Tony Richards is an American musician who was the original drummer of shock metal band W.A.S.P. from 1982 until 1984.
Richards played for various bands in his early career before relocating to the Los Angeles area from Phoenix, AZ in 1980. He began making a name for himself as one of the hottest drummers in the LA heavy metal scene with a band called Dante Fox, later to become known as Great White. With band mates Don Costa (W.A.S.P./M80), Mark Kendall (Great White), and Jack Russell (Great White), they regularly played the most popular heavy metal clubs in Hollywood and LA such as the Troubador, Roxy Theatre, Whisky a Go Go, and Starwood.
In late 1982, Richards, soon followed by Costa, left Dante Fox after being asked by Blackie Lawless to join the new band he was assembling called W.A.S.P. Richards left the band for unspecified reasons following the release of their debut album W.A.S.P. in 1984, being replaced by Steve Riley, who would later leave to join L.A. Guns.
Richards is currently playing in a band called DellaVella along with Carl Della Vella on bass guitar and Lee Oliver on lead guitar.
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes following Osbourne's departure in 1979, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and are also credited as being some of the earliest pioneers of heavy metal, with their cover of "Summertime Blues" sometimes cited as the first in the genre. They have also been noted as influential in the development of genres as disparate as punk rock, stoner rock, doom metal, experimental rock, and grunge.
W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the early 1980s Los Angeles heavy metal scene. The band's popularity peaked that decade, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock-themed image, lyrics and live performances. They have sold over 12 million albums.
Great White is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band peaked with several albums during the mid-to-late 1980s, including the platinum-selling records Once Bitten (1987) and ...Twice Shy (1989), and those albums' singles "Rock Me" and "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" received considerable airplay through radio and MTV. They charted two Top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "The Angel Song." They continued to release new material into the 1990s.
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", which had music videos noted for their sense of slapstick humor.
Kevin Mark DuBrow was an American heavy metal singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot from 1975 until 1987, and again from 1990 until his death in 2007.
Anthony Frank Iommi is a British guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He was lead guitarist, co-founder and leader of heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. Iommi was ranked number 25 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Britny Fox is an American glam metal band from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, initially active from 1985 to 1992 then subsequently reforming from 2000 to 2008 and then again reforming in 2015. They are best known for their music video for "Girlschool" and their minor hit "Long Way to Love". Bassist Billy Childs has been the only band member to be a part of each of the band's many lineups.
Vincent Samson Appice is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice.
Richard Suligowski, better known today as Rik Fox, is an American heavy metal bassist. He was active mainly during the 1970s and 1980s, in the New York City and Hollywood area rock and metal scenes.
Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band best known for featuring Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen upon his arrival in the United States. The band was founded in 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee by vocalist Ron Keel and released a sole album on Shrapnel Records in 1983 before morphing into Keel.
Gregory Jay Leon is a Los Angeles hard rock guitarist notable for his stints in Quiet Riot and Dokken. He was also in a band called Suite 19 with Gary Holland, who was later replaced by Tommy Lee.
London is an American heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California in 1978. The band included several members that would go on to play in more famous bands, such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P. and Cinderella.
Bitch is an American heavy metal band, formed in Los Angeles in December 1980. They gained notoriety as a result of their theatrical live performances inspired by Alice Cooper, which featured sadomasochistic themes. Bitch was the first artist ever signed to Metal Blade Records.
Gary Holland is an American hard rock and heavy metal drummer who worked in the 1980s with bands originating from California. He is perhaps best known for being the original drummer in Great White and for his brief stint in Dokken. He later played as a session musician and soundtrack contributor.
The Angry Samoans are an American punk rock band from the first wave of American punk, formed in August 1978 in Los Angeles, California, by early 1970s rock writer "Metal" Mike Saunders, his sibling lead guitarist Bonze Blayk and Gregg Turner, along with original recruits Todd Homer (bass) and Bill Vockeroth (drums).
Straight Ahead was an American straight edge hardcore punk band formed in Queens, New York in 1984, by drummer and vocalist Tommy Carroll, guitarist Gordon Ancis and bassist Tony Marc Shimkin.
Pandemonium was an American hard rock/heavy metal band from Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, that moved to Los Angeles, in the early 1980s. The band released three albums on Metal Blade Records, and was featured on the first Metal Massacre record with Metallica, Ratt, and Steeler. Lead singer Chris Resch died of a heart attack in 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
