London is an American

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 ...

band formed in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

in 1978. The band included several members that would go on to play in more famous bands, such as

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 ...

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 ...

, W.A.S.P. and

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

History

Original late-1970s band

London was formed in 1978 by

Lizzie Grey Stephen M. Perry (August 13, 1958 – August 5, 2019), who used the stage name Lizzie Grey, was an American musician. He is perhaps best known for his membership as a guitarist in the heavy metal band London and for co-writing the Mötley Crü ...

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...

and Dane Rage (real name Dane Scarborough). The three met when Sixx and Rage were recruited to play bass and drums for

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

, the band that Grey was in with

Blackie Lawless Steven Edward Duren (born September 4, 1956), better known by his stage name Blackie Lawless, is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist (formerly bassist) for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.B ...

. This lineup did not last long and soon Grey, Sixx and Rage left to form London.Stone, Doug
London Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved November 18, 2018 London was briefly joined by Michael White as the vocalist, who bore a resemblance, both in voice and image, to

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

.Popoff, Martin (2014) ''The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade'', Voyageur Press, , p. 25, 37, 110 After disagreements with the band, White left to focus on his own band, The White. For years, London tried to get a record deal, but the formula was not working until 1984, when Nadir D'Priest and Brian West joined the band. By 1979, White had been replaced by vocalist Henri Valentine and keyboard player John St. John. Nigel Benjamin, an English vocalist who had sung for

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band

Mott Mott is both an English surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname B * Basil Mott (1859–1938), British civil engineer *Bitsy Mott (1918–2001), American baseball player C * Charles James Mott (1880–1918), British ba ...

(formerly Mott the Hoople) and English Assassin, joined the band after Valentine left. Henri Valentine has since died. Nigel Benjamin died in 2019, aged 64. Becoming jaded with all of the member changes and looking to move on, Sixx and Benjamin were next to leave the band. Sixx would soon meet drummer

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

and form what would become

and go on to massive international success.Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'', Mojo Books, , p. 319 On their debut album ''

Too Fast for Love ''Too Fast for Love'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. The first edition of 900 copies was released on November 10, 1981, on the band's original label Leathür Records. Elektra Records signed the band the fol ...

'', Mötley Crüe released a song that Sixx and Grey had written but never recorded with London entitled "Public Enemy No. 1".Callwood, Brett (2018)
London's Calling: Nadir D'Priest Looks Back on a Career of Highs and Lows
, ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'', October 9, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018 Benjamin joined Satyr and later recorded the soundtrack to the horror movie ''Rocktober Blood'' with

Sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

. Blackie Lawless was brought into the band to replace Sixx on bass, but this didn't last very long, and Lawless would go on to form W.A.S.P.Klosterman, Chuck (2002)
Super Doomed: The 13 Unluckiest Bands of All Time
, ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', November 2002, p. 96. Retrieved November 18, 2018, via

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

After the original London had fallen apart, founder Lizzie Grey became involved with a couple of other groups, including

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 ...

ers St. Valentine in 1983, featuring Nigel Itson (Ruby Slippers) and Desi Rexx (

D'Molls D'Molls, also known as D'Molls 777, was an American heavy metal and glam metal band. Featuring lead vocalist/guitarist Desi Rexx, bassist Lizzy Valentine, guitarist S. S. Priest, and drummer Billy Dior the band signed a recording contract w ...

). Rage recruited Scott Free, Paul Hanson and Bobby Blitz to form the Brooklyn Brats. Rage later reverted to his real name and after graduating from the

Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture The Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture existed in Santa Monica, California from 1990 until 2000. The director of the school was Joan Abrahamson who is a MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacA ...

in 1992, became an inventor, eventually establishing the toy company Überstix LLC in 2005.

Second era: 1984–early 1990s

1984 saw the rebirth of London, although it was now a different beast. The new lineup consisted of Grey, Itson, an English vocalist named John Ward and a bassist named Donny Cameron. By 1985, the lineup consisted of Grey and

Izzy Stradlin Jeffrey Dean Isbell (born April 8, 1962), best known as Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist. He was a co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of their fame in 1991, and with whom he ...

, vocalist Nadir D'Priest, drummer Bobby Marks and bassist Brian West (TKO). Marks soon left to form the first lineup of

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, and

Fred Coury Fred Coury (born October 20, 1967) is an American musician best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, John Bonham, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming i ...

was brought in as his replacement. Stradlin then left to join Hollywood Rose/Guns N' Roses with close friend

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...

Steven Adler Steven Adler (born Michael Coletti; January 22, 1965) is an American musician. He was the drummer and co-songwriter of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s. Adler was fired from Guns N' Roses ...

was also in the lineup, playing on some early demos while with Nadir, Brian, Lizzie, and former Fleetwood Mac guitarist

Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...

. Adler left the band and eventually joined up with

. ''

Non-Stop Rock ''Non-Stop Rock'' is the first studio album by the American glam metal band London, released in 1985 by Shrapnel Records. The riff during the intro to the song "Radio Stars" is taken from the song "Too Fast for Love" by Mötley Crüe. The album ...

'', London's debut album, was recorded at this point, and released in November 1985. Soon after the album was finished, Coury left the band, eventually becoming part of

. Wailin' Jennings Morgan replaced him. Before the band's second album '' Don't Cry Wolf'' (produced by

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

) was recorded, two new members, drummer Derek Shea and guitarist Frankie Jones joined. In 1988, London appropriately appeared in the

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

film '' The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years'' describing their band as a "training school for rock stars".Simpson, Dave (2015)
Hair! Despair! Nightmares! What happened to 1980s metal also-rans?
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', October 15, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2018 After a decade, two albums, 19 different members and very little commercial success, founding member and guitarist Lizzie Grey left London in 1988. He went on to play with the groups Ultra Pop and Spiders and Snakes. Although the band now had no more original members, London carried on for two more years in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Brian West and vocalist Nadir D'Priest were joined by guitarists Amos Sanfilippo and Sean Lewis and performed shows in the Hollywood and San Fernando Valley areas. London also made an appearance in the 1989 film ''Hollywood Boulevard II'', starring

Ginger Lynn Ginger Lynn Allen (born December 14, 1962), known professionally as Ginger Lynn, is an American pornographic actress and model who was a premier adult-entertainment star of the 1980s. She also had minor roles in various B movies. ''Adult Vide ...

, the band's record company having contributed to productions costs in return for making a promotional video as part of the filming. D'Priest moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

for a brief period working in the adult film industry, but returned to continue working with West and Sean Lewis. They released a third and final album, '' Playa Del Rock'' in 1990,but by this time the band agreed with new label Noise International to rebrand the band D'Priest. Some versions of the album had the new band name, but many were released as London. By this time the band was managed by

Eric Greif Eric Greif (1962 – 2021) was an American lawyer and entertainment personality known for a management and record production career within the heavy metal musical genre in the 1980s and early 1990s, and later within the legal profession. He was ...

, coincidentally an early assistant manager of Mötley Crüe, with drummer Alan Krigger, formerly of

Ike and Tina Turner Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname ...

and

Giuffria Giuffria was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1981 by Gregg Giuffria after his departure from the band Angel. History Giuffria was formed as Gregg Giuffria's side project in 1981 after his departure from Angel. At the o ...

, replacing Yasui, and Sanfilippo replaced by occasional keyboardist for

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

Vince Gilbert. A last burst of publicity via an

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

-played, David Bellino-directed video for the single "Ride You Through the Night", coupled with a supporting tour, fizzled quickly, with the band breaking up by late 1991 after internal strife and a label wind-down. London/D'Priest charted on the Z-Rock "Z-50" as well as on MTV and toured extensively during 1990–1991 at Z-Rock affiliate and subscriber markets. D'Priest went on to work with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

on their ''Voodoo Lounge'' tour CD-ROM. Cleopatra Records also released '' London The Metal Years'' in 2008, a compilation of demos cut on the fly at American Recording Studios.

Third era: 2010–present

London, with the ''Playa Del Rock'' lineup of D'Priest, Lewis, West and Krigger, performed a reunion show at the

Roxy Theatre Roxy Theatre or Roxy Theater may refer to: Australia *Roxy Theatre (Warner Bros. Movie World), a movie theatre within Warner Bros. Movie World, Queensland *Roxy Community Theatre in Leeton, New South Wales, originally called the Roxy Theatre *Roxy ...

in Hollywood, CA in early 2010, a show in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

in April 2011, and the Sunset Strip Music Festival at the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...

in Summer 2011. The band recorded "Shout at the Devil" for

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, Dea ...

' Mötley Crüe tribute album ''Crue Believers'' in 2010. In 2012 a new lineup played dates in Europe during November and December. The ''London Live!'' album, recorded in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, was released in 2013. D'Priest said in 2015 about the years before reforming London: "I've been clean for 19 years, and have done everything from construction to being a stylist, but haven't given up on London". The band released a new studio album, ''Call That Girl'', in 2018.LONDON To Release New Album 'Call That Girl' In October
, Blabbermouth.net, August 30, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018 On August 5, 2019 guitarist Lizzie Grey died at the age of 60.

Band members

Current

* Nadir D'Priest – Vocals *

Billy The Fist Billy The Fist (born William Edward Dagsher in Lynwood, California) is a Los Angeles-based bass player, songwriter, producer, actor, film editor and director. Since 2009, Billy has been the bass player with London, an American heavy metal band c ...

– Bass * Alan Krigger – Drums * Ronee Peña – Guitar * Eric Ragno – Keyboards

Former

* Mark Andrews – Vocals (1978) *

– Guitars (1978–1981, 1984–1988) *

– Bass (1981) * Tony Richards – (1985) * Michael White – Vocals (1978–1979) *

– Bass (1978–1980) * Dane Rage – Drums (1978–1981) * John Ward – Vocals (1984–1985) * Donny Cameron – Bass (1984–1985) * Nigel Itson – Drums (1984–1985) *

– Guitar (1984–1985) * Billy Dior – Drums (1984–1985) *

– Drums (1985–1986) * Walin' J Morgan – Drums (1986) * Frankie Jones – Guitar (1986–1988) * Amos Sanfilippo – Guitar (1988–1990) * Derek Shea – Drums (1986–1988) * Gene Allen – (1987) * Vince Gilbert – Keyboards (1990) * Chris Sanders – Guitar (2007–2009) * Nigel Benjamin – Vocals (1980) * Bobby Marks – Drums (1984–1986) * Sean Lewis – Guitar (1987–1990, 2012–2013) * Brian West – Bass (1985–1990, 2010–2011) * Alan Krigger – Drums (1989–1991, 2012) *

– drums *

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

– guitarAznar, Thierry (2014) ''Hard rock & Heavy metal : 40 années de purgatoire Tome 2'', Camion Blanc, * Tim Yasui – drums

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1985),

Roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...

Shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

* '' Don't Cry Wolf'' (1986), Metalhead * '' Playa Del Rock'' (1990), Noise International/BMG * ''Call That Girl'' (2018), Vamps Worldwide

Compilations

* '' The Metal Years'' (2008),

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

/Deadline

Live albums

* ''London Live'' (2013), Vamps Worldwide

Singles, EPs

*"Hot Child in the City" (1990), Noise International *''Playa Del Rock'' (1990), Noise International

Compilation appearances

* ''Crue Believers'' (2010), Cleopatra: "Shout at the Devil"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:London Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Noise Records artists Roadrunner Records artists