Hanoi Rocks were a Finnish rock band formed in Helsinki in 1979 by singer and multi-instrumentalist Michael Monroe (Matti Fagerholm). They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and 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 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, releasing three studio albums during this period. Although musically closer to traditional rock and roll and punk rock, 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.
The original line-up (Michael Monroe, Andy McCoy, Nasty Suicide, Sami Yaffa and Gyp Casino) reunited at Monroe's 60th birthday concert on 23 September 2022 at the Helsinki Ice Hall.
In 2020, Jeff Mezydlo of Yardbarker included them in his list of "the 20 greatest hair metal bands of all time". In 2023, the band released a 40th-anniversary re(al)mix edition of their 1982 album Oriental Beat, remixed by Petri Majuri. In late 2024, Monroe and Yaffa announced four European shows to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Two Steps from the Move (1984), performing the album in its entirety.
History Formation and early days (1979–1980) Hanoi Rocks were formed in Helsinki in 1979 by Michael Monroe (Matti Fagerholm) and his friend, guitarist Andy McCoy (Antti Hulkko). McCoy did not join the band immediately, because he was the guitarist for the Finnish punk band Pelle Miljoona Oy. McCoy allowed Monroe to form the band with the agreement that McCoy would join the band later.
The original line-up of Hanoi Rocks was Monroe on vocals, former Pelle Miljoona Oy guitarist Stefan Piesnack, Monroe's guitarist Nasty Suicide, bassist Nedo Soininen, and Peki Sirola on drums.
The band toured Finnish clubs, playing McCoy and Monroe's own songs and covers like Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore", The Police's "Born in the 50s" and MC5's "Looking at You". At one of the band's first shows was Seppo Vesterinen, who had brought big-name artists like Iggy Pop and Frank Zappa to Finland. Vesterinen soon became the band's manager after speaking with McCoy and Monroe. In late 1980 Andy McCoy left Pelle Miljoona Oy to join Hanoi Rocks, and was later joined by another former Pelle Miljoona Oy member, bassist Sami Yaffa. McCoy replaced Stefan Piesnack, who had been arrested for drug possession, and Yaffa replaced Nedo. By then Peki had left the band, and when they relocated to Stockholm, they hired an old friend of Monroe and McCoy's, drummer Gyp Casino formerly of Warheads.
Stockholm, early recordings and London (1980–1981) When they moved to Stockholm, the bandmembers lived mostly on the street, begging for money, except Andy McCoy, who lived with his wealthy girlfriend. In November 1980, the band struck a deal with Johanna Kustannus and released its debut single, "I Want You / Kill City Kills". "I Want You" was a new version of the Swedish song "Vill ha dej" by Heartbreak. McCoy had translated the song, whose title means "I Want You" in Swedish, into English and claimed it as his own. "Kill City Kills" was one of McCoy's oldest songs, which he had written when he was hanging around at a Finnish apartment block called Kill City. Gyp Casino was the band's drummer but did not play on the single as he was recording with another band in Stockholm.
The band launched a 102-day tour in January 1981, which is believed to be the longest rock tour in Finnish history. The tour developed the band's energetic and wild playing style, which audiences were slow to find pleasing but later praised the band for.
The second single "Tragedy / Café Avenue", written by McCoy when he was fifteen or sixteen years old, was released in February 1981. That same month, the band released its debut album, Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks, produced by Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy, calling themselves "The Muddy Twins". The album was well-received, reaching number five on the Finnish album charts.
In September 1981, after extensive tours in Sweden and Finland, the band moved to London, where they recorded their second album. On 19 September 1981, the band made their debut at the Marquee Club in London. In late November they returned to Finland and released the single "Desperados / Devil Woman". Another single, "Dead by X-Mas / Nothing New", was released in December.
Oriental Beat and Razzle joins (1982) In January 1982, Hanoi Rocks recorded their first music videos at the Lepakko, a concert venue and centre of independent youth culture, for the songs "Tragedy", "Oriental Beat", and "Motorvatin'". That same month, the band released their second album Oriental Beat. The album was mostly well received by critics and magazines, including Sounds and Kerrang!, whose Dave Dickson continued to extensively cover Hanoi Rocks's career in the 1980s. The band spent the spring of 1982 touring in Sweden, and had their first Japanese breakthrough with "Tragedy". In May, the single "Love's an Injection / Taxi Driver" was released.
By June 1982, the band had permanently moved to London. Monroe met a Hanoi Rocks fan called Razzle at a Johnny Thunders show. When Razzle, who was the drummer for London punk band The Dark, found out that Monroe was the singer for Hanoi Rocks, he attended some shows, showed up backstage, and asked to be the band's drummer. McCoy and Monroe fired Gyp Casino for his drug use, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and Razzle was hired as the new drummer.
In August 1982, Hanoi Rocks released their third studio album, Self Destruction Blues. The album featured old singles like "Love's an Injection". Razzle had yet to join the band when the songs were recorded, but he is credited on the album. The album was released in October in Finland, with "Love's an Injection" spending a week at number one on the Finnish singles charts. The band also signed a contract with the Japanese record company Nippon Phonogram.
Tour in Asia, Back to Mystery City and a deal with CBS (1983) By January 1983, the band was touring outside of the UK, Finland, and Sweden. The Asian tour was largely covered by British magazines, and the band was featured on the cover of Sounds. The tour started in Bombay, continuing in Hong Kong and Japan. In Japan the band was very popular, with fans breaking into hotels to see the musicians. The ticket prices for the show were as high as for stadium-fillers, and some phone booths in Tokyo played Hanoi Rocks songs. The tour continued from Tokyo to Vietnam.
In April, the band returned to London for the recording of their fourth album, and then went to Israel, where they were not well received. Monroe could not leave the band's hotel room because of his somewhat unconventional appearance: local people thought he was an improperly-dressed woman and would gather around and spit on him. Also, Nasty Suicide broke his ankle; and people did not like the band's loud playing style. In late spring, Hanoi Rocks toured London and Norway, and released a single before the new album, "Malibu Beach / Rebel On The Run".
The band's fourth album, Back to Mystery City, was released shortly afterward. It reached number 87 on the UK Albums Chart. Hanoi Rocks toured the UK and in Finland until June 1983, when the band made a deal with CBS worth £150,000.
Bob Ezrin and All Those Wasted Years (1983–1984) In August 1983, Hanoi Rocks released the 7" single "Until I Get You / Tragedy", and the 12" maxi-single "Until I Get You / Tragedy / Oriental Beat". On 13 August, Lick Records released Hanoi Rocks's first three albums in Britain for the first time. The next day, the band played a show at the Ruisrock festival in Turku, Finland. Before the show, Michael Monroe stated in an interview with the Finnish television station YLE that McCoy and Suicide's alcohol use had gotten out of hand, and that he did not drink or use drugs. In October 1983, producer Bob Ezrin flew from the US to see Hanoi Rocks live in London, and in December he was confirmed as the producer for the next album.
Their December shows at Marquee were recorded and released as a live album and an accompanying live video, both titled All Those Wasted Years.
Two Steps from the Move (1984) In early 1984, Hanoi Rocks and Bob Ezrin recorded Two Steps from the Move, in New York and Toronto. Ezrin had invited Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople to help with the songwriting, and Hunter brought Jack Bruce (formerly of Cream), who in turn brought Pete Brown, to the recording sessions. Brown wrote a lot of lyrics, but the only one the band used was "Smoked a lot of sky, drank a lot of rain", in "Million Miles Away".
By the end of April the new album was almost ready for release, but Ezrin and the label thought that the album was missing a hit, so they recorded Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Up Around the Bend", which was already a favorite of Michael Monroe and Nasty Suicide.
In May 1984, Hanoi Rocks went on tour in Bombay and Japan. In Japan, excitement over the band led to sold-out concert halls and fans following the band everywhere. Even in Finland people were baffled by the extent of the band's popularity in Japan.
The Japanese tour was followed by a tour across England and Scotland. British magazines raved about the band, and were certain that the next record would be their breakthrough. In June, the single "Up Around The Bend / Until I Get You" was released, but it also appeared as a double single and as an EP. A music video for "Up Around the Bend" was also produced. At the time it was the most expensive music video for any Finnish band. The song climbed to number 61 on the UK singles chart, and got radio airplay in America.
After a July tour in England, Two Steps from the Move, whose title was changed from Silver Missiles and Nightingales at the last minute, was released. It was their most successful album in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 28. "Underwater World / Shakes" and "Two Steps From the Move" were released as singles in the UK, and right away the band went on tour with Johnny Thunders.
In November the single "Don't You Ever Leave Me / Oil And Gasoline" was released, by which time the new album had sold 200,000 copies—most of them in the U.S. (60,000), Britain (50,000), and Finland (20,000). In the US the album sold 44,000 copies in its first two weeks.
After a Swedish tour, the band toured America until Michael Monroe fractured his ankle onstage at USA Sam's in Syracuse, New York, on 29 November, resulting in some of the dates being canceled. Los Angeles shows were all sold out in less than half an hour.
Razzle's death, Rock & Roll Divorce, and break-up (1984–1985) On 8 December, Hanoi Rocks band members (except for Michael Monroe, who was recuperating from his fractured ankle) were partying with their friends Mötley Crüe, at lead singer Vince Neil's house. The party stopped when everybody noticed they were out of beer. Neil and Razzle, both drunk, went to a nearby liquor store in Neil's Pantera, with Neil driving. On the way back, they crashed into another car. Razzle was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead at 7:12 p.m.; he had died instantly in the collision.