Even though the book captured incidents of violence and sexual assault, it still managed to make the outlaw motorcycle gang lifestyle seem “glamorous” - “He made us even more of a myth than we were at the time,” Barger told Rolling Stone. Ralph Hubert Barger, or “Sonny,” featured prominently throughout the book, which documented Thompson’s yearlong experience living among the bikers. Some people get into thinking they’re one of us, and they really run into problems,” Barger told Rolling Stone in 2007. He always knew that he was apart from us. “I don’t think Hunter ever tried to act like one of us. Thompson’s first foray into gonzo journalism, Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Operating first on the fringes of society in the late-Fifties to mid-Sixties - a period where the motorcycle club was heavily involved in drug trafficking and grew infamous for their violent clashes with everyone from police officers to anti-war protestors (“peace creeps,” Barger called them) - the Hells Angels gained prominence in 1967 following the publication of Hunter S. Although I’ve had a public persona for decades, I’ve mostly enjoyed special time with my club brothers, my family, and close friends.”īarger continued, “Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor.” He signed the note, “Sonny HAMCO,” a nod to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Oakland that he founded in 1957. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club. “I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing,” Barger wrote. “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. Barger himself announced his own death Wednesday in a pre-written statement posted on his public Facebook page.
Sonny Barger, founder of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels and the public face for the motorcycle club in the aftermath of the Altamont tragedy, has died at the age of 83.īarger’s former attorney Fritz Clapp confirmed to NBC News that the longtime Hells Angels president died at his home Wednesday following a bout with liver cancer.
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