If there’s ever been a ”Best kept secret in Rock & Roll”, Hanoi Rocks is definitely it.

Originating from Helsinki, Finland, they started out homeless in the Stockholm streets, but soon relocated to the South London slums.

Playing their own kind of melodic but hard, energetic Rock & Roll, their influences ranging from 50’s Little Richard – Chuck Berry to 60’s Rolling Stones – MC5 & Stooges to early 70’s Alice Cooper – Faces – Mott The Hoople – The Undisputed Truth, all the way to The Ramones - Dead Boys – Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers type of punk attitude. Not to mention Blues greats like Little Walter, Willie Dixon, J.B. Hutto and Bobby Blue Bland to name a few.

Their debut album, “Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks” was released in early 1981. The same year, they started touring England as they became based in London, where they recorded “Oriental Beat”, released in 1982. The word of Hanoi Rocks’ amazing and energetic live show started spreading around the U.K., right in the middle of the Post-Punk era. They created a new scene in London, playing weekly at the original legendary Marquee Club for a couple of months and went on to become the “Darlings of the Press”, and the hottest new band in England, ready to take the world.

In Japan, their success reached the heights of a “Beatlemania” type of hysteria. On their Far East Tour in 1983, their concert in Bombay, India caused a riot as rabid fans refused to leave the venue and got into fights with the local police. At the same time, an album of B-sides, singles and outtakes was released titled “Self Destruction Blues”, which included a number one hit single in Finland called “Love’s An Injection”. In 1983, they also recorded and released “Back To Mystery City”, and at the end of the year, did a live album at the Marquee Club entitled “All Those Wasted Years”.

Based on the success of their tours and record sales in Europe and Asia, CBS Records signed them to a world-wide deal. The band flew to New York City to record “Two Steps From The Move” with producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart etc.), which came out in 1984. As their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Up Around The Bend” was climbing the U.K. and U.S. charts, they were right on the verge of breaking big in the States. However, about three weeks into their first nationwide U.S. tour, on December 9th, 1984, tragedy struck the band. Their British drummer Razzle was killed in a drunk driving accident while a passenger in a car driven by the singer of Motley Crue under the influence. Not being able to recover from the loss, Hanoi Rocks disbanded in early 1985.

The founding members, frontman Michael Monroe and lead guitarist Andy McCoy went their separate ways. Monroe, moving to New York City to be based there for the next ten years while McCoy relocated to L.A. They both had fairly successful solo careers with no plans to ever work together again, which they didn’t for the next 16 years.

In 2001, after having relocated to Finland, Michael and Andy ran into each other, got reacquainted and wound up playing a couple of festival shows in Finland as “Hanoi Revisited”. They performed a red-hot set of Hanoi classics to ecstatic audiences. Surprised by how much they enjoyed working together again, they started writing new material and ended up in the recording studio. The magic between the two was bigger than both of them – only now with years of experiences, the results are so much better. As Andy put it, “The stuff sounded so good. It would’ve been a sin not to share it with the fans.” The return of one the most legendary bands in the history of Rock was not even a decision for Michael and Andy to make – it just happened. As Michael said, “This is not a reunion, it’s a rebirth.” In 2002 – 2003, the critically acclaimed return album “Twelve Shots On The Rocks” was released. Hanoi Rocks has always been an entity on to themselves, defying all categories.

Timeless as their music is, Hanoi Rocks is back now ready as ever to rock the world with their newest album “Another Hostile Takeover”, released in April 2005. Be sure to check it out and do not miss a chance to see Hanoi Rocks live!