W.A.S.P.
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This article is about the band. For other meanings of wasp, see Wasp (disambiguation)
Wasp-first-album.jpg
W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 which gained notoriety for its "shock rock" image, music and live performances.
The band, formed in Los Angeles, California, initially consisted of Blackie Lawless, Chris Holmes, Randy Piper and Tony Richards. The band initially became famous for its raunchy and at times shocking live shows; Lawless was known to tie semi-naked models to a torture rack and hurl raw meat into the audience. The band's debut single, entitled "Fuck Like A Beast", was equally controversial.
W.A.S.P. signed to Capitol Records for their debut LP, W.A.S.P., in 1984 (1984 in music). The band's first single "ANIMAL" was omitted from the album in the United States to prevent the album from being banned from major chain stores. Capitol planned to release it as a single only in Europe, in a black plastic bag with a sticker warning of offensive lyrics. Eventually, however, Capitol was convinced to release the album with its original packaging in April 1984.
"L.O.V.E. Machine" and "I Wanna Be Somebody" helped the album sell well, and set the band up for "Blind in Texas" (off The Last Command from 1985), the band's biggest hit.
W.A.S.P. became a target of the Parents Music Resource Center, an organization led by Tipper Gore and dedicated to opposing violent and sexual lyrics. The publicity helped sales greatly, whereas PMRC's efforts were unsuccessful.
Inside the Electric Circus was released in 1986. The album, which saw Lawless switch to guitar (replacing the departed Piper), received poor reviews and the band's popularity began to decline.
The later 1980s saw the band's fortunes dwindle swiftly and the band effectively disbanded in 1989 (1989 in music). Mainman Blackie Lawless started to work on a solo project, but felt that the result sounded so much like W.A.S.P. that he finally released it as a W.A.S.P. album. Ironically, many critics feel that this album ("The Crimson Idol") has been the best W.A.S.P. output so far. Chris Holmes returned to W.A.S.P. in 1996 and left again in 2002.
In April 2004, W.A.S.P. released the first part of "The Neon God", a concept album about an abused and orphaned boy who finds that he has the ability to read and manipulate people. The second part was released in September 2004.
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Current Band Members
- Blackie Lawless - Singer
- Mike Duda - Bassist
- Darrell Roberts - Guitarist
- Stet Howland - Drums, Vocals & Percussion
Line ups
(1981-1983)
- Blackie Lawless (vocals / guitar)
- Randy Piper (guitar)
- Rik Fox (bass)
- Tony Richards (drums)
- Don Costa (bass)
- Gary Holland (drums)
- Chris Holmes (guitar)
(1984-1985)
- Blackie Lawless (vocals / bass)
- Chris Holmes (guitar)
- Randy Piper (guitar)
- Tony Richards (drums)
- Stephen Riley (drums)
(1986-1987)
- Blackie Lawless (vocals / guitar)
- Chris Holmes (guitar)
- Johnny Rod (bass)
- Stephen Riley (drums)
(1988-1991)
- Blackie Lawless (vocals / guitar)
- Chris Holmes (guitar)
- Johnny Rod (bass)
- Frankie Banali (drums)
(1992-2005)
- Blackie Lawless (vocals / guitar)
- Dan McCabe (guitar)
- Doug Blair (guitar)
- Johnny Rod (bass)
- Phillip Wolfe (keyboards)
- Chris Holmes (guitar)
- Darrell Roberts (guitar)
- Mike Duda (bass)
- Frankie Banali (drums)
- Stet Howland (drums)
- Bob Kulick (guitar)
- Ken Hensley (keyboards)
Trivia
- The band can be seen briefly in the movie "The Dungeonmaster" (1985) about an evil wizard.
- Blackie can be seen in the movie Spinal Tap he is in a mock commercial having wine and food with a female: this can be seen in the VHS version that came out shortly after this movie came to video.
- W.A.S.P. contributed "Scream Until You Like It" for the horror film Ghoulies II.
- Some people believe the initials of W.A.S.P. stand for "We Are Sexual Perverts" or "We Are Satan's People". "We Are Sexual Perverts" is inscribed on their first album into the vinyl next to the label. Another possible abbreviation is "White Anglo Saxon Protestants" (see WASP). When asked, Blackie normally doesn't give a straight answer; in one interview, he answered "We Ain't Sure Pal". According to Rik Fox he invented the name WASP when he stepped on one in Blackie's courtyard.
- According to Blackie, with the exception of only one member, every time someone left the band was because of drugs.
- In the song "Sunset and Babylon" (with lead guitar Lita Ford), the "Rainbow Bar and Grill" of West Hollywood is mentioned. Opened in 1972, it catered to some of the world's biggest Rock & Roll celebs (and is today known as a hangout for aging celebrities, mostly rock musicians). Blackie met Rod Smallwood in this bar.
- Ken Hensley, former member of Uriah Heep, played keyboards on the "The Headless Children" album.
- At one time they had a flaming throwing cod piece (It shot fire from the crotch.) It was used to add effect to their songs. It also would leave the lead singer severely burned when it back fired one day.
Discography
- 1984 - W.A.S.P.
- 1985 - The Last Command
- 1986 - Inside the Electric Circus
- 1987 - Live...In the Raw
- 1989 - The Headless Children
- 1992 - The Crimson Idol
- 1993 - First Blood...Last Cuts
- 1995 - Still Not Black Enough
- 1997 - Kill Fuck Die
- 1998 - Double Live Assassins
- 1999 - Helldorado
- 2001 - Unholy Terror
- 2002 - Dying for the World
- 2004 - The Neon God - The Rise (Part I)
- 2004 - The Neon God - The Demise (Part II)
External links
- Official website (http://www.waspnation.com/)
- Wasparmy.com (http://www.wasparmy.com/)