On 25 June 1988, Hillel Slovak, guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, died of a heroin overdose at the age of 26.
It was a tragedy that had a profound effect on the other members of the band, as bassist Flea recalls in a new interview with MOJO magazine.
“It was devastating,” Flea says. “Just unbelievable. When it happened I was so shocked I just fell on the floor, gasping for air.”
Hillel Slovak was one of the four founding members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers alongside Flea, vocalist Anthony Kiedis and drummer Jack Irons.
Slovak was born in Haifa, Israel, but it was after his family relocated to the US, settling in Los Angeles, that he met Flea, Kiedis and Irons while attending Fairfax High School.
Flea was an accomplished trumpet player in his youth, but his friendship with Slovak proved hugely influential in shaping his future.
Speaking to MOJO, Flea says of Slovak: “He was the one who asked me to start playing the bass. I would never have played bass without him, and without him I would never have been in a rock band. He taught me so much.”
He recalls his first meeting with Slovak and acknowledges how he and Kiedis gained an education in music from the young guitarist.
“When Anthony and I met him, we were young,” Flea says. “We were out hitch-hiking the street and we saw him and he had a car. He was fucking 16 and he had a car! A Datsun 510.
“He had a stereo in the car and he was smoking weed and listening to [Led] Zeppelin. He gave us a ride and I think he gave us some weed. He showed me Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck and then the Gang Of Four, all this stuff.”
It was in 1982 that the four friends formed the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Slovak and Irons briefly left the Chili Peppers to focus on a new band named What is This?
As a result, the Chili Peppers’ self-titled debut album, released in 1984, was recorded with guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez.
But Slovak returned for the second album Freaky Styley – produced by Parliament/Funkadelic leader George Clinton and released in 1985.
Jack Irons also rejoined the band for the 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.
This turned out to be the only Chili Peppers album to feature all four founding members. It was also the last album Hillel Slovak ever made.
Following Slovak’s death, the band recruited John Frusciante.
In an emotional tribute to Slovak, Flea tells MOJO: “I looked up to him. I was in love with him. He was a beautiful boy and troubled like all of us were, difficulties at home, difficulties everywhere.
“His guitar playing was beautiful, his hair, the way he dressed… everything. A beautiful friend. And really sadly a drug addict, heroin, and he didn’t make it through.”
