Hanoi Rocks

January 2nd, 2009 Filed under: Bands — admin @ 1:38 am

Current Members (Edit)

Michael Monroe – Lead Vocals
Andy McCoy – Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
Conny Bloom – Guitar
Andy “A.C.” Christell – Bass Guitar
George Atlagic – Drums and Percussion

Albums (Edit)

Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks (1981)
Oriental Beat (1982)
Self Destruction Blues (1982)
Back to Mystery City (1983)
All Thos Wasted Years (1984)
Two Steps from the Move (1984)
Rock & Roll Divorce (1985)
Twelve Shots on the Rocks (2002)
Another Hostile Takeover (2005)
Street Poetry (2007)

Hanoi Rocks is a rock band formed in 1979 in Finland. The band’s peak of popularity came in the early 1980s. The band announced that they will split-up again after playing all planned gigs. The last gig is in Helsinki, on April 12, 2009.

The first line-up of the band included vocalist Michael Monroe, guitar players Nasty Suicide and Stefan Piesnack, bass player Nedo and drummer Peki Sirola. In 1980, Piesnack, Sirola and Nedo were replaced Andy McCoy, Sam Yaffa and Gyp Casino. In 1982 the band moved to London to take advantage of the livelier music scene in that city. Later that year Casino was fired and was replaced by Razzle.

In the early days of Hanoi Rocks, the band’s plan was to release three EP’s. “Bankok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks” was the first one of them. Hanoi Rocks started recording their second album called “Oriental Beat” in 1981. It was originally to be called Second Attempt For A Suicide, but it was later changed to the current title.

The band released their fourth album called “Back To Mystery City” in 1983. After talking to many record labels, they decided to release it on their own label called Lick. The band signed to CBS Records, in 1983.

In 1984, Hanoi Rocks released the album, Two Steps From The Move. The original title for the album was Silver Missiles And Nightingales, but it was changed right before the release of the album.

The album had just been released when disaster struck. Razzle had been killed in a car accident on December 9, 1984 in California. Razzle was replaced by Terry Chimes.

Soon after that, Yaffa left the band because they canceled all the gigs and then he was replaced by René Berg. The band never recovered and then Monroe left. In May 1985, Hanoi Rocks split-up. The members spent the next 15 years in various musical projects. None of the projects gained major commercial success.

Click to edit INTRO

History (Edit)

Having not talked to the other band members since the break-up, Andy and Michael met-up at the release party for the Hanoi Rocks 4-cd box set in 2001. After jamming at a club together, they decided to keep in contact. Then they ended up playing a few festival gigs together under the name “Hanoi Revisited.”

Since the gigs were fun and full of energy, the two decided to get some studio time. They wanted to try writing new material for the first time since the band originally disbanded. Through out the process they rediscovered that the magic was still there.

The stuff they recorded was too good not to be released. After a lot of thinking, they decided using the name “Hanoi Revisited” would be plain stupid. So they released the EP “People Like Me” under the name of “Hanoi Rocks.” After the EP was released they recorded their next album, 12 Shots On The Rocks. The album went gold in Finland.

In 2005, the band released Another Hostile Take Over. It peaked out at number 5 on the national Finnish album chart. In the fall of 2007, Hanoi Rocks released Street Poetry. The reviews say that it sticks to their classic sound.

Click to edit HISTORY