Welcome to Finland! Home of Hanoi Rocks, the band credited, or as lead singer Michael Monroe would say, blamed for the look and style that would become 80's glam hair metal. Men with big hair, makeup painted faces, and tight leather. Or, as Steven Tyler would say, "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)".
The band was formed by Michael Monroe, and friend, Andy McCoy in 1979, but soon expand to include Stefan Piesnack, Nasty Suicide (Jan-Markus Stenfors), Nedo Soininen, and Peki Sirola. Though they began touring local Finnish clubs, by 1980 relocated to the UK. While most of the members lived on the streets, begging for money, McCoy stayed with his wealthy girlfriend. As Monroe would state in a later interview, when invited to people's homes, the first place the boys would hit would be the refrigerator.
A deal was made with Johanna Kustannus, to release the debut single, I Want You / Kill City Kills, followed by a 102-day tour which kicked off in January 1981. The tour would be credited as the longest in Finnish rock history and also hone the boy's energetic onstage presence.
To keep pushing them forward, the band released the second single, Tragedy / Café Avenue in February 1981, following it a month later with their debut album, Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks. Dubbed, The Muddy Twins, Monroe and McCoy would produce the record themselves. The album would become a relatively immediate success in Finland, peaking at number fourteen.
When I fired it up, I was expecting the likes of Mötley Crüe or Twisted Sister. Instead, I got something reminiscent of the early 80's punk scene, more comparable to The Ramones. It wasn't terrible by any means, just surprising.
I found enjoyable tracks in Village Girl, Cheyenne, 11th Street Kidzz, and Walking With My Angel, but most surprisingly, the original version of Don't Never Leave Me. Granted I had only recently come across this song, but I associated it with the much slower paced 1984 version from their album, Two Steps From The Move. While the latter version is definitely the superior, this faster tempo one isn't horrible.
Lead singer, Monroe, is by far among the likes of Freddie Mercury, Steve Perry, or candidly anyone else who could consistently hold a note. He frequently sings off key, aiming for notes that are clearly out of his range, which perhaps is part of the charm. It certainly makes his vocals unique, and for now, I'm interested in hearing more from Hanoi Rocks.
I will say that what Monroe lacks in hitting notes, he more than makes up for in his skill on saxophone and harmonica. I can honestly say that the sax isn't something I often equate with hair metal, but it works here. In particular on Walking With My Angel, and Pretender, where it's very prevalent.
After an extensive tour throughout 1981 of Sweden and Finland, the band returned to London to record their second album, Oriental Beat (1982). A lineup change would also soon occur, one which would not only change the course of the band, but end in tragedy. At the risk of getting too far ahead of the changes that would soon come, I'll stop there.
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