BIOGRAPHY – Hanoi Rocks

By December 1984, Finnish glam rockers Hanoi Rocks were on the brink of stardom. They had recently released their major label debut, Two Steps from the Move, and had enjoyed minor success with the singles Up Around the Bend and Don’t You Ever Leave Me. The glam metal scene in Los Angeles had developed significantly over the last few years and bands such as Ratt and Mötley Crüe had begun to dominate the Sunset Strip, paving the way for other similar artists to seek fame and fortune. But whilst partying with the latter, any chance that Hanoi Rocks had of success was pulled from under them when drummer Nicholas Dingley (more commonly referred to as Razzle) was killed in a car crash. Soon afterwards, the band split and their fifteen minutes of fame abruptly came to an end.

Prior to the formation of Hanoi Rocks, Finnish guitarist Antti Hulkko had performed in a group called Briard, who would become the first punk band to release a single (I Really Hate Ya) in Finland. Hulkko would soon be joined by school friend and fellow guitarist Jan Stenfors and the group released a further three singles, as well as a full length album, before eventually disbanding. The following year, Hulkko made the acquaintance of a bleach blonde vocalist called Matti Fagerholm, who had dreamed of being in a rock band since he had seen Black Sabbath live on TV several years earlier. Under the English moniker Michael Monroe, Fagerholm had performed in various groups around his native Helsinki, such as the long-forgotten Black Magic and Bolin. By 1980, Hulkko (now known as Andy McCoy) was in a new band called Pelle Miljoona Oy but shortly before they were set to embark on a tour of the country, McCoy suddenly decided to quit.

Meanwhile, Monroe had formed his own band with Stenfors (aka Nasty Suicide) on guitar, whilst the initial line-up was completed with fellow guitarist Stefan Piesnack, drummer Peki Sirola and bassist Nedi. With Sirola soon replaced by Tumppi Varonen and later by Jesper Sporre (Gyp Casino), McCoy joined the band, along with Pelle Miljoona Oy‘s bassist Sami Takamäki (Sam Yaffa), and McCoy suggested the name Chinese Rocks for the group, having taken the title from punk song. Eventually settling on Hanoi Rocks, the band decided to relocate from Finland to Stockholm in Sweden, where they were forced to live on the streets whilst they struggled to raise money to support the group. Yet it would be whilst returning to Finland for a short tour in late 1980 that they would be signed to independent label Johanna Kustannus. Their first single would be the double A-side I Want You/Kill City Kills, which was released in November 1980.

In the first weeks of 1981, Hanoi Rocks entered Park Studio in Stockholm to record their debut album, Some Like it Cut (which would ultimately be renamed Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks), which would be produced by Monroe and McCoy. Released in February, which coincided with the band’s second single, Tragedy, the album would include the tracks Don’t Never Leave Me (which would later be re-recorded as the more commercial Don’t You Ever Leave Me) and 11th Street Kids. After a disappointing six-date tour in England in support of Wishbone Ash, Hanoi Rocks decided to relocate once again to London to work on their second album.

Tentatively titled Second Attempt at Suicide, the band worked alongside producer Pete Wooliscroft at Advision Studio, recording a batch of songs that had mostly been written by McCoy, as well as a cover of Hoyt Axton’s Lightnin’ Bar Blues. Released as Oriental Beat in February 1982, the album would bring the group to a wider audience, whilst also suffering from the perils of rock ‘n’ roll stardom, most notably excessive drug use. Monroe and McCoy had begun to feel that Casino did not fit in the band and after a chance encounter with Razzle backstage at the Marquee in London, Casino was fired and Razzle was brought on as his replacement. Following a tour that saw the group performing around Asia, Johanna Kustannus released a collection of b-sides and non-album singles appropriately entitled Self Destruction Blues.

Their third album, Back to Mystery City, would be produced by Dale Griffin and Pete Overend Watts, both of whom had performed with the rock group Mott the Hoople during the 1970s. Including many of Hanoi Rocks‘ most popular songs (such as Until I Get You, Mental Beat and Malibu Beach Nightmare), the album would bring the band to the attention of several major record labels, with CBS eventually winning the bid. Following the recording of their acclaimed live album and home video All Those Wasted Years (recorded, ironically, at the same venue where they had first met Razzle), the group returned to the studio, this time with famed producer Bob Ezrin, whose previous work had included several of Alice Cooper’s most successful albums. Recorded in both New York and Toronto, Two Steps from the Move was intended to have been the band’s breakthrough into the mainstream and was preceded by a cover of Credence Clearwater Revival‘s 1970 hit Up Around the Bend.

Whilst promoting the album in New York, Monroe twisted his ankle onstage and were forced to cancel several shows. Having flown out to Los Angeles shortly before Christmas, the other band members celebrated with Mötley Crüe, but when frontman Vince Neil and Razzle crashed whilst driving intoxicated, Razzle was killed and Neil faced possible manslaughter charges. Despite performing two dates in Helsinki in January with Terry Chimes (formerly of The Clash), the band were unable to continue and eventually decided to call it a day. Following the split, McCoy and Suicide worked together briefly on a project entitled The Suicide Twins, whilst Suicide also performed in a band called Cheap and Nasty. Monroe, meanwhile, embarked on a solo career that would include the hit album Not Fakin’ It in 1989. Hanoi Rocks eventually reformed in 2001 and released three studio albums, although neither Suicide, Yaffa nor Casino would choose to return. After eight years together, supporting the likes of Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister, Hanoi Rocks split once again in 2009.