everything is cool between you and Harlow?”

BVH: “ It’s never going to be solid. We can’t split cos of Andi.”

No sooner had Blues spoke, then the door to the studio burst open. Sami, with his long black curls, and Saigon wardrobe in miniature, raced in. He was crying. He leapt on his father, throwing his arms around him. They whispered quietly in Jippenish. Saigon comforted his young son, who is about eight years old.

ASJ: “ Andi punched him in the eye and stole the Keo Dau Phong [Crushed Peanut Candy] he bought with his allowance, in Hanoi.”[Saigon’s glance fell on Blues.]

BVH : That little devil. She’s gotten a meaner streak in her since I got home. I’ll be right back.”

Blues got up and left the room. The boys couldn’t sit still. They followed. Saigon carried Sami out the door. I wanted to go see Blues’ idea of parenting. I followed them up the stairs

There was no screaming, no blood shed. Not even Blues snatching to candy from Andi who did indeed have it. He sat her down. They talked. He never raised his voice, not for a minute.

Andi got up, she wiped  tears from her big brown eyes. She went up to Saigon who was still holding Sami. She gave him the bag of candy. She squeaked out a little apology.

Saigon put Sami down, and the children went up to Andi’s room to finish playing. Monroe patted Blues’ back.

MS: “ He’s not a bad father. He is not keen on physical discipline. Blues had too much of that as a child. Of all things, Blues doesn’t want Andi to be afraid of him.”

BVH: “ Andi’s going through a rough patch. I think she’s confused over the relationship between me and Harl. Sometimes, I think if Harl and I divorced Andi might even out. Last thing she needs is me yelling at her mumma and her. Harl, though she’s not being discreet with our arguing, and I think that’s damaging Andi. When we hit the road, again, I’m taking Andi with me.”

 We, myself and the Boys, returned to the studio downstairs. They sat back down in their chairs.

VFP : “ So you do have plans to keep up as a band?”

HB: “ Absolutely!”

VFP: “ You think this cease fire between you all will last?”

JFS: “ Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Like any family we’ll fight. We’ll get on each other’s wick. . .”

MS: “ Exactly..”

ASJ: “ I can see us still hanging out, in ten years, hell in twenty years. That won’t change. We may break up as Geisha Roki, but we’ll always be Hanoi Boys.”

VFP: “ But I thought. . Well, last time we spoke, you’d threatened to leave, you and Monroe.”

ASJ: “ That was then, this is now.”

MS: “ We don’t know what to do without each other.”

BVH: “ Yeah, you can’t take our pissin’ and moanin’ too serious. We’re bull shitting. Blowing smoke.”

JFS: “ Right. We do this all the time. The difference is that we were more public with our spat. Not the brightest thing to do. We ended up pissing off more than each other.”

VFP: “ You think you should make some apologies?”

MS: “ Yeah.”

JFS : “ Maybe.”

ASJ : “ I didn’t say anything wrong.”

BVH: “ I may have been out of line, but I’m not apologising. It just wouldn’t be me.”

VFP : “ You win Blues. Finn, you mentioned hate calls, have they stopped?”

JFS : “ You’d have to ask Juxeh about it. It’s her number everyone calls..”

VFP : “ She mentioned that you’d be back to her. Have you talked to her at all?”

JFS : “ I would if, Blues wasn’t there all the time..”[Finn shifts his eyes over to his friend. Blues smiles, and cocks his head to the side.]

BVH : “ I’m on your side, mate. I’m getting her to miss you.”

JFS : “ You mean you’re getting in-”[Finn was about to make an obscene gesture with his hands. I felt I should jump in.]

VFP : “ Boys... I thought you liked to share?”

BVH: “ He ain’t getting mad. Are ya, Finn?”

JFS: “ Naw.. He’s right..”

ASJ : “ We don’t want to get bogged down by woman, right now.”

MS : “ It’s just us boys.”

BVH : “ I do get a better fix outta creating music, really great music with the lads, then scoring a teenangel.”

JFS : “ If Blues could do both, he’d be a happy guy!” [The Boys laughed.]

VFP: " How is it to adjust to having Jr in your group and not, Baz?"

MS: " Well, he is no replacement. Baz was family. When a member of your family dies, you don't replace them. I mean you wouldn't hire a new grandma, would you? Jr is a great guy. He had to prove himself to run with us. He isn't an official Hanoi Boy. That place is reserved for Baz alone."

BVH: " Jr thinks more than Baz did, you know? Baz didn't stop and think, he just did it . . Like Monroe said, he's no replacement. He's his own man. He's Jr"

VFP: " Have you heard from Casiin Oy? Would Jr be a replacement for Oy?"

JFS: " Cash Box[Oy] was never official. Not to me in the least. I saw him when me and Mika were in London. He's pulled together some kids and formed his own version of Geisha Roki, called Vietnamese War Babies. They aren't bad, but I think Cash box missed the boat and now wants to sail with us."

BVH: " Too bad so sad, he shouldn't have never decked me in Tokyo."

VFP: " So it wasn't an amicable split all those years ago?"

MS: " Kinda sorta.. We let Casiin go. Even just to protect him from Blues."[Blues lined up his knuckles, crackling them, for affect.]

BVH:" He broke a cardinal rule early on, don't try to take me on. He sucker punched me when Geisha Roki was playing a park concert. He was out of control. I wanted to put him in his place. Even the lads wanted to put the boot in, except Monroe. . . The best solution was to send him packing so that's what we did."

VFP: “ Back to the present, and the future. . . What’s up for you guys? What’s next?”

HB: “ Rock and Roll!”

It seemed best to end the interview on a up note. For anyone who knew them in the old days, when they were fairly carefree young guys, this meeting would have felt like deja vu.

They did seem as if a new start was around the corner. That better days were ahead for them. It is understandable, that they have such loyal friends. For all their sins, they are decent fellows. Life has been hard on them. They made the most of it. They never forget who has helped them, who has loved them, and who still loves them. In a world where looking out for one’s own gain thrives, they keep an eye on not only each other, but their ystavas[friends].

None of us know what the future holds for The Hanoi Boys. Saigon, will perhaps get divorced. He may not. Blues and Harlow may begin a honeymoon period, or they may never speak to one another in polite terms again. Finn may get back together with Soozey. Monroe may get a new comic deal.Geisha Roki may break up, or they just might make it big.

If any of you readers,out there, are in the Los Angeles area, take a chance and check out the group live. They’ll be playing The Roxy this weekend. They will also play The Pussycat Palace on May 23rd, 25th, and 26th. They will appear at The House of Ecstasy in the main room, June 1st-3rd. After that, they will be heading to New York City, to play CBGB’s. ****

This piece is dedicated to Martti Lleonsi, who's help achieved the desired effect of the article-Gyp