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HERE is a moment in Mike Campbell’s book Heartbreaker: A Memoir when the guitarist starts to wonder whether his talents are being properly appreciated. A dividing line has been drawn between Tom Petty and the band. The earliest indication of this comes during the recording of their debut album, when Petty announces that they will be billed as “Tom Petty and the something or other”. After rejecting The King Bees and The Night, the group settles on The Heartbreakers, despite Benmont Tench’s objection that Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell, Walter Lure and Jerry Nolan are already trading under that name. “Those guys are a bunch of junkies,” Petty says, “that’s our name now.”
The design of the first album cover underlines the pecking order. It features a dreamboat photo of Petty in a leather jacket, a garment which allows him to pass for a new wave musician, despite an apprenticeship playing Creedence covers to Florida rednecks in bars such as Dubs, where the owner’s aim was “to pack the place with every music and nudity enthusiast from three states”. The words “And The” are omitted from the sleeve, in case the record company decides to ditch the band and pretend that the record’s title is Heartbreakers.