Blackie Lawless - a famous musician, leader of the WASP band Are you interested in his personal and creative biography? All the necessary information about him is presented in the article. Have a nice reading!
Biography: family
Stephen Edward Duren - this is the real name of our hero. He was born on September 4, 1956 in Florida, but his youth passed on Staten Island (one of the districts of New York).
In what family was the future musician brought up? His father was a military man. And after retirement he created his own construction company. Stephen's mother received a higher pedagogical education, but for many years she was a housewife. The musician had a brother Clifford, who died in November 2012. Our hero has Brenda’s sister.
Childhood
Blackie Lawless grew up an active and sociable boy. In the courtyard he had many friends. Even then, he showed his leadership skills.
At the age of 9, our hero began to show interest in music. In a short time, the boy learned to play the guitar. He soon created his own musical band, The Underside. At that time, the idol of Blackie and his peers was Elvis Presley.
Stormy youth
At age 12, Stephen Duren turned into a real bully. He broke stones in the windows of houses with stones, spoiled other people's cars with sharp objects, and so on. At the age of 13, during a street fight, the boy was stabbed. Parents tried to put their son on the right path. When he was 14 years old, the boy went to a military school. Mother and father insisted on this. In this institution, Stephen stayed for only a year and a half. He was expelled due to the beating of a senior sergeant.
Beginning of the creative path
At 16, Blackie Lawless became a member of the Black Rabbit band. The team performed in clubs and restaurants in New York. Our hero gave part of his fee to parents.
In 1974, Stephen joined the New York Dolls. He took the place of Johnny Sanders who left the team. There, the guy met bassist Arthur Kane. For six months, Lawless acted as part of this group. Then he and Arthur decided to move to Los Angeles. No one began to forcibly hold them.
In Los Angeles, friends created a new group called the Killer Kane Band. Arthur played bass, Blackie was a vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Also, two musicians joined the guys - Jimmy (drums) and Andy (solo guitar).
In 1975, a band led by Blackie Lawless released a demo album, Mr. Cool. During one of the concerts, our hero met Paul Daniel Freilly. This young man began his career with the KISS team.
New project: Sister group
Blackie began a collaboration with Randy Piper. They formed the Sister group. These guys created a terrifying image for themselves. Their performances were held against the backdrop of pentagrams, blood stains and raw pieces of meat. The musicians made a bright make-up, highlighting the eyes and lips with black.
Lawless tried to shock the audience. In front of hundreds of spectators, he ate live worms and raw meat, it was the Sister leader who threw all this at people. It would seem that such behavior should push fans away from the group. However, this did not happen. After all, people who loved heavy metal, hooligan antics and a frightening atmosphere came to their concerts.
When Blackie played Sister, he met Chris Holmes. Lawless found this virtuoso guitarist in the Beaver Hunt section of Hustler magazine. Chris was a talented rebel guy. He was kicked out of school 7 times for terrible behavior, and the guy was in no hurry to improve for the better. He devoted a lot of time to playing the guitar. I must say that Chris perfectly mastered this tool. It was such a guy that Sister was missing. Blackie offered Chris cooperation, and Holmes agreed.
After some time, the team released 3 demo albums. The Sister group existed from 1976 to 1978. B. Lawless and R. Piper created the new Circus-Circus project, but it did not have much success. The 70s were bad times for such a direction as heavy metal. Therefore, the Sister group failed. The guys were unable to find a label that could record and promote them. Although the performances in the clubs were excellent, the local audience sang along with them.
Wasp
Black Lawless believed that he would certainly achieve worldwide fame. In 1982, our hero, along with Randy Piper, began to create a new group. They were joined by Tony Richards and Don Costa. But this was not the final composition. One day there was a fight between Lawless and Payer. In the end, Randy had to leave the group. In his place came the already known Chris Holmes. A team of four was named WASP
At the end of 1982, the guys gave their first concerts in Los Angeles. The new composition and repertoire pleased the local audience. In May 1983, the team was already able to sell almost 3,000 tickets. After WASP's performance at the largest venue of Santa Monica Civic Hall, the group had to part with Don Costa. And to blame for his inappropriate behavior on stage. Blackie found the strength and reconciled with Randy. Thus, Piper was again in the group.
At the end of 1983, WASP musicians signed a contract with one of the best record companies. That's not all. In 1984, the band began collaborating with Capitol Records. Then the guys started recording the first album, which was called WASP. It was released in August 1984, the entire circulation was bought up by the fans of the collective.
Achievements
To date, WASP discography is represented by 15 studio albums and 3 concert collections. The guys starred in 5 video clips and gave hundreds of concerts in major cities in the United States and Europe. Heavy metal is a genre in which they have established themselves as true professionals.
Blackie Lawless: personal life
The army of thousands of WASP fans wants to find out if the heart of the legendary musician is free. Let's take a closer look at Lawless's personal life.
The first time he got married when he was a little over 20 years old. This marriage was held only on the crazy passion that soon passed. The couple quietly and peacefully parted. And after some time, Blackie found out that his ex-wife gave birth to a son from him. Our hero recognized the boy and promised to provide him with material assistance.
In 2009, American tabloids reported on the novel of the leader of the WASP group and the 27-year-old model. Her first and last name were not disclosed. The musician is in no hurry to formally formalize a relationship with her. For several years now the couple has been living in a civil marriage. They dream of joint children.
Interesting Facts
- Our hero believes that heavy metal is anarchy, which not everyone understands and accepts.
- Blackie Lawless is 193 cm tall. For a long time he was involved in basketball and baseball.
- At the concerts of the tour, organized in support of the debut album, the musician took with him a box of fresh meat. He threw pieces around the room and gave them a bite to the group. Thus, the guys imitated the behavior of wild animals.
- Recently, Stephen Duren considers himself a believer. The scandalous legacy of the WASP team confuses him.
- Scream until you like it was used as the soundtrack to the famous Gremlins-2 movie.
- Blackie is the only member of the group that has been in it since its inception. In an interview with print media, he repeatedly stated that he did not want to reunite the composition of the 1980s.
Finally
Now you know where Blackie Lawless was born, studied and worked. The biography, career and personal life of the musician - all this was examined by us. We wish such a bright and talented person advancement in creativity and victories on the love front.