W.A.S.P. HISTORY

 

 

 

This theatrical shock-rock troupe was formed in the early 80s in Los Angeles, USA; their name which was apparently an acronym of We Are Sexual Perverts. Outrageous live performances included throwing raw meat into the audience and the whipping of a naked woman tied to a 'torture rack' as a backdrop to a primitive metal attack. The band, led by bassist/vocalist Blackie Lawless (b. 4 September 1956) with guitarists Chris Holmes (b. 23 June 1961) and Randy Piper and drummer Tony Richards, were snapped up by Capitol, who then refused to release their debut single, the infamous 'Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)', on legal advice. It was subsequently licensed to independent labels. W.A.S.P. was an adequate basic metal debut, although it lacked 'Animal', while The Last Command with new drummer Stephen Riley consolidated W.A.S.P.'s status with a more refined approach, producing the excellent 'Wild Child' and 'Blind In Texas'. W.A.S.P. became a major US concert draw, albeit with a stageshow much toned down from the early days. Inside The Electric Circus in 1986 continued in this vein, and saw the debut of bassist Johnny Rod (ex-King Kobra), with Lawless replacing Piper on rhythm guitar, while live shows saw Lawless's trademark buzzsaw-bladed codpiece replaced by a remarkable flame-throwing version. Live...In The Raw was a decent live set, but once again lacked 'Animal', which remained the centrepiece of W.A.S.P.'s repertoire. That song, and the band's outrageous approach, made them a constant target for the PMRC, whom Lawless successfully sued for unauthorised use of copyrighted material. As Lawless became a tireless free speech campaigner, he moved the band towards a serious stance on The Headless Children , with Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali replacing the L.A. Guns -bound Riley. The socio-political and anti-drug commentary was backed by vivid imagery in the live setting, but Holmes departed after the tour, the split catalysed by his drunken appearance in The Decline And Fall Of Western Civilisation Part II: The Metal Years. Lawless used session musicians to record The Crimson Idol , a Who -influenced concept effort, and toured with Rod, Doug Blair (guitar) and Stet Howland (drums), but went solo after compiling the First Blood ... Last Cuts retrospective. Still Not Black Enough promised to be their most commercial record and was preceeded by two tracks issued together, 'Black Forever' and 'Goodbye America'. Their flagging career was further marred by the release of the listless W.A.S.P. in 1995, which featured Bob Kulick, who appeared on The Crimson Idol , on guitar. 1997 saw the return of the Heavy Metal child Mr. Holmes and togheter they produced K.F.D, a very different record with anger written all over it acompanid by a horror show like in the beginnig, they went on to release Double Live Assassins, an almost complete collection of W.A.S.P.'s carrer. Than came a more relaxed and party album Helldorado, the band included at this point Mike Duda on Bass and Stet Howland on drums.