If you’ve never really sat down and listened to Hanoi Rocks, you probably see pictures of a band with big hair and makeup, and just lump them in the same bracket as the other hair metal trash that seemed to dominate the 80s. Doing so, however, is an injustice to one of the greatest bands to have ever lived.
If you’re a Hanoi Rocks Fan, you know this already, but needless to say, underneath the image lay the beating heart of a fantastic rock and roll band.
Unlike many of their era – such as your Poison’s, Ratt’s, and whatever other teased garbage came in their wake – Hanoi Rocks songs haven’t aged at all. In fact, they’ve gotten better. Some are pure balls to the wall, some are funkier than a store filled with James Brown clones, and some are so bluesy that you wonder if Robert Johnson might not have been the only person to sell his soul to the Devil. I’d even go as far as to say that across their first four albums, there isn’t a single bad track. But don’t just take my word for it.
When Hanoi Rocks first went their separate ways after Razzle’s tragic death in 1984, none other than the God that is Lemmy approached Mike Monroe and said, according to Monroe;
“‘You know what, mate? We’ll back you up.’ And he offered to have Motorhead back me up as a band because he was so upset about Razzle dying.”
Mike Monroe was reeling from losing his best friend and Hanoi Rocks having gone their separate ways, so he was in no fit state to take Lemmy up on his offer, but it wasn’t just the Motorhead leader who loved Hanoi Rocks.
Joe Elliot of Def Leppard offered this opinion;
“The only band that did pull it off was Hanoi Rocks. I thought Hanoi Rocks were a good band … so much better than Mötley Crüe or Poison or any of those bands. They were real — the rest of the guys, it was all a bit fake for me”.
Still not enough? Okay, then how about the time that Mike Monroe was playing at a festival in Finland and was watching Slipknot from the side of the stage when Chris Fehn saw him and ran over; again, according to Monroe;
“… suddenly Dicknose came up to me and screamed: ‘YOU! IT’S YOUR FAULT!’. I thought he was going to attack me! But then he continued: ‘IT’S YOUR FAULT I’M DOING THIS, MAN! THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER HAD WAS ‘BACK TO MYSTERY CITY’. I’M A HUGE FAN AND IT’S AN HONOUR TO MEET YOU’. Then he brought their lead singer, Corey Taylor, over and he was like: ‘Woah! Michael Monroe’s watching our show! Amazing!’
People who know, know that Hanoi Rocks were so much more than a bunch of dudes glammed up to the nines. Everyone from Director James Gunn to the Foo Fighters understands that Hanoi Rocks were better than most give them credit for. And if you don’t, then jump onto your streaming platform of choice and play those first four records back to back.
I promise, you won’t be disappointed.
