Lessdress is a Polish

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band originally formed under the name Ferrum in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in 1984. Lessdress is arguably the most successful glam metal band from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, having played the largest hard rock and metal

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

including the

Przystanek Woodstock Pol'and'Rock Festival, formerly known as Woodstock Festival Poland, (Polish: ''Przystanek Woodstock''; "Woodstock Station"; English-language materials often referred to it simply to the ''Woodstock Festival Poland'') is an annual free rock music ...

festival and opened for among others

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

. Their first two albums are recognized collectors items fetching hundreds of dollars on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

. Due to high demand, the band reformed in 2007 and their debut album Dumblondes was remastered and re-released the following year by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n label

Suncity Records Suncity Records is an Australian record label that specialized in releasing melodic rock and hard rock CDs. The label mostly focused on previously recorded, but unreleased, material. Suncity Records went out of business (off-line) in late 2010. ...

. Frontman, vocalist and main songwriter Pawel Nowakowski, the son of career diplomats, grew up mostly outside of Poland, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

from age 8 and until 15 and then

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from the age of 18. Pawel's brother is vocalist Adam Nowakowski of Warsaw band Incrowd who recorded two albums in the mid 1990s. In Washington Pawel formed the band Steel Knickers, whose claim to fame was an article in ''

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off ...

!'' highlighting two new American bands, the other was

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. Steel Knickers recorded a three track demo in 1984, and one of the songs "Bloody Hard" appeared on the compilation album "Mutopia". Steel Knickers were negotiating a deal with MCA but could not complete it as Nowakowski was not allowed to work in the US and also wanted to go back to his girlfriend and studies at ASP (Academy of Fine Arts) in Warsaw. Eventually he had to return to Poland when his father's diplomatic assignment ended. Upon his return to Warsaw, Poland in 1984, he formed a new band, Ferrum. Ferrum was active from 1984 to 1989 and in 1986 they played the

Jarocin Jarocin () (german: Jarotschin) is a town in west-central Poland with 25,700 inhabitants (1995), the administrative capital of Jarocin County in Greater Poland Voivodeship. Jarocin is a historical town, having been founded and granted city right ...

and

MetalMania Metalmania was a heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival in Central Europe. It was held annually from 1986 to 2009, and returned in 2017. The 2008 event was held on the 8th of March at Spodek in Katowice, Poland. Metalmania 1986 First Day: ...

festivals in Poland. Following a change in style and line-up, the band became Lessdress in 1989. The band´s debut album Dumblondes was released the same year and was influenced by

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

and

. Lessdress recorded their second album ''

Love Industry Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

'' in 1991, but it was not released until 1994 on the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n label

Schubert Records Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

. The influences on this album included the bluesier sound of

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

on their recent album '' Flesh & Blood'' and also

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

. The band split up in 1995, and attempted a reunion already in 1997. This reunion did not produce any recordings and fell apart in 1999 due to the death of bass player Slawomir Onacik. 2007 the remaining members reunited with a new bass guitarist and the same year they released their third album '' Sugarfree''. The sound was a departure from their previous recordings and they continued in a similar but more melodic direction with their latest album, 2014's '' Fools Die Young''. The Australian label

re-released the band´s debut album Dumblondes in 2008. In 2015, Lessdress supported Def Leppard on their tour in Poland including a show at Warsaw's Torwar. Lessdress main man Pawel Nowakowski is also known as creative director for the Warsaw digital agency Grande
Kochonos
with top name clients like

ING Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

and Kenwood.

References

{{Authority control 1984 establishments in Poland Polish hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1984 Polish glam metal musical groups