as a hardcore punk rocker , i owed my flaming red hair not to genetics but to a tube of koleston hair dye in shade 88/43 , and my wardrobe at the time consisted of scruffy wool sweaters stretched down to the knees and black t-shirts with writing such as the funeral , stairway to hell and filthy communion , in conjunction with outlandish fashion accessories , such as a couple of thick safety-pins in each ear and a bmx bicycle chain around the neck .