Demolition 23 (stylized Demolition 23.) was a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in 1993 in New York by former

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. The band broke up in June 1985 after drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a drunk driving acciden ...

frontman

Michael Monroe Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm (born 17 June 1962), better known by his stage name Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star sid ...

and ex-Star Star guitarist Jay Hening following the ending of Monroe's Jerusalem Slim project with

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – "Top Gun Anthem" – for w ...

. Initially, Demolition 23. was a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...

, playing live shows in New York, with Monroe and Hening joined by the accomplished session drummer Jimmy Clark. Their shows were notable for guest appearances by music industry friends such as

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...

and Kory Clarke. Demolition 23.'s eponymous first album, ''Demolition 23.'', was recorded at Power Station Studios in New York City and produced and largely penned by

Little Steven Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

. Monroe's former Hanoi Rocks bandmate

Sami Yaffa Sami Yaffa (born Sami Lauri Takamäki; 4 September 1963) is a Finnish bass guitarist best known for his work in New York Dolls, Michael Monroe's bands, and Hanoi Rocks. He is currently the bassist for the Michael Monroe band and The Compulsions ...

played bass guitar on the album, and the music was a return to Monroe and Yaffa's

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

roots with tracks such as "Same Shit Different Day", "

Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to be ...

" and covers of songs by

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

and

The Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

. The album was dedicated to the memory of

Stiv Bators Steven John Bator (October 22, 1949 – June 4, 1990), known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords ...

and released on the

Music for Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1 ...

label in 1994. In March 1995, Nasty Suicide announced his departure from the band much to the surprise of Michael Monroe who then decided to end the band. On October 14, 2022, the album was reissued on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

with three bonus tracks: demos of "Hammersmith Palais", "Dysfunctional", and "The Scum Lives On".

Discography

Albums

*''

Demolition 23 Demolition 23 (stylized Demolition 23.) was a rock band formed in 1993 in New York by former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe and ex-Star Star guitarist Jay Hening following the ending of Monroe's Jerusalem Slim project with Steve Stevens. ...

.'' (1994) –

CDMFN 176

References

External links

Demolition 23. on Little Steven's official website

Demolition 23 on Bandcamp
{{Authority control Hanoi Rocks Punk rock groups from New York (state) Finnish punk rock groups