Michael Monroe

Michael Monroe made his name as the charismatic frontman of seminal Finnish glam band Hanoi Rocks. Before the tragic death of drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley in December 1984, Hanoi Rocks had established itself as a powerful live act. With a look and sound that would be superficially familiar to most...

By Tom Murphy

October 4, 2011

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Michael Monroe made his name as the charismatic frontman of seminal Finnish glam band Hanoi Rocks. Before the tragic death of drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley in December 1984, Hanoi Rocks had established itself as a powerful live act. With a look and sound that would be superficially familiar to most people today as "hair metal," Hanoi Rocks seemed to dig a lot deeper than most bands that fit that descriptor, and Monroe's vocal delivery was imbued with a soulful decadence that suggested there was more to the band than hedonistic pursuits. In fact, the classic 1984 album Two Steps From the Move holds up far better than most 1980s L.A. glam metal. In recent years, Hanoi Rocks re-formed briefly, and now Monroe has put together a new band and is touring in support of his latest solo effort, Sensory Overdrive.

Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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