It might be difficult to fathom, but in the L.A Hair metal scene of the 1980’s, W.A.S.P were widely considered “the outrageous ones”. Bear in mind that this is a scene where Mötley Crüe could get in a snorting contest with Ozzy Osbourne ending with Osbourne snorting a line of ants. At the time however, W.A.S.P were the ones considered “mad, bad and dangerous to know”.
W.A.S.P was formed from the ashes of another band called Circus Circus. When they split up the bands guitarists, Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper, wanted to continue playing together. So after Lawless spent a brief period of time playing with Nikki Sixx's band London, the two recruited Rik Fox, and Tony Richards on bass and drums to become W.A.S.P.
However, this first incarnation didn’t last all that long. They released one single, entitled “Animal (F*ck Like A Beast)” which was the beginning of their bad reputation, and then Fox left to play with Yngwie Malmsteen and the replacement bassist also left in short order. This left Lawless to take up the bass and Chris Holmes was drafted in on the lead guitar.
This line up stuck, and by 1984 the band had signed to Capitol Records. Unlike many of their peers W.A.S.P never had the astonishing chart success that the likes of GNR and the Crüe commanded, but their debut album still sold 500,000 copies and their further records sold handsomely while courting no shortage of controversy among parent associations.
Until 1989 that is, when their album “The Headless Children” would stall a number 47 on the Billboard charts and then sail off soon afterwards. Chris Holmes also left the band to be with his wife Lita Ford. The band was in need of some time off, and Lawless began work on a solo album. However, under pressure from both promoters and fans he decided to release the record as a W.A.S.P album. This was, it’s fair to say, a good move.
The resulting record, “The Crimson Idol”, was immediately hailed as the bands best work and the band were back on track. Since then, the bands work has been surprisingly deep for a band whose name is said to stand for “We Are Sexual Perverts”. But everything is more interesting when you look a little closer, and W.A.S.P is no exception. These guys are still on the top of their game, and every metalhead would do well to see them as soon as possible.
While this is the decade that many 80’s bands are celebrating their 30th anniversaries by touring, there aren’t many who can stake the claim of not having stopped recording and touring since their glory days- one such band is W.A.S.P. The West Coast hair-metallers have been going steady since their self-titled debut in 1984, which sealed their place among other LA-originated greats of the era like Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen and Quiet Riot. W.A.S.P are known for their shock-value lyrics and onstage antics, and even 30 years down the line, they don’t appear to have gotten any less tongue-in-cheek provocative, particularly the ever-charismatic frontman, guitarist and keyboardist, Blackie Lawless.
As an 80’s metal nut, I was excited to catch W.A.S.P. on the opening night of their 30th anniversary tour at The Forum in London a couple of years ago, and they pulled out all the stops, delivering a blisteringly epic two-hour set. They focused on some of their classic material in the first two ‘Acts’ of the show, with hits like "L.O.V.E. Machine", "Wild Child", "Hellion", and "Scream Until You Like It" to kick things off, which had the whole black leather-clad crowd jumping and screaming along to every word. The finale of the show was dedicated to more recent work, such as the headbanging "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)”, and “Widowmaker”, for which Lawless and bassist Mike Dupke swapped instruments, just like back in the old days. A fun-filled, hair-thrashing show from some of the greats!
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