Antti Hulkko (born 11 October 1962), better known as Andy McCoy, is a Finnish musician. He is best known for his role as the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the rock band

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 accide ...

, but has also played with

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

and a variety of other groups. McCoy's works cover a wide range of music genres, including

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

, punk rock,

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura a ...

glam punk Glam punk is a term used retrospectively to describe a short-lived trend for bands which produced a form of proto-punk that incorporated elements of glam rock, initially in the early to mid-1970s. History Glam punk has been seen as a backlash to ...

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 ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

and

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 ha ...

. He is also an avid painter.

Biography

Hanoi Rocks (1979–1985, 2001–2009)

Before

, McCoy had become well known in his home country,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, due to his work in the punk rock band Pelle Miljoona Oy. During this time McCoy was talking with Matti Fagerholm (better known as

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 ...

) to start a band of their own, but because McCoy was currently in Pelle Miljoona Oy, he told Monroe to start the band without him in 1979. After McCoy left Pelle Miljoona Oy, he joined Monroe in Hanoi Rocks, with another former-Pelle Miljoona Oy member, Sam Yaffa. At this point, the Hanoi Rocks line-up consisted of Michael Monroe (lead vocals), Andy McCoy (lead guitar), Nasty Suicide (rhythm guitar), Sam Yaffa (bass) and Swedish Gyp Casino (drums). Hanoi Rocks released their first album in 1981 titled '' Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks'', with nine out of ten tracks written by McCoy. The album was produced by Andy McCoy and Michael Monroe who were known as "The Muddy Twins". In 1982 Hanoi Rocks recorded and released their second studio album ''

Oriental Beat ''Oriental Beat'' is the second studio album by the Finnish glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, recorded in London and released in 1982. ''Oriental Beat'' also opened markets in the UK and Japan, where Hanoi eventually became very popular. Background R ...

'' in London. The original cover's back side featured Andy McCoy's then girlfriend Anna's naked breasts painted blue and red with "Hanoi Roxx" written across it. After the album's release, the band moved to London the same year, and subsequently fired drummer Gyp Casino before hiring Hanoi Rocks fan Nicholas Dingley, better known as Razzle, as drummer. The line-up with Razzle is considered the definitive version of Hanoi Rocks. Later that year the band released ''

Self Destruction Blues ''Self Destruction Blues'' is the third album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, released in 1982. Although often listed as a studio album, ''Self Destruction Blues'' is a compilation of singles and B-sides that the band recorded in 1981 and ...

'', which had Razzle on the cover, but he didn't play on the album, because it was actually a compilation of old singles. The tour for the album took the band to Asia for the first time. The next year 1983, the band released ''

Back to Mystery City ''Back to Mystery City'' is the fourth studio album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, released in 1983. It was produced by ex-Mott the Hoople members Dale Griffin and Pete "Overend" Watts, and was the first with Razzle on drums. Besides Han ...

'' and after that, in 1984, the band worked with producer

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

, and released ''

Two Steps from the Move ''Two Steps from the Move'' is the fifth studio album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, released in 1984. This is their last album to feature drummer Razzle, before he was killed in a car accident on 8 December 1984. Album information Befo ...

''. Before this, McCoy had written most of the songs by himself, but for this album Bob Ezrin helped McCoy with the writing, along with Monroe. He also got some help with the lyrics from legendary Ian Hunter (of

Mott The Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...

). After Razzle's death, Sam Yaffa left the band due to personal differences with McCoy (amongst other reasons he was now engaged to Anna, McCoy's former girlfriend known from the ''

'' cover). The band tried out new members (amongst them

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

ex-drummer

Terry Chimes Terence Chimes (born 5 July 1956, Stepney, London, England) is an English musician, best known as the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again f ...

and bassist René Berg), but things didn't work out, so the band disbanded in 1985. In 2001 McCoy and Michael Monroe started working together again and decided to reform Hanoi Rocks with two new members on guitar and bass, with Michael Monroe's solo career drummer, Lacu. They released ''

Twelve Shots on the Rocks ''Twelve Shots on the Rocks'' is the sixth studio album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, released in 2002, however it was their first studio album since the band's break-up in 1985. Critical and commercial acclaim for the album exceeded ex ...

'' that same year. In 2005 they released ''

Another Hostile Takeover ''Another Hostile Takeover'' is the seventh studio album by the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks, released in 2005. This was the second album, of the "reborn" Hanoi Rocks of the new millennium. When it was released, critics praised the album, but fa ...

'' with new members

Andy Christell Andy "A.C." Christell (born 14 June 1964 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish bass guitarist. He is known for playing in glam rock outfit Electric Boys and is the current bassist for Hanoi Rocks. He is a very close friend of Conny Bloom's and ...

on bass and

Conny Bloom Conny Bloom is the stage name for Ulf Conny Blomqvist, (born 23 November 1964 in Stockholm) who is a Swedish guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as the frontman for the funk metal band, Electric Boys. Bloom also served a stint as a guita ...

on guitar (both formerly of the Electric Boys). In 2007 the band released the album ''

Street Poetry ''Street Poetry'' is the Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks's eighth and final studio album. The album reached the top 10 on the Finnish charts, and succeeded very well elsewhere in Europe too. The first single spawned was "Fashion (Hanoi Rocks song) ...

''. In 2008 Andy McCoy and Michael Monroe stated that they had taken the band as far as they could and so they decided to end the band. Hanoi Rocks played 8 sold out farewell gigs in 6 days at Tavastia Club, Helsinki. The original guitarist Nasty Suicide appeared as a special guest on three of the last gigs.

Other work (1985–1999, 2009–2019)

After Hanoi Rocks' break-up in 1985, McCoy continued with his next project "The Cherry Bombz" which featured the last Hanoi line-up (except Michael Monroe), which consisted of Nasty Suicide, drummer

, bass player

Timo Kaltio Timo is a masculine given name. It is primarily used in Finnish, Estonian, Dutch and German societies. It may be used as an abbreviation of Timothy. Arts and entertainment *Timo Alakotila (born 1959), Finnish musician *Timo Andres (born 1985), ...

and vocalist Anita Chellemah of

Toto Coelo Toto Coelo (renamed Total Coelo in the US) was a 1980s British new wave group, founded by producer Barry Blue. The original members were singers Anita Mahadevan, Lacey Bond, Lindsey Danvers, Ros Holness (daughter of television presenter Bob Hol ...

fame (previously scoring a hit with "

I Eat Cannibals I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

"). The band was perceived as being the next stage of Hanoi Rocks. The music of The Cherry Bombz was actually very similar to that of Hanoi Rocks. The band played a handful of shows in Europe and in the United States in 1985 and 1986 and released two EPs and a live album and video, but never a full-length studio album. In 1986, Timo Kaltio was replaced by bassist Dave Tregunna (Sham 69, Lords of the New Church), but the group broke up the next year. McCoy also worked with Nasty Suicide under the moniker "

The Suicide Twins The Suicide Twins was a rock band, set up by Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide (here credited as Nasty Superstar) after the break-up of Hanoi Rocks. The band managed to record only one album, '' Silver Missiles And Nightingales''. This was done with ...

" and released the album '' Silver Missiles And Nightingales'' (which was the original working tile for ''Two Steps from the Move'') in 1986, which also featured a guest appearance by René Berg. "The Suicide Twins" project disbanded in 1987 McCoy spent the rest of 1987 not doing much, except releasing his memoir titled "Andy McCoy – From Hanoi to Eternity", but nothing else. In 1988 McCoy released his first solo-album titled '' Too Much Ain't Enough.'' For the rest of 1988 McCoy did some acoustic gigs in Finland, moved to London and then to Los Angeles. Next McCoy struck a record deal with BMG. McCoy also became the first Finnish artist to have a gold record in the US, when

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...

recorded a cover of The Suicide Twins' song "The Best Is Yet to Come". The rest of 1988 and some of 1989 McCoy spent touring as the guitarist for

. In 1989 McCoy appeared on the

U.K. 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 ...

' album '' Killing Time''. In the beginning of the 1990s, McCoy lived in Los Angeles with his son and new girlfriend,

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 wit ...

' cousin Angela Nicoletti (former girlfriend of

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 r ...

). McCoy formed the band

Shooting Gallery Shooting gallery may refer to: Firearms and amusements *Shooting gallery (carnival game), a facility for shooting live firearms or for shooting recreational guns within amusement parks, arcades, carnivals, or fairgrounds * Shooting range, is a ...

and married Angela in October 1991. Shooting Gallery toured as an opening act for

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, ...

during a U.S. tour and also released an album in 1992, before breaking-up that same year. Shooting Gallery shortly came back and toured in Finland with Gyp Casino on drums in 1994, but again disbanded that same year. In 1995 McCoy's second solo-album '' Building on Tradition'' was released and, aside from Hanoi Rocks, it became McCoy's biggest success. The album's biggest hit "Strung Out" was originally meant for Shooting Gallery, but it was not recorded until the second solo-album. For the tour for ''Building on Tradition'', McCoy assembled the band Live Ammo, which featured McCoy (guitar, vocals), Angela McCoy (vocals), Dan Lagerstedt (guitar, vocals), Andy Christell (bass), Gyp Casino (drums) and Christian André (keyboards). Christell had to soon leave the band for family reasons, so Lagerstedt started to play bass. André was also fired from the band, and they soon disbanded. Also in 1995, McCoy appeared on

The 69 Eyes The 69 Eyes are a Finnish rock band. It was founded in 1989 in Helsinki by vocalist Jyrki 69 (who also writes the band's lyrics), guitarists Bazie, Timo-Timo and bassist Archzie, joined in 1992 by drummer Jussi 69; the lineup never changed sin ...

' songs "Vietnamese Baby" and the song "Wild Talk" from the album

Savage Garden Savage Garden was an Australian pop duo consisting of Darren Hayes on vocals and Daniel Jones on instruments. Formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1993, the duo achieved international success from the mid-1990s to early 2000s with the No. ...

. Next McCoy returned to his childhood passion: painting (which he still does). In 1996, McCoy and Pete Malmi reformed their old band

Briard The Briard or is a French breed of large shepherd dog, traditionally used both for herding sheep and to defend them. It was first shown at the first Paris dog show, in 1863; the first Briard to be registered in the ''Livre des Origines Franç ...

after 20 years. The new Briard (which also included Angela McCoy) released a new album simply titled ''Briard''. That same year filmmaker Pekka Lehto started the filming for the movie ''The Real McCoy'', a half-real, half-fictional bio-pic on McCoy. The film was released in 1999. After Hanoi officially ended in 2009, Andy McCoy formed a band called "The Real McCoy Band", but this band broke up after just three shows, when guitarist

Chris Shiflett Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( ; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is most recognizable as lead guitarist for the American rock band Foo Fighters. He was previously a member of the punk rock bands No Use for a Name (1995–1999) an ...

returned to the US after his son contracted swine flu. After 2009, McCoy was recruited as lead guitarist for Grease Helmet, a new Helsinki-based band. The first album of the band was released in September 2012. Besides working with Grease Helmet, McCoy has also performed with several other bands including the new band for a Finnish punk singer, Pelle Miljoona (which he had played before joining Hanoi Rocks) as well as Bam Margera's band in which he toured in Australia in 2015. McCoy released an EP "Soul Satisfaction" in December 2018 and toured with Pelle Miljoona Oy from November 2018 to late August 2019. The band released a new EP called "Anna soihtusi palaa" (''Let your torch burn)'' in October 2018 with McCoy on the guitar''.'' McCoy released a new single
Seven Seas
on 15 August 2019, with the announcement of a tour starting in 2020 and a full album release on 27 September the same year. He also hosted an art exhibition with an acoustic gig at

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

on the release day of the single ''Seven Seas.''

Personal life

McCoy was born in Pelkosenniemi, Finland, but grew up in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Sweden. His mother was Finnish and Swedish,Fortnam, Ian (8 December 2016)
"The Car Crash That Killed Hanoi Rocks' Razzle: 'Vince Neil never apologised…'"
''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

''.

Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

. Retrieved 18 October 2019. and McCoy has stated that his paternal grandfather was a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

musician who taught him "gypsy and flamenco guitar" in his childhood, but in a 2012 interview his brother Ilkka Hulkko denied the Roma roots and described their ”grandfather Eino” as ”a good accordion player but not a Romani”. Besides music, Andy McCoy is an avid painter and he also makes a lot of his own and his wife's clothes, along with designing jewellery, scarfs and other accessories. McCoy held his first Art Exhibition ''McCoy Hits Canvas'' at The Cable Factory in Helsinki in 2010. On 27 July 2009 a statue of McCoy (sculpted in wood by Matti Hulkko) was erected in the main square of Pelkosenniemi. All proceeds went to charity for newcomers in the music business. McCoy's autobiography ''Sheriff McCoy: Outlaw Legend of Hanoi Rocks'' was published in English translation on 17 September 2009 by Bazillion Points Books. McCoy was previously married to Anastasia Maisonneuve, the ex-girlfriend of his Hanoi Rocks bandmate

, and the former common-law wife of musician Stiv Bators. She and McCoy have a son together named Sebastian. McCoy was married to Angela Nicoletti between 1991 and 2021. McCoy entered Finland's ''Celebrity Big Brother'' on 3 September 2013.

Legacy

When

Acey Slade Emil John Schmidt IV (born December 15, 1974), known professionally as Acey Slade, is an American musician, perhaps best known as the bassist of the alternative metal band Dope and the former guitarist of the horror punk and glam metal act Mu ...

was asked "Who is the best guitarist in rock right now?" He replied: "Andy McCoy. Period. When

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

met Andy McCoy, he said 'I have met my first rockstar.' That's a pretty good reason." McCoy is a friend of

Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality ...

(professional

skater Skater may refer to: Sports *Someone who practices skateboarding *Someone who practices roller skating *Someone who practices inline skating * Someone who practices ice skating *An ice hockey player who is not a goaltender *Skater (subculture ...

and '' Jackass'' star). McCoy made his appearance in ''

Viva la Bam ''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...

'', '' Bam Margera Presents: Where the#$&% Is Santa?'' and appeared several times on

radio Bam ''Radio Bam'' (or ''Bam Radio'') was a Sirius XM radio station hosted by professional skateboarder and ''Jackass'' cast member Bam Margera that aired on Mondays at 7 pm, straight after '' The Jason Ellis Show''. The show's supporting cast was o ...

. Margera has a tattoo of McCoy on his right arm.

Discography

Solo

* ''Too Much Ain't Enough'' (1988) * ''Building on Tradition'' (1995) * ''The Real McCoy – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (1999) * ''R'n'R Memorabilia – The Best Solo Tracks So Far!'' (2003) * ''Soul Satisfaction'' (2018) * ''21st Century Rocks'' (2019) * ''Jukebox Junkie'' (2022)

Hanoi Rocks

Briard

* I Really Hate Ya – 7" (1977) * Fuck the Army – 7" (1978) * Chirpy Chirpy Cheap Cheap – 7" (1979) * Miss World – LP (1983) * Briard (1996) * Miss World – rerelease with 15 bonus songs (2005)

Pelle Miljoona Oy

* Moottoritie on kuuma (1980) * Anna soihtusi palaa (2018)

Suicide Twins

* '' Silver Missiles And Nightingales'' (1986)

Cherry Bombz

* ''Cherry Bombz/Hot Girls in Love'' (mini-LP) (1985) * ''House of Ecstasy'' (EP) (1986) * "Coming Down Slow" (Live) (1987)

Shooting Gallery

* ''Shooting Gallery'' 1992 (Mercury records)

Grease Helmet

* ''Grease Helmet'' (2012)

Guest appearances

* Maukka Perusjätkä: Ennen kolmatta maailmansotaa (1980) * Pete Malmi: Malmi Re-released 2005 (1981) * Urban Dogs: Urban Dogs (McCoy on guitar on ''A Bridge Too Far'' and ''Human Beings'') (1983) * Fallen Angels: Fallen Angels (McCoy on additional guitar) (1983) * Fallen Angels: In Loving Memory (McCoy on additional guitar) (1986) *

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 ...

: Killing Time (McCoy plays guitar on ''Drag Me Down'') (1988) *

Snatches of Pink Snatches of Pink was a rock band based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They also recorded under the name Clarissa. MTV called them "a raunchy rock 'n' roll band and the real thing. Cool as hell. Loud as hell," as well as "the most exciting unknow ...

: Bent With Pray (McCoy plays guitar on ''Screams'') (1992) *

(''Wild Talk'' with/by McCoy) (1995) * The 69 Eyes: Velvet Touch (McCoy plays guitar on ''TV Eye'') (1995) *

Juice Leskinen Juhani Juice Leskinen (officially Pauli Matti Juhani "Juice" Leskinen; 19 February 1950 – 24 November 2006), better known as Juice Leskinen ( as if the word ''juice'' were Finnish) was one of the most important and successful Finnish singer- ...

: Kiveä ja sämpylää (1996) * XL5: Taas Mennään (Guitar by McCoy) (1996) * 22 Pistepirkko: Downhill City (McCoy on the song ''Let The Romeo Weep'') (1999) * Hidria Spacefolk: Balansia (McCoy on slide guitar on "Pajas") (2004)

References

External links

The first Hanoi Rocks website - online since 1995A gallery of Andy McCoys paintings

A profile ''Kaksi minää – 22 ihmistä kertoo, millainen on oikea Andy McCoy'' giving a detailed look on Andy McCoy's personality

Andy McCoy interview at WickedInfo.com
*
''SHERIFF MCCOY: Outlaw Legend of Hanoi Rocks, by Andy McCoy''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Andy 1962 births Living people People from Pelkosenniemi Lead guitarists Finnish heavy metal guitarists Hanoi Rocks members Glam rock musicians Finnish people of Swedish descent