We just wanted to put together the coolest band ever, and we were influenced by everything from funk to reggae to blues. (“I don’t drive,” he laughs), admits that “it was a big surprise to hear that we were so influential on those bands on the West Coast.” Recalling Hanoi Rocks’ Helsinki origins, he says, “We never planned anything. Monroe, who ironically never lived in L.A. After that everyone was wearing the same kind of hair, clothes, and makeup as Monroe.” (Monroe recalls Shiflett’s pre-Foos glam band Lost Kittenz once opening for him in 1989, chuckling, “Even Chris Shiflett had a Michael Monroe hairdo!”)

Weekly even ran an article in 2017 arguing that “One Band From Finland-Inspired the Entire Sunset Strip Hair Metal Scene,” and in the Hanoi Rocks autobiography All Those Wasted Years, Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett stated, “The Hollywood scene changed in just one night after people saw the pictures of Hanoi Rocks. While Monroe relocated New York and started from scratch, living on the streets for a few months just as he had in the hardscrabble early Hanoi days, over in in Los Angeles, Hanoi Rocks’ influence was so strong that seemingly every band was citing them in “musicians wanted” Recycler ads. Meanwhile, Mötley Crüe wasn’t the only Hanoi-inspired ‘80s rock band that went on to enjoy the sort of success that eluded Hanoi Rocks themselves. I'm just sorry I lost my best friend Razzle. So, what can you do? It was bad luck, but I don't look back at it like that. But I didn't want people to get to know Hanoi in the wrong way, because it wasn't what it was originally. And Bob Ezrin also was looking forward to producing the next album he felt the same about us as he did about Alice Cooper. I mean, the situation was such that we were very likely to become one of the biggest bands in the world and all that. Maybe if we would've taken a break for half a year or a year, if we would've been in that position, it might have been able to salvage the situation. While Monroe stresses that the departure of bassist Sam Yaffa and his own personal differences with guitarists Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide factored into Hanoi Rocks’ breakup, he explains, “We weren't strong enough to keep it together. Hanoi Rocks: Nasty Suicide, Sami Yaffa, Andy McCoy, Mike Monroe, Razzle. (Their next album, Theatre of Pain, was dedicated to Razzle.) But the tragedy spelled the end for Hanoi Rocks, who split up in 1985 after a brief, ill-fated overseas tour with ex-Clash drummer Terry Chimes filling in. Neil was charged with vehicular manslaughter and received a light sentence of 30 days in jail (he actually served only 19 days) and five years’ probation, and Mötley Crüe went on to even greater fame.

Neil, whose blood alcohol content was well over the legal limit at 0.17, crashed his car on the way back from the liquor store two passengers in another automobile involved in the accident were seriously injured, while Razzle was killed instantly. 8, 1984, Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle went on a beer run with Crüe singer Vince Neil during a party at Neil’s Redondo Beach home.

But after only two weeks on the road, on Dec. deal with CBS Records and a new album, Two Steps From the Move, produced by Bob Ezrin of Lou Reed/Alice Cooper/KISS fame they were also embarking on their first U.S. After Hanoi Rocks made a splash in Helsinki, Stockholm, and then London, releasing four cult-classic glitter-metal albums in Europe, they finally seemed poised for mainstream success in 1984. It would be understandable, of course, if Monroe was bitter.

Hanoi rocks michael monroe