Nasty Idols were a Swedish
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 from
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, Sweden, which was formed in 1987. After the band split in 1995 they reformed in 2006. Since then the band has released a fifth studio album ''
Boy's town'' and a sixth album ''
Kalifornia
''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 American road thriller film directed by Dominic Sena, in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes. The film tells the story of a journalist (Duchovny) ...
''. Band frontman Andy Pierce died in 2013.
History
''Gigolos on Parole''
The band first formed in 1987 with the lineup of Andy Pierce on (Vocals), Jonnie Wee on (Lead Guitar), Dick Qwarfort on (Bass), George Swanson on (Drums), Roger White on (Keyboards) and were more of a straight up
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 ...
in the style of 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 ...
,
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 ...
&
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 ...
. Their first gig was played at a local festival in Sweden taking inspiration from such acts as early
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 ...
,
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...
and
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
. After the release of their self-financed single ''Don't Walk From Love/Easy Come, Easy Go'' they signed to independent label HSM/
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
. Their debut record was released soon after in 1989 named ''
Gigolos on Parole'' which then followed by more shows and an ever increasing fan-base.
First line-up changes
Changes were soon made in the band's line-up resulting in Peter Espinoza coming into the line-up to replace Jonny Wee on (Lead Guitar) which led to recording of some of the first tracks for their next record. In 1991 the band released ''
Cruel Intention'' which was greeted by a number of high rating reviews from numerous magazines. "Cool Way of Living", "Can't Get Ya' Off" and "Trashed N' Dirty" had music videos recorded for them and were played heavily on MTV's ''Headbangers Ball''. The album was soon released afterwards in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
''Vicious''
In 1993 the band released their third record, ''
Vicious''. The album did not do as well as their previous record, due in part to the decreasing hold the glam metal sound was having at the time over the mainstream. Interest was moving more to the new sound of
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
popularized by bands such as
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
,
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...
. Most
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 ...
bands resorted to changing their core sound to more of a darker and heavier tone as an attempt to pique interest in the genre. "Heads Down (In Tinseltown)" and "Ain't Got Nothin" were made as videos; the latter being a much darker one than previous releases.
Nasty Idol's demise
By 1994 the grunge wave had all but created a mass of lost interest in the
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 ...
genre which increasingly made life even harder for most bands. Some even resulted in using drugs a lot more as bands were not making much money from gigs or record sales. Peter Espinoza left the band at this time to move on with other projects that he had. A fourth record was known to be under development at the time named ''The Fourth Reich'' but the label soon went bankrupt before the record was finished. The record would later be released in 2002 as ''
Heroes for Sale'' by Perris Records. The band split up in 1995.
Other projects
The band's remaining members tried their best through the years to survive through a more degrading music industry. The most notable band being
Majestic, Peter Espinoza's brainchild, which enjoyed success in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, as well as vocalist Andy Pierce's band Machinegun Kelly and later United Enemies. American label Perris Records later re-released all of the band's studio record's including a best-of and 1995 record ''The Fourth Reich'' renamed as ''
Heroes for Sale''.
Reunion
As 2006 came the band was announced as playing a reunion gig at the
Sweden Rock Festival
The Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since 6 June 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, from southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to de ...
. This was later followed by the release of ''The Rejects on the Road'' tour. Throughout the same year the band played numerous shows in Sweden which were then followed by playing gig's and touring in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and the
UK. The band spent much of 2008 recording their follow-up to ''Vicious'' and ''Heroes For Sale'' named ''
Boys Town''. The 12-track album was later released on 27 April 2009 through
Metal Heaven
Metal Heaven is an independent record label based in Altheim, Germany, established in 2004 as a sub-label of AOR Heaven. Its president is Georg Siegl.
Artists
* Altaria
*Audiovision
*Bai Bang
* Biss
*Bloodbound
*Blue Tears
* Bulletrain
* Burn ...
records. The record was met with a warm reception from fans, and some percentage of the media that still knew of the band outside of Sweden.
''Kalifornia''
The band went for a short break in 2010 to ready themselves for a comeback with them playing a few shows in the year. On their official website the band named a few songs for the next record; "Kalifornia", "Nitestalkin", "Without Mercy", "Jack In A Box", "Roadtrip" and "No More Rules".
''Kalifornia'' was released on 3 July 2012.
2013
On 27 February 2013 the band revealed via their official website that founding member Dick Qwarfort had decided to leave the band.
On 5 December 2013 frontman Andy Pierce, the last remaining original member of the band, died suddenly at the age of 45, from a brain hemorrhage.
Personnel
*Andy Pierce - vocals
(1987-1995, 2006-2013; died 2013)
*Dick Qwarfort - bass
(1987-1995, 2006-2013)
*George Swanson - drums
(1987-1993)
*Roger White - keyboards
(1987-1993)
*Jonnie Wee - guitar
(1987-1990)
*Peter Espinoza - guitar
(1990-1994, 2006-2013)
*Stanley (Jörgen Ohlsson)- drums
(1993-1995; died 2016)
*Rikki Dahl - drums
(2006-2013)
*Zoak - bass
(2013)
Discography
Albums
* ''
Gigolos on Parole'' (1989)
* ''
Cruel Intention'' (1991)
* ''
Vicious'' (1993)
* ''
Heroes for Sale'' (1996)
* ''
Boys Town'' (2009)
* ''
Kalifornia
''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 American road thriller film directed by Dominic Sena, in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes. The film tells the story of a journalist (Duchovny) ...
'' (2012)
Singles
* "Don't Walk from Love/Easy Come Easy Go" (1988)
* "Alive N' Kickin'" (1990)
Compilation albums
* ''Best of Nasty Idols'' (2002)
* ''The Refused and Lost Tapes'' (2002)
* ''The Swedish Sleaze Collection'' (2006)
DVDs
* ''
Rejects on the Road'' (2007)
References
External links
Nasty Idols Official Bandpage.Nasty Idols Official Myspace.Nasty Idols Sleazeroxx Article.
{{Authority control
Swedish hard rock musical groups
Musical groups from Malmö