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Hanoi Rocks were formed in Helsinki in 1979 by schoolfriends Andy McCoy (born Antti Hulkko) on lead guitar and Nasty Suicide (Jan Stenfors) on rhythm guitar. They later added vocalist and saxophone player Michael Monroe (Matti Fagerholm), bass player Sami Yaffa (Sami Takamäki), and drummer Gyp Casino (Jesper Sporre). In 1981 they moved to Stockholm and in 1982 to London to take advantage of the livelier music scene in these cities. Later that year, Casino was fired and replaced by Nicholas 'Razzle' Dingley.Although the band have never tasted significant commercial success, they have a considerable cult following and critical acclaim for their 'sleazy' yet melodic style of music. They have been cited as an influence by major bands such as Guns N' Roses and Manic Street Preachers. The re-release of Hanoi Rocks' albums on CD were in large part due to efforts by Guns N' Roses via their band record label UZI Suicide. In Finland, however, Hanoi Rocks are known as the Finnish rock band who at their time had come closest to real international fame, only much later giving way to such groups as Stratovarius, Nightwish and HIM.In 1983 the band signed to CBS Records and appeared to be on the cusp of gaining commercial acceptance. They recorded their fourth album in January 1984 with producer Bob Ezrin in his native Toronto. The album had just been released when disaster struck in December of that same year: Razzle was killed in a car accident (the driver was Vince Neil, singer with the band Mötley Crüe). Although replaced by Terry Chimes, drummer on The Clash's first album, the band never recovered; first Yaffa and then Monroe left, and in 1985 the band folded. The various members spent the next 15 years in various short-lived projects, and although they worked with numerous artists including Iggy Pop, Stiv Bators and Guns N' Roses, as individuals they never achieved anything resembling their earlier success.[edit] Recent years
In 2002 Monroe and McCoy reformed the band, with two members of the Electric Boys, and a drummer who had previously featured in Monroe's solo project. They have released two new albums and toured heavily since then.As of 2005, Nasty Suicide works as a pharmacist. Sami Yaffa now plays in a band called Mad Juana with his wife, Karmen Guy, and is based in New York City. Yaffa is also touring and recording with the re-formed New York Dolls. Both have appeared onstage once with the reformed Hanoi although not at the same time.
