"The days we spent underground 1981-1984" CD by Hanoi Rocks

Although Finland is now rightly regarded as a highly influential and prolific source of rock and metal artists, that wasn’t the case when singer Michael Monroe met guitarist and songwriter Andy McCoy in 1979. Hanoi Rocks formed in Helsinki and released their debut album ‘Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks’ (CD1) in 1981 with the line-up Nasty Suicide (guitar), Sam Yaffa (bass) and Gyp Casino (drums).

The same line-up also recorded the follow-up album ‘Oriental Beat’ (CD2), which was released in 1982. The band found loyal fans in the British music press, especially among the writers for Sounds and Kerrang!, and developed a cult following that spanned from California to Japan. ‘Self Destruction Blues’ (CD3) was also released in 1982 and went on to become one of the band’s best-selling albums. It was a compilation of singles and B-sides that had previously only been available in Finland and a glam and hard rock classic with a punk twist in its own right.

In 1983, Hanoi Rocks moved to London, which inspired them to write the song ‘Tooting Bec Wreck’, a track from their next album ‘Back to Mystery City’ (CD4). Produced by Dale Griffin from Mott The Hoople and Pete ‘Overend’ Watts, it was the first record to feature London-based Razzle on drums. The album undoubtedly had a more commercial sound than their punk-inspired previous albums and became a major influence on the hard rock and glam metal scene of the 1980s, as well as a major inspiration for Guns N’ Roses, who later re-released those early Hanoi Rocks records on their own label, Uzi Suicide.

Throughout their career, Hanoi Rocks have been known for their incredible live act, as can be heard on 1984’s ‘All Those Wasted Years’ (CD5), which was recorded in December 1983 at London’s legendary Marquee Club.

When the band signed to CBS in 1984, it looked like they were going to break into the mainstream when their career was cruelly cut short when drummer Razzle was killed in a car accident.

CD1: Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks (1981)
CD2: Oriental Beat (1982)
CD3: Self Destruction Blues (1982)
CD4: Back To Mystery City (1983)
CD5: All Those Wasted Years (1983)