Marty Haviik: Bass Guitar and Vocals;
Mark Bolen: Drums and percussion;
Johnny Neptune: Lead, Slide and Rhythm Guitars, Keyboards, and Vocals.....Lizzie Grey: "To put it very truthfully, and with all due respect to past members, the Arizona musicians who are now in Spiders and Snakes can play circles around anyone I've ever worked with, I'm fortunate to have them, Period."
The History Of
"LONDON" & "SPIDERS AND SNAKES"
London were an American glam metal/hard rock band, based in Hollywood, California. The band is perhaps most notable for featuring members that would go on to play in more famous bands such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P. and Cinderella.
Music Although a "feeder" group in some ways for larger bands that became popular in the glam metal movement, London started out as a glam rock group, influenced by the likes of Sweet, New York Dolls and Mott the Hoople. By the time the group started recording material in the mid 1980s with vocalist Nadir D'Priest in the band, they were playing glam metal style music.
HistoryOrigins
Formed in 1978 by Lizzie Grey and Blackie Lawless at the Starwood Club, Lawless had been the guitarist & vocalist of a band named Sister and briefly filled in for a couple of New York Dolls shows, while Grey was previously the guitarist in Tear Garden. The two recruited local bassist Nikki Sixx and a drummer named Dane Rage.
London was briefly joined by Michael White as the vocalist, who bore a resemblance, both in voice and image, to Robert Plant. After disagreements with the band White left, later creating the project known as "The White". Lawless would leave the band soon after, to form W.A.S.P.. London re-grouped however, with Grey, Sixx and Rage still in the band.
Member changes
By 1979 Lawless and White had been replaced by vocalist Henry Valentine and keyboard player John St. John. Nigel Benjamin, an English vocalist who had sung for glam rock band Mott and English Assassin, joined the band after Valentine left.
After becoming jaded with all of the member changes, and looking to move on; Sixx and Benjamin were next to leave London. Nikki Sixx went on to form the world famous band Mötley Crüe. A song Nikki and Lizzie had wrote together while in London, called "Public Enemy #1", made it onto the Crüe's debut album Too Fast for Love. Benjamin would soon join Satyr, and would later record the soundtrack to the horror movie Rocktober Blood with Sorcery. Blackie Lawless was brought back in straight after on bass to replace Sixx, but this didn't last very long as the band fell apart.
Post-split Grey activity After the original London had completely fallen apart, founder Lizzie Grey became involved with a couple of other groups, first including hard rockers St. Valentine in 1983, this group featured Nigel Itson (Ruby Slippers) and Desi Rexx (D'Molls).
Rebirth of London
1984 saw the rebirth of London, although it was now a different beast, with the popularity of glam metal acts playing on the Sunset Strip, more hard rock/heavy metal influences had crept into London's sound.
The new line-up of the band featured, Grey, Itson, an English vocalist John 'Wardi" Ward, and a bassist named Donny Cameron. London shortly added a second guitarist Slash (who would go on to play with Guns N' Roses), however Slash only stayed with the band for three rehearsals. He in London played beside future Guns N' Roses band mate; Izzy Stradlin.
By 1985 a line-up re-shuffle in London saw them with members; Grey and Stradlin, joined by vocalist Nadir D'Priest, drummer Bobby Marks and bassist Brian West (TKO). West and Marks were soon leaving to form the first line-up of Keel. Fred Coury was brought in to replaced Marks as the drummer in London. Stradlin then left to form Guns N' Roses with close friend Axl Rose.
Non Stop Rock, London's debut album was recorded at this point, soon after the album was recorded, Coury left the band eventually becoming part of Cinderella. Wailin' Jennings Morgan replaced him. Before the band's second album Don't Cry Wolf (produced by Kim Fowley) was recorded, two new members, drummer Derek Shea and guitarist Frankie Jones joined.
After a decade, two albums, 19 different members and very little commercial success, founding member and guitarist Lizzie Grey left London in 1988. He went on to play with the groups Ultra Pop and Spiders and Snakes.
Spiders and Snakes
Formed in Hollywood, California in 1990 by LIZZIE GREY and TIMOTHY JAY - the remaining members of both the bands ULTRA POP and LONDON (whose former members at one time or another included such famous rock stars as Nikki Sixx/MOTLEY CRUE, Izzy, Steven, Slash/GUNS N ROSES, Fred Coury/CINDERELLA and Blackie Lawless/WASP among others), SPIDERS & SNAKES quickly became a hit in the U.S. underground with fans of Glam Rock, Glitter Rock and the "Hair Metal" Music Scene. Mixing heavy guitars and big drums with melodic pop vocals and Beatles-like vocal harmonies, SPIDERS & SNAKES eventually broke out on the international music circuit via their mid-90's music video for the Beatles-like ballad called "Lost For Words" which the band filmed and sung in both English and Spanish. Their album 2000 RETRO was released by RKD RECORDS thru RED/SONY DISTRIBUTION and MTV worldwide picked up the video for major airplay. After back to back releases ODDITIES: THE GLITTER YEARS (which contained a mini science fiction paperback inside) and ASTRO POP (a punk-pop glitter rock album rivaling GREEN DAY for its catchy pop melodies) the band eventually signed with Los Angeles Record Label CLEOPATRA RECORDS, releasing their hard-rock sounding CD "London Daze" in 2000 which featured 3 bonus tracks with Nikki Sixx from MOTLEY CRUE (recorded earlier in his career).
Arizona "SPIDERS AND SNAKES"
In the spring of 2002, Lizzie Grey moved to Tucson Arizona to form an Alice Cooper Tribute but with the help of bassist Marty Haviik, Spiders and Snakes was reformed once again. Recruiting the talents of Johnny Neptune -Guitars and keyboards, Mark Bolen-drums, and Mike Randolph - Guitars (short time). Arizona's "Spiders and Snakes ruled the desert with their "Arizona Desert Rock" sound. The band played a bunch of shows, then immediately went to the studio to record the album that was to be "A Phoenix Out Of Tucson". With only a few songs recorded and without warning, Lizzie left the band and moved to Oklahoma, the recording project was never completed.
Back To Hollywood
In 2006, SPIDERS & SNAKES signed their first Asian Record deal with BIG M.F./Zain Records in Tokyo, JAPAN releasing the album "Hollywood Ghosts" which featured tracks with Angelo Moore from FISHBONE on saxophone. "Hollywood Ghosts" includes a bonus DVD with over 15 music videos (live and studio) that drew international rave reviews in respected press comparing SPIDERS & SNAKES to an early DAVID BOWIE, the British glam rock band MOTT THE HOOPLE, T-REX and even THE BEATLES. SPIDERS & SNAKES are currently recording their eighth (8th) album entitled "Melodrama" with producer GAVIN ROSS (FISHBONE, TRACII GUNS from LA GUNS) in Burbank, California and are hoping to eventually tour in Asia in 2007.
The end of London
Last promotional photo of London for their final release 'Playa del Rock'
Although the band now had no more original members London carried on for two more years in Los Angeles. Brian West and vocalist Nadir D'Priest were joined by two guitarists Artos San Filippo and Sean Lewis, as well as drummer Tim Yasui. London appropriately appeared in the 1988 Penelope Spheeris film The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years.
D'Priest moved to Arizona for a brief period, but returned to continue working with West and Lewis. They released a third and final album Playa Del Rock in 1990, but by this time the band agreed with new label Noise International to rebrand the band D'Priest. Some versions of the album had the new band name, but many were released as London. By this time the band were managed by Eric Greif, coincidentally an early assistant manager of Sixx's band Mötley Crüe, with drummer Alan Krigger, formerly of Ike and Tina Turner and Giuffria replacing Yasui, and San Filippo replaced by occasional keyboardist for The Cult Vince Gilbert. A last gasp via an MTV-played, David Bellino-directed video for single Ride You Through the Night, coupled with a supporting tour, fizzled quickly, with the band breaking up by late 1991.
D'Priest's New London
It had been reported that Nadir D'Priest reformed London, as of June 2006, with guitarist Eddie St. James (ex-Jon Dunmore, Richard Grieco Band). The new formation was named "D'Priest's New London" and signed with a German management firm, RB-Promotion. The "New London" is currently recording demos for a fourth London CD (title as of January 2007 not yet announced). The new group stated their plans as appearing live, first in Europe, and also releasing a single and video in the summer of 2007. Other band members names were not disclosed or confirmed in any press release or article.
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