Hanoi Rocks

Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks performing at the Ilosaarirock festival in 2008
Hanoi Rocks performing at the Ilosaarirock festival in 2008
Background information
OriginHelsinki, Finland
Genres
Years active
  • 1979–1985
  • 2001–2009
  • 2022
Labels
Spinoff ofPelle Miljoona Oy
Past members
Websitehanoi-rocks.net

Hanoi Rocks were a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. By 1984, the band was considered to be on the verge of an international breakthrough when they released their first major label album for CBS and headed for their first US tour. The tour was however cut short when their drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a drunk driving incident with Vince Neil behind the wheel in December 1984. The band never recovered from the loss and announced their split in June 1985. After their initial break-up, lead singer Michael Monroe became the first Finnish artist to chart on the American Billboard 200 in 1989. Monroe and original lead guitarist Andy McCoy reunited in 2001 with a new lineup that lasted until 2009. Although musically closer to traditional rock n' roll and punk, Hanoi Rocks has been cited as a major influence in the glam metal genre for bands such as Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Poison.

According to Finnish radio and TV personality Jone Nikula, who was the band's tour manager in the 2000s, Hanoi Rocks's albums have sold between 780,000 and 1,000,000 copies around the world, mostly in Scandinavia and Japan.[6]

The original line-up (Michael Monroe, Andy McCoy, Nasty Suicide, Sami Yaffa and Gyp Casino) reunited at Monroe's 60 year birthday concert on 23 September 2022 at the Helsinki Ice Hall.[7]

  1. ^ Nordilie, Tom (April 1990). Hanoi Rocks. SPIN Media LLC. p. 119. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Stanton, Scott (2003). The Tombstone Tourist: Musicians. Simon & Schuster. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-74346-330-0.
  3. ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 464. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  4. ^ Phillips, William; Cogan, Brian (2009). Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-31334-801-3.
  5. ^ Adam Budofsky (27 June 2020). "Mark Sheppard of Robyn Hitchcock and His L.A. Squires". moderndrummer.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020.
  6. ^ "iGS – Arkisto". Igs.kirjastot.fi. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  7. ^ RINTA-TASSI, MINNA; VESIPÄÄ, VILLE (7 September 2022). "Hanoi Rocks tekee paluun alkuperäisessä kokoonpanossa – Sami Yaffa: "Kun hörhöt alkaa soittaa yhdessä, siitä tulee hyvä kaaos"". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 June 2024.