Tony Richards is an American musician who was the original drummer of classic heavy metal band
W.A.S.P. from 1982 until 1984.
Richards played for various bands in his early career before relocating to the
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' ...
area from
Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the onl ...
in 1980. He began making a name for himself as one of the hottest drummers in the LA
heavy metal scene with a band called
Dante Fox, later to become known as
Great White
Great White is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records '' Once Bitten'' (1987) and '' ...Twice Shy'' (1989), and those albums ...
. With bandmates Don Costa (W.A.S.P./
M80), Mark Kendall (Great White), and
Jack Russell (Great White), they regularly played the most popular heavy metal clubs in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
and LA such as the
Troubador
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
,
Roxy Theatre,
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 ...
, and
Starwood
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016.
...
.
In late 1982, Richards, soon followed by Costa, left Dante Fox after being asked by
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 ...
to join the new band he was assembling called W.A.S.P. Richards left the band for unspecified reasons following the release of their debut album
W.A.S.P. in 1984, being replaced by
Steve Riley, who would later leave to join
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...
.
Richards is currently playing in a band called ''DellaVella'' along with Carl Della Vella on bass guitar and Lee Oliver on lead guitar.
External links
History of Tony Richards – W.A.S.P. & Great White days – Interview Part IDellaVella official website
Living people
American heavy metal musicians
American rock drummers
W.A.S.P. members
1957 births
{{US-rock-drummer-stub