In the perfect world, Michael Monroe would have been one of the leading frontmen of the ‘80s glam metal movement -- leaving most of his unbearable contemporaries in the dust. Born Matti Fagerholm on June 17, 1960, in Helsinki, Finland, Monroe played saxophone with a variety of Finnish bands throughout the late ‘70s, before eventually switching to vocals, and helping co-form Hanoi Rocks in 1980. Preceding Motley Crue by several years, Hanoi Rocks was one of the first groups in several years to adopt the ‘glam' look (something that would become commonplace on L.A.'s Sunset Strip in only a few years) -- heavy on the make-up and hair spray, flashy outfits, etc. -- but unlike their future offspring, Hanoi Rocks' roots wasn't in heavy metal, but rather punk and garage rock (The Stooges, early Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, Dead Boys).

After some line up tweaking, the ‘classic' Hanoi Rocks line up was put in place, consisting of Monroe, guitarists Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide, bassist Sam Yaffa, and drummer Nicholas ‘Razzle' Dingley. On the strength of several Euro-only, indie releases (1981's Bangkok Shocks, 1982's Self Destruction Blues and Oriental Beat, plus 1983's Back to Mystery City), and European tours (as well as visits to such exotic locales as Israel and Japan), a buzz began to build. Hanoi Rocks was signed to Columbia Records soon after, as U.S. success appeared to be just around the corner - especially after the release of 1984's Two Steps from the Move. Then came a much-publicized car accident that killed Dingley (behind the wheel was an inebriated Vince Neil) in December of 1984. Despite Monroe and company attempting to carry on with replacements, the promising Hanoi was laid to rest later the next year.

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Relocating to New York City, Monroe began to pick up the pieces and embarked on a solo career. Monroe's first solo release was 1987's Nights Are So Long (a Scandinavia/Japan only release), which was quite Dead Boys-influenced (Monroe had befriended Stiv Bators and covered one of his solo songs, while guitarist Jimmy Zero contributed a pair of songs). An appearance in the star-studded Sun City video followed, as did a worldwide solo deal with Polygram Records. An initial plan of reissuing Nights failed to pan out, resulting in 1989's Not Fakin' It being the first domestically issued solo Monroe release. The album would go on to become Monroe's most successful stateside release (the only one to appear on the Billboard charts), while all of Hanoi Rocks' albums were reissued on Guns N' Roses' short-lived Uzi Suicide label (Monroe also appeared on G n' R's Use Your Illusion releases and The Spaghetti Incident).

Many assumed that Monroe would obtain ever-elusive breakthrough success this second time around, but once more, it was not to be. A planned collaboration with ex-Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens failed to pan out, as it appeared that Monroe completely disappeared. This proved not to be the case, as he continued to issue lower-profile solo releases (1992's Jerusalem Slim, 1996's Peace of Mind, 1999's Life Gets You Dirty, 2002's Take Them and Break Them, and 2003's Whatcha Want. Monroe has also sporadically reunited with his ex-Hanoi bandmates, including Yaffa under the name Demolition 23 (1995's Demolition 23), and with McCoy as Hanoi Rocks, resulting in the 2002 release, Twelve Shots on the Rocks.

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The outrageous US heavy-rock band was formed in 1980 by Nikki Sixx (bass), Tommy Lee (drums) and Vince Neil (vocals). Mick Mars (guitar) was later added to the line-up. Their first single, ‘Stick To Your Guns’/’Toast Of The Town,’ was issued in 1981 on their own Leathur label, followed by their self-produced debut, ‘Too Fast For Love.’ The band signed to Elektra Records in 1982, and the album, was remixed and reissued that August.

The following year they recorded a new set, “Shout At The Devil’, with producer Tom Werman. He stayed at the helm for the two albums, which broke them to a much wider audience in the USA, ‘Theatre Of Pain’ (which sold more than two million copies) and 1987’s ‘Girls Girls Girls’.

The band topped the US charts in 1989 with ‘Dr. Feelgood’, which yielded two Top 10 singles with the title track and ‘Without You. The band has often been noted for their hard-living lifestyles; all members have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in jail, suffered long addictions to alcohol and drugs, had countless escapades with women, and are heavily tattooed.

Vince Neil was sacked in 1992. His replacement for 1994’s self-titled album was John Corabi, although the band’s problems continued with a record label/management split and disastrous North America tour. Neil was working with the band again in autumn 1996, after Corabi was also sacked. Lee became the focus of much press attention as a result of his explosive marriage to actress Pamela Anderson, helping boost interest in ‘Generation Swine’. Lee eventually left the band in 1999 to concentrate on his new outfit, ‘Methods Of Mayhem’. Randy Castillo who debuted on the following year’s ‘New Tattoo’ replaced him.

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Acts such as Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Marilyn Mason, Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Slipknot, Belladonna, and Vains of Jenna have all cited them as an influence in recent years, most notably for “Too Fast For Love”and “Shout At The Devil”. Disturbed drummer Mike Wergner has also cited Tommy Lee as an influence to his drumming. They've also been parodied for their early look in music videos by a variety of artists such as Bowling for Soup, Beck, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Aerosmith and the Backstreet Boys. In 2005, Motley Crue involved in an animation-comedy spoof 'Disaster!' written by Paul Benson and Matt Sullivan and was used as the introduction film to concerts on their Carnival of Sins tour.

Mathew Jones

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