Retro Spins: Michael Monroe - Not Fakin' It

 

My journey through Hanoi Rocks, and now lead singer, Michael Monroe, ends today with his second solo effort, 1989's Not Fakin' It. It's been a solid trip so far, and I might even be a little bummed that it's coming to a close. It's rare that I find "new" music that actually makes me a fan, and this has definitely happened with all of this combined music so far.

After the breakup of Hanoi in 1985, Monroe ventured out solo. His first effort, Nights Are So Long, was release in 1987 by Yahoo!, and with it came attention from larger labels. This resulted in him shifting to Mercury for his second release, um...this one. Not Fakin' It would become his biggest solo success. This was aided by the music video for Dead, Jail Or Rock 'N' Roll, which would see steady rotation on MTV. It's possible, but not confirmed that this popularity was based on the appearance of Axle Rose in the video.

At the time of this album's release, Guns N' Roses's label, Uzi Suicide, would be actively re-releasing the albums of Hanoi Rocks on CD. This perhaps would bet what led to Axel's inclusion in the video.

Playing through it, for some reason, parts of it felt familiar. Specifically, She's No Angel, and All Night With The Lights On. I would bet money I'd heard these before, but I can't for the life of me figure out where or when. Whatever the case was, I was digging these two tracks.

Additionally, I was also down with Dead, Jail Or Rock 'N' Roll, Shakedown, Man With No Eyes, Smoke Screen

Upon its release, Michael would spend 1989 and 1990 touring. During this time, he'd be joined on stage by Slash for multiple shows in Los Angeles and garner the attention of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. They invite him to play saxophone on Big Ten Inch, which they performed at Les Paul's 75th birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.

He'd close out 1989 and kick of 1990 by performing along with Bryan Adams, Don Henley, Huey Lewis and Loudness in two New Year's shows at the 70,000-seat Tokyo Dome in Japan, on 31 December 1989, and 1 January 1990. Guns 'N Roses would invite him to play both harmonica and sax on the track, Bad Obsession for their Use Your Illusion album, and then invite him back for their 1993 The Spaghetti Incident? where he sang on Ain't It Fun.

Despite all of this, his solo career didn't prove as successful as hoped. Monroe would take a bit of a hiatus, but then continue his solo career in 1996, releasing several studio albums through his latest, Outerstellar, which was released in February 2026. In between all of that, he also briefly reformed Hanoi Rocks with Andy McCoy, and released new studio albums under the band's name. He remains very active, continuing to tour and showing no signs of calling it a day any time soon.

But, with that, I wrap up my listening sessions of both Hanoi Rocks, and the solo career of Michael Monroe. As I've said in a few posts already, it's been a good time, and I'm definitely a fan. If I have one disappointment, it's that I completely missed out on this in real time during the 80's.

Tomorrow, I jump into another all new 80's hair band, but from there, I think I'm going to take a break from the metal scene, and drift back into some new wave. I've got lots to listen to still, and it's onward each day just crossing albums off. You'd think I'd slow down, catch up, and then go from there, but nah, just as of today, I've picked up seven more albums.

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Retro Spins: Michael Monroe - Nights Are So Long

 

When we last left Michael Monroe, you know, yesterday, he was fronting the band Hanoi Rocks. Much like that 80's discography the solo efforts of Monroe were not on my want list. Nor did I know of him until digging into the band itself. While I initially wasn't going to pick his two CD's up from the decade, I came across a listing on ebay that had both of them together, and reasonably priced. Story of my life when it comes to buying music.

If you recall from yesterday, shortly after the death of their drummer, Razzle, Hanoi Rocks called it quits. Nasty Suicide would ditch the stage name, picking up his life as Jan-Markus Stenfors, finished school, and become a pharmacist for a drug company. Sam, who was the first to actually leave, continued to work in the music business, joining up with several bands. Andy McCoy would also work with several bands but also spent time painting. Then there was Michael Monroe, who of course went on to a solo career.

Michael would go solo, releasing his first album, Nights Are So Long in 1987. To date, he's released thirteen. Andy, on the other hand, created several new bands, none of which took off. When not performing, he spent his time creating art as a painter.

Then there was Michael Monroe. He'd venture out on to a solo career, if you hadn't figured that out already by this post. First, however, he would join his friend Stiv Bators, to work on the Sun City charity project. They would not only contribute backing vocals but appear in the music video. His first solo effort would be 1987's Nights Are So Long, an album which consisted mainly of covers, and released by Yahoo!

It's a decent listen, but one thing I immediately noticed was the change in vocal style. Whereas Hanoi Rocks featured a higher pitch and sometimes screechy Monroe, his solo effort brought the range down to a deeper, and raspier one. Both are good, but it still caught me off guard. I guess I was expecting more of the same from him, but it's great that he's not a one trick pony and could mix it up.

Despite the overall listening session being a good one, I only ended up pulling two tracks for the old shuffle list. Those were Shake Some Action, and Nights Are So Long.

Nights Are So Long, the album, would be a moderate success, and attract the attention of Mercury Records, who would release his second studio album, Not Fakin' It. That's where I'll pick up tomorrow, and wrap up my latest journey through Hanoi Rocks, and their lead singer, Michael Monroe.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.