Metal Hunter: agosto 2011

4 ago 2011

Twisted Sister

Twisted Sister is an American rock band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands. The band is generally categorized as glam metal for their earlier work, although the band does not consider themselves to be so.^[1]^[2]

Although the band was formed by guitarist Jay Jay French in December 1972, all of their songs were written by Dee Snider from 1976 onward. Snider remarked to Johnny Carson that the proposed name for the band was "This" but was rejected for fear of fans saying "This sucks". He describes Twisted Sister as "Slade meets Sex Pistols". Twisted Sister's most well-known hits include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both popularized in the USA by regular airplay on MTV in the 1980s. Many of the band's songs explore themes of parent vs. child conflicts and criticisms of the educational system.

History of Twisted Sister

Pre-Dee period (1972–1976)

Twisted Sister was formed in December 1972 by guitarist Jay Jay French under the name Silverstar. In February 1973 Silverstar changed its name to Twisted Sister. In 1975, Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, a former high school friend of French, joined as co-lead singer and second guitarist. He had previously recorded with a New York City band called SPV. Kevin John Grace replaced Mel "Starr" Anderson on drums. Bass guitarist Kenny Neill (Kenneth Harrisson-Neill) completed the lineup. The band followed a glam rock direction, influenced by David Bowie, Slade, Mott the Hoople, Humble Pie, and New York Dolls. It played at local clubs without much success until 1976.

Club days (1976–1982)

In early 1976, Snider joined the band as lead vocalist and principal songwriter. After replacing drummer Grace with Tony Petri, the group took a heavier musical direction, influenced by Motörhead, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper, but without abandoning its glam image.

Although glam was out of fashion in those days, Snider's phenomenal abilities as frontman propelled the band to considerable local success. It broke attendance records at large halls in the Tri-State Region and its growing fan base began to take the name "S.M.F.F.O.T.S.", for Sick Motherfucking Friends Of Twisted Sister, later shortened to "S.M.F." for "Sick Mother Fuckers." In March 1979, the British music magazine, NME reported that Twisted Sister had sold out the 3,000 capacity New York Palladium for a March 16 show without a recording contract or radio airplay.^[3] The Palladium concert program^[4] included a sticker^[5] which was stapled to the inside cover, and the band ran an ad^[6] in Billboard following the show. Tickets^[7] to the concert were $3.50. No record label was interested in signing the band, so in 1979 it released the single "I'll Never Grow Up Now" / "Under the Blade" on their own label, Twisted Sister Records, followed in 1980 by "Bad Boys (Of Rock & Roll)" / "Lady's Boy". Eddie Kramer produced both singles.^[8] The singles were distributed through independent record stores such as the old Zig Zag Records in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, NY.

In this period, the group's membership changed. On October 31, 1978, Neill left the band, the band's roadie and friend, Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, formerly bassist for The Dictators, replaced him. In December 1980, Petri also left for the Plasmatics^[9] and was replaced briefly by Ritchie Teeter. Teeter, also formerly of The Dictators, was replaced in that band by Mel Anderson. In April 1981, Teeter was replaced by "Fast" Joey Brighton, who was in turn replaced by A.J. Pero from Cities, another unsigned band with local fame.^[10]

This lineup (Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, Mark Mendoza and A.J. Pero) recorded four studio albums and performed numerous live shows around the world.

Upon the suggestion of two reporters from Sounds and Kerrang! magazines, Twisted Sister left New York to find a label in the UK. There, in April 1982, it was finally signed by Secret Records, a small British label that was mainly a punk outlet.

Pre-MTV period (1982–1984)

In June 1982, the group released its first EP, Ruff Cuts, on the Secret Records label. This was followed shortly by their first studio album, Under the Blade, produced by Pete Way of UFO. Despite rather low production quality, the album was an underground hit in the UK, providing the band with sufficient name recognition to open for such metal acts as Motörhead. The album had an overall raw metal sound and included "Tear It Loose", a very fast speed-metal song featuring a guitar solo by "Fast" Eddie Clarke of Motörhead. Another single, the future hit "We're Not Gonna Take It", was planned for release, but Secret Records went out of business before Snider was able to complete the lyrics. "We're Not Gonna Take It" later became one of its top singles.

Around this time, Twisted Sister updated its feminized image with a more grotesque look that distinguished them from other glam metal bands of the era. The group was now regarded more as a weird-looking heavy metal band because its look and music, although still reminiscent of pop/glam styles, were growing closer to heavy metal's leather and chains image.

After an appearance on the music TV program The Tube, Atlantic Records approached the band and signed them. Atlantic was one of the labels that had turned Twisted Sister down in the Club Days period. Their first LP under Atlantic, You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll, produced by Stuart Epps, was released in 1983 and included the UK #19 hit "I Am (I'm Me)". From a production standpoint, the album sounded better than its predecessor, and it was every bit as heavy. Upon the success of the album the company decided to promote the band more heavily. A music video was made for the title track of You Can't Stop Rock'n'Roll, which was to become the first of a series of comedic videos that popularized the band.

MTV videos (1984–1985)

International fame came for Twisted Sister when the band's third LP, Stay Hungry, hit the stores on May 10, 1984. The album was a little more commercial-sounding than the first two, owing to Tom Werman's production, but it still included heavy songs such as the title track and "Burn in Hell". During a successful tour, a young Metallica supported the band. Stay Hungry sold more than two million copies by the summer of 1985, and went on to sell more than three million in subsequent years. It remains the band's biggest success.

Dee Snider testifies before the US Senate, 1985

Testimony continued

Videos of hit singles "We're Not Gonna Take It" (a #21 hit in the US) and "I Wanna Rock" (US #68) ran almost constantly on MTV. Their pervasive slapstick comedy proved a change of pace for the genre and gave the band a distinctive appeal. The acclaimed surreal comedy film Pee-wee's Big Adventure took this further with the band having an appearance making a fictional video for "Burn In Hell" on the Warner Bros. backlot only to be interrupted by Pee-wee Herman passing through. Despite being comedic in nature, the videos featured violence against parents and teachers, which placed the band under heavy criticism by conservative organizations. They were singled out by the PMRC in 1985. Twisted Sister songs "Under the Blade" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" were specifically mentioned in the associated Senate hearings. Snider was one of the few musicians to testify before a Senate committee in these hearings on September 19, 1985. (He was addressed formally by the committee counsel as "Mr. Sister".)^[11]

In May that year Ojeda took part, on behalf of the band, in the recordings for the Hear 'n Aid project, "Stars", although the single was not released until the following year.^[12]

Decline and fall (1985–1987)

On November 9, 1985, the band released its fourth studio album, Come Out and Play, produced by Dieter Dierks. It was not nearly as successful as its predecessor, although it did earn the band a gold album for sales of 500,000 copies. Some speculate that the failure was partly due to MTV banning the video for "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" on the grounds that it was graphically offensive. The song featured such guests as Alice Cooper (who also stars in the video), Brian Setzer, Clarence Clemons and Billy Joel. The tour supporting the album was a near fiasco, with low attendance and many cancelled dates. Not even Atlantic's re-release of a remixed Under the Blade helped the band recover its popularity. Come Out and Play was one of the first CDs to go out of print.

After the tour, Pero left to rejoin Cities. He was replaced by ex-Good Rats drummer Joey "Seven" Franco. The nickname "Seven" comes from his being the band's seventh drummer.

In 1987, Snider embarked on a solo project, reportedly approaching future Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers, but this did not work out. He then recorded an album with Franco programming the drum machine and featuring several session musicians such as Reb Beach on guitar and Kip Winger (just before they formed Winger) and Steve Whiteman of Kix. Atlantic Records refused to release it unless it was labeled as a Twisted Sister album. So, on August 13, 1987 Love Is for Suckers made its debut. Although the band had not played in the recording sessions, it was mentioned on the album cover as if they had, and they did play some of the songs in subsequent shows. Beau Hill's production gave the album a very polished pop metal sound. The band's members had also removed the makeup that they had been wearing since their early days. Commercially, the album was a complete failure and many of their metal fans were disappointed with the pop sound.^{[citation needed]}

On October 12, 1987, almost two months after the release of Love Is For Suckers, Snider left the band, the record label cancelled its contract, and Twisted Sister disbanded. The public announcement of the band's demise came in January 1988.^[13]

Separation period (1987–1997)

After the band's break-up, former members were involved in different projects:

Snider formed Desperado, Widowmaker, and SMFs. He also wrote and starred in the movie Strangeland. A sequel, Strangeland 2, is planned.^{[citation needed]}
Ojeda went on to join Scarecrow and then formed Prisoners of War. Both projects were unsuccessful. He also worked as a session guitarist and guitar instructor.
French stopped performing except for some guest appearances. He formed French Management and produced the alternative metal band Sevendust's first self-titled album.
Mendoza briefly joined Blackfoot. Then he worked as a producer and manager. He also occasionally pursued solo projects.
Pero was involved in several projects and subsequently toured with Snider's SMFs.
Franco worked as a session drummer and played with Snider's Widowmaker.

In 1992, Atlantic Records, released a "best of" album Big Hits and Nasty Cuts that also featured some live performances from the Under The Blade period. This album was compiled by French. A live album from the Stay Hungry era named Live At Hammersmith was released in 1994 by CMC International.

Reunions and reissues (1997–present)

Twisted Sister in Sweden in 2007

In 1998, the band recorded a song for the soundtrack of Snider's movie Strangeland.

In 1999, Spitfire Records re-issued the group's back catalog, supplemented with previously unreleased tracks. This was followed by Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions, an album containing demo recordings from the pre-Under the Blade era, which has three songs that were written by French, this was the first time someone other than Snider was writing songs, and Club Daze Volume 2: Live In The Bars, a live counterpart.

In 2001, Koch Records released a tribute album under the name Twisted Forever: A Tribute To The Legendary Twisted Sister. The album featured a wide range of artists and bands who had been influenced by Twisted Sister, including Lit, Motörhead, Chuck D, Anthrax, Overkill, Cradle of Filth, Joan Jett, Sebastian Bach, and HammerFall. Oddly for a tribute album, Twisted Sister was also present with a cover of AC/DC's "Sin city".

In November 2001, the reunited Twisted Sister joined fellow New York metal artists Anthrax, Overkill, Sebastian Bach, and Ace Frehley to headline a benefit concert for NYPD and FDNY Widows and Orphans Fund in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. New York Steel raised over $100,000 for the charity, and the reaction to the first Twisted Sister set in 14 years was overwhelming. The demand for more live dates was immediate, and the band took the first steps toward returning to the concert stage.

In 2002, a remastered "best of" compilation named Essentials was released. Fans generally consider this to be a better compilation than the one previously issued by Atlantic.

2002 also saw the featuring of "I Wanna Rock" as one of the gameplay radio songs on the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The song features in the playlist of the fictional radio station "V Rock".

Twisted Sister, this time including Mark Mendoza, reunited again for the Sweden Rock Festival in June 2003. They also appeared in August of that same year at the Wacken Open Air festival. Footage from that show was filmed for a DVD release, which featured former Violent Apathy and Spite member, Tom Fuller.

In March 2004, they entered the studio to completely re-record their Stay Hungry album for Demolition Records. They reported that they were not happy with the original album's production, so this time they produced it themselves. The re-recording was released under the name Still Hungry and contained seven bonus tracks.

In July 2005, the group played a free concert in Edmonton for the Klondike Days festival. In late 2005, Snider appeared on Numbers from the Beast: An All-Star Tribute to Iron Maiden, performing vocals for the Iron Maiden classic "Wasted Years". Snider was joined by his contemporaries and peers George Lynch, formerly of Dokken, and Bob Kulick. Also in 2005, the band released the 2003 Wacken show on CD and DVD simply titled Live At Wacken. It also went on tour with Alice Cooper, acting as the support band but delivering a set similar to a headliner's.

In 2006, Snider and French worked with Lordi to produce and play on a few tracks on their new album The Arockalypse. Snider was featured on the first track, "SCG3 Special Report", as the voice of Lordi warning of the upcoming Arockalypse. French guest starred on the song "Chainsaw Buffet". In June 2006, the band announced that they had signed with the American record label Razor and Tie to release a final CD, of heavy metal Christmas music called A Twisted Christmas. The CD was released on October 17, 2006, and was a commercial success. On July 8, 2006, Twisted Sister played in front of 80,000 people in Quebec City, Canada. The show also featured Scorpions as the headliner. It also played a small concert at the Wolverhampton Civic Center.

The group is still together and occasionally makes small tours around the world, in full makeup. Before each of these mini-tours, it performs as Bent Brother, practising its set and appearing without makeup, usually at reduced ticket prices.

Twisted Sister was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. On December 13, 2006, Twisted Sister made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The group performed their rock version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" which is arranged in the style of "We're Not Gonna Take It". On December 22, 2006, Twisted Sister appeared on CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, performing its rock version of "O Come All Ye Faithful". On an episode of Snider's syndicated radio program "The House of Hair", he stated that due to the success of the Christmas album, and also due to the response to the tour promoting the album, that Twisted Sister might not retire, and the band's future was being discussed.

Twisted Sister performing at Norway Rock Festival in 2010

On July 15, 2007, Twisted Sister performed at glam metal festival Rocklahoma.

Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock" was featured in the game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s as a playable song (instead of being a cover like several songs featured in the game, it was the version from the 2004 remake of their classic album Stay Hungry, titled Still Hungry).

In 2008, Snider appeared on the CMT television show Gone Country. On February 25, 2008, Twisted Sister performed at "Aftermath - The Station Fire 5 years later" in Providence, Rhode Island. On May 10, 2008, Twisted Sister performed a free concert at the Bulgarian town Lovech. On July 13, 2008, Twisted Sister performed at Snatch Rock n Roll Lounge, in Calgary, Alberta. On September 1, 2008, Twisted Sister performed at the Rock The Bayou Festival in Houston, Texas.

On June 4, 2009, Twisted Sister performed 'Stay Hungry' in its entirety for the first time at the Sweden Rock Festival. This included never before played songs such as "Don't Let Me Down" and "Horror-Teria: Street Justice".

On July 16, 2009, in a interview on Live with Regis and Kelly, Snider said that 2009 was the last year that the band would perform with makeup and costumes.

On February 16, 2010, Twisted Sister were confirmed to play at Bloodstock Open Air 2010.

Twisted Sister has recently announced that they will be performing at Dillo Day 2011 at Northwestern University.

On July 15, 2011, Twisted Sister were confirmed to play at Masters of Rock

Band members

For more details on this topic, see Twisted Sister band members.

Current members

Dee Snider – lead vocals (1976–1987, 1997–present)
Eddie Ojeda – lead guitar (1975–1987, 1997–present)
Jay Jay French – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1972–1987, 1997–present)
Mark Mendoza – bass guitar, backing vocals (1978–1987, 1997–present)
A. J. Pero – drums, percussion (1982–1986, 1997–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)
Title	Details	US ^[14]	NOR ^[15]	NZ ^[16]	SWE ^[17]	SWI ^[18]	UK ^[19]	Certifications (sales threshold)
Under the Blade	Release date: September 18, 1982 Label: Secret Records Formats: CD, vinyl, cassette	125	—	40	—	—	70	US: Gold^[20]
You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll	Release date: June 27, 1983 Label: Atlantic Records Formats: CD, vinyl, cassette	130	—	—	—	—	14
Stay Hungry	Release date: May 10, 1984 Label: Atlantic Records Formats: CD, vinyl, cassette	15	11	10	3	—	34	US: 3× Platinum^[20]
Come Out and Play	Release date: November 9, 1985 Label: Atlantic Records Formats: CD, vinyl, cassette	53	11	—	10	—	95	US: Gold^[20]
Love Is for Suckers	Release date: August 13, 1987 Label: Atlantic Records Formats: CD, cassette	74	11	—	43	17	57
Still Hungry	Release date: October 19, 2004 Label: Spitfire Records Formats: CD, music download	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Holiday albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
Title	Details	US ^[14]	US Holiday ^[21]
A Twisted Christmas	Release date: October 7, 2006 Label: Razor & Tie Formats: CD, music download	147	27

Extended plays

Ruff Cutts (1982)

Live albums and compilations

Big Hits and Nasty Cuts (Compilation, 1992)
Live at Hammersmith (Live, 1994)
Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions (Live, 1999)
Club Daze Volume II: Live in the Bars (Live, 2002)
The Essentials (Compilation, 2002)
We're Not Gonna Take It & Other Hits (Compilation, 2003)^[22]
The Best of Twisted Sister (Compilation, 2005)
Live at Wacken: The Reunion (Live, 2006)
A Twisted Christmas - Live (Live, 2007)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
Year	Single	US ^[23]	US Main ^[24]	NOR ^[25]	NZ ^[26]	SWE ^[27]	UK ^[19]	Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
1983	"I Am (I'm Me)"	—	—	—	—	—	18		You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll
	"The Kids Are Back"	—	—	—	—	—	32
	"You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll"	—	—	—	—	—	43
1984	"We're Not Gonna Take It"	21	20	—	2	10	58	US: Gold^[20]	Stay Hungry
1984	"I Wanna Rock"	68	35	5	10	—	93
1985	"The Price"	—	19	—	—	—	—
1985	"Leader of the Pack"	53	32	—	45	—	47		Come Out and Play
1987	"Hot Love"	—	31	—	—	—	—		Love Is for Suckers
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Videography

Videos

Stay Hungry Tour (1984)
Come Out and Play (1985)

DVDs

Live at Wacken - The Reunion (2004)
The Video Years (2007)
A Twisted Christmas Live: A December To Remember (2007)
Live At Bang Your Head!!! (2008, recorded in 2005)
Live At The Astoria (2008, recorded in 2004)

A new DVD was recorded at the Bang Your Head!!! in Germany, on July 17, 2010 ^[28]

Music videos

"I Am (I'm Me)"
"You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll"
"We're Not Gonna Take It"
"I Wanna Rock"
"The Price"
"Leader of the Pack"
"Be Chrool to Your Scuel"
"Hot Love"
"Oh Come All Ye Faithful"
"Silver Bells"
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
"30"

External links

Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot is an American rock band. They are best known for their hit singles "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Metal Health". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet Riot in May 1975.^[1] The original line-up featured lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow, Rhoads, Garni, and drummer Drew Forsyth. Their current lineup features no original members from the Randy Rhoads era, and consists of lead vocalist Mark Huff, drummer Frankie Banali, bassist Chuck Wright, and guitarist Alex Grossi. Both Banali and Wright are from the Metal Health era, as Wright played bass on two songs from the album Metal Health, including the hit song "Metal Health", and sang backing vocals on the entire album.

In a radio interview given by the band in 1979, DuBrow said the band's name was born of a conversation with Rick Parfitt of British band Status Quo in which Parfitt said he'd like to name a band "Quite Right".^[2] With his thick English accent, it sounded like he was saying "Quiet Riot". They are ranked at number 100 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

Kevin DuBrow, lead singer of the band for the majority of its existence, was found dead in his Las Vegas, Nevada home at approximately 5:20 p.m. on Sunday, November 25, 2007. The cause of death was ruled a cocaine overdose.^[3] Quiet Riot temporarily disbanded after his death, and was recently revived by Banali in 2010.

History

Early years (1976–1982)

Quiet Riot were one of the more successful hard rock acts in Los Angeles in the late 1970s^{[citation needed]}, but were nonetheless unable to procure a US recording contract. By 1977 they were able to secure a deal with Sony, but their records would be released only in Japan. The original four members recorded their debut album Quiet Riot, or QRI, in 1977. The second album Quiet Riot II, or QRII, was recorded at The Record Plant and released in Japan in 1978. Once recording was completed, bassist Kelly Garni left the band. Although Garni's replacement Rudy Sarzo was pictured and credited on QRII, he did not join before its recording.^[4] In 1979, guitarist Randy Rhoads auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne's new band after the editors of a small, Los Angeles based magazine, Raw Power asked future Slaughter bassist Dana Strum to contact Rhoads to see if he would be interested. Osbourne himself has stated that he hired Rhoads immediately. Kevin DuBrow and Drew Forsythe tried to keep the band together following Rhoads' departure, with the addition of guitarist Greg Leon^[5]^[6] and former Suite 19 bassist Gary Van Dyke.^[7] During this period of 1980-1982, the band changed its name to DuBrow and also played shows with former Gamma drummer Skip Gillette.

Later, DuBrow attempted to reform Quiet Riot. None of the other original members were interested. Carlos Cavazo, whom DuBrow had previously played with in a band called Snow, joined as lead guitarist. Rudy Sarzo re-joined the band on bass, and his friend, drummer Frankie Banali, completed the lineup.

In September 1982, with help from producer Spencer Proffer, they were signed to CBS Records in America. On March 11, 1983, their American debut album Metal Health was released. Their two previous albums, QRI and QRII, have still not been released in North America, despite the band's subsequent success.

Success with "Cum On Feel the Noize" (1983)

On August 27, 1983, Quiet Riot's second single "Cum On Feel the Noize" was released. Their cover of the 1973 Slade hit spent two weeks at #5 on the Billboard chart in November 1983. It was the first heavy metal song to make the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart (a.k.a.Pop Chart). The success of the single helped carry Metal Health to the top of Billboard pop album charts, making it the first American heavy metal debut album to ever reach #1 in the USA. It was #1 on November 26, 1983, making Quiet Riot the first heavy metal band to have a top 5 hit & #1 album the same week. Their success was aided in no small part to the "Cum On Feel the Noize" video's heavy rotation on MTV.^{[citation needed]}

In 1983, a #1 album and a top 5 single was unheard of for a heavy metal band.^{[citation needed]} The album also displaced The Police's hugely successful Synchronicity album from #1. Metal Health paved the way for a new, stronger commercial viability for heavy metal. The album stayed at #1 for just a week until Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down took over the #1 spot for three weeks before being surpassed by Michael Jackson's Thriller, which returned to the top after a long hiatus. Metal Health's title song, which was released as a single on March 11, 1983, finally charted in early 1984 and peaked at #31. This could be attributed to the song's appearance in the 1984 movie Footloose, as well as another heavy rotation video on MTV. It was Number 41 on the VH1's Top 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. The Metal Health album would ultimately sell over 6 million copies in the U.S.^[8]

In support of Metal Health, Quiet Riot toured North America as the opening act for Black Sabbath on their Born Again tour from October 1983 through March 1984.

Condition Critical, QRIII and departure of DuBrow (1984–1989)

The group's follow-up, Condition Critical, was released on July 7, 1984. Though successful, it was a relative disappointment, critically and commercially, selling only 3 million units.^{[citation needed]} This release included yet another Slade cover, the single, "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". Reportedly^{[by whom?]} frustrated over the sophomore release's failure to duplicate the success of its predecessor, DuBrow outspokenly began expressing his opinion in the heavy metal press that many bands on the L.A. metal scene owed their success to what he saw as the doors opened for them by Quiet Riot. He went as far as comparing his band to The Beatles. DuBrow's verbal assaults angered many of Quiet Riot's musical contemporaries, and alienated fans.^{[citation needed]} Despite this, in 1985 all four Quiet Riot members participated in Hear 'n Aid, a charity project headed by Ronnie James Dio to raise awareness for the starvation situation in Africa.

DuBrow's tirades led to fan backlash and clashes in the media with several other Los Angeles based metal bands. This resulted in Rudy Sarzo quitting the group in January 1985. He resurfaced in Whitesnake two years later, in time for their hugely successful 1987 tour. Sarzo was replaced in Quiet Riot by Chuck Wright (formerly of Giuffria), who had previously contributed bass to two songs on Metal Health. The group also temporarily added a keyboardist, John Purdell, for their 1986 tour. Purdell appeared on their next release, QRIII, in 1986, another commercial disappointment.^{[citation needed]} Fed up with DuBrow's antics, the rest of Quiet Riot fired him from his own band in February 1987 and replaced him with former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino, leaving no original members. Ironically, Shortino had also performed on the Hear 'n Aid project with DuBrow, marking the only time that the two vocalists sang together on the same track. Chuck Wright was also fired and Sarzo was invited to return. Sarzo agreed but then committed to Whitesnake instead. The group then recruited Sean McNabb for the bassist slot. The revamped band released their second self-titled album, Quiet Riot, also known as QR IV in October 1988. It failed to return the band to its commercial glory. After a tour that ended in Hawaii in April 1989, the band members went their separate ways. A show from the tour was documented and later released on a DVD entitled '89 Live in Japan. Frankie Banali resurfaced on the W.A.S.P. album The Headless Children, and played some shows with Faster Pussycat. Sean McNabb joined House of Lords in 1991, where he ironically replaced Chuck Wright, the bass player that he also replaced in Quiet Riot. Kevin DuBrow subsequently fought in court to keep control of the band's name.

Reunion and later years (1990–2007)

Having won the rights to the band's name, DuBrow teamed up with 21 year old English born blues guitarist Sean Manning, bassist Kenny Hillery, and drummer Pat Ashby to reform Quiet Riot. Initially using the moniker Little Women to tour under (the name Rhoads and DuBrow were using in the 1970s before settling on Quiet Riot) to avoid any adverse publicity, Dubrow and Manning compiled songs for a new album, which would eventually become the 1993 album Terrified. The band played venues throughout the USA until 1990 when Manning left to join the band Hurricane.

As the nineties began, tempers had cooled between former bandmates Carlos Cavazo and Kevin Dubrow, and they started to communicate again. They eventually formed the band Heat in 1990 with bassist Kenny Hillery and drummer Bobby Rondinelli. They reverted back to the Quiet Riot name the following year and released the aforementioned Terrified in 1993 with Banali rejoining on drums. Quiet Riot, with Chuck Wright again on bass, toured in 1994 in support of Terrified with Wisconsin's Slam I Am.

That same year, DuBrow released The Randy Rhoads Years, a compilation featuring remixed tracks from Quiet Riot's two Japan-only releases along with previously unreleased material, many of which featured newly recorded vocals.^[9] The band released Down to the Bone in 1995 and a Greatest Hits album in 1996. Greatest Hits covered only material from the CBS years, including three tracks from the 1988 Shortino album and two previously promo-only live tracks. Former bassist Kenny Hillery, who had left the group in 1994, committed suicide on June 5, 1996.^[10] After that, Rudy Sarzo joined up again in 1997, and the band continued touring.

During the 1997 tour one angry fan sued DuBrow for injuries she claimed were sustained during a show^{[citation needed]}. The group, now featuring the Metal Health lineup again, released Alive and Well in 1999 which featured new songs and several re-recorded hits. They followed this up with Guilty Pleasures in 2001, which also featured the same lineup.

In late 2002, the band teamed up with director Jack Edward Sawyers to shoot a concert video. Live in the 21st Century was shot on September 26, 2002, at the Key Club in Los Angeles and was released November 11, 2003.

DuBrow performing.

Quiet Riot officially broke up again in September 2003.^[11] Kevin DuBrow released his first solo album, In for the Kill in May 2004, which was followed by the announcement of a Quiet Riot reunion in October 2004.^[12] That line-up included DuBrow, Banali, Wright, and new guitarist Alex Grossi. The band was featured on the 2005 Rock Never Stops Tour tour in 2005 along with Cinderella, Ratt, and FireHouse. In December 2005, guitarist Tracii Guns of LA Guns briefly worked with the Quiet Riot lineup.^[13] Guns left less than a month later after one rehearsal^[14] due to musical differences.^[15]

In early 2006 Chuck Wright and Alex Grossi left the band. Other members of Quiet Riot during this era have included guitarists Billy Morris and Neil Citron, and bassists Sean McNabb and Wayne Carver. Ex-The Firm and Blue Murder bassist Tony Franklin has worked in the studio with Quiet Riot.

Quiet Riot released Rehab on October 3, 2006 with a lineup of DuBrow and Banali, with Tony Franklin and Neil Citron. Former Deep Purple bassist and singer Glenn Hughes made a guest vocal appearance on the album.

In 2007, Quiet Riot were featured in radio promos for ESPN Radio, parodying their status as dated rock and roll icons. Dubrow mentions that they are not completely dated, since they're still touring, to which Banali replies "Yeah...in your minivan."^{[citation needed]}

DuBrow's death (2007–2009)

On November 25, 2007, The Vegas Eye website reported that Kevin DuBrow had been found dead in his apartment earlier that day. Banali confirmed the death in an email to Spain's The Metal Circus.^[16] Banali wrote:

"Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow."

On December 10, 2007, media reports confirmed that Dubrow was pronounced dead on the afternoon of November 25, 2007, and was later determined to have died of a cocaine overdose approximately six days earlier.

On January 14, 2008, drummer Frankie Banali issued the following statement via his website regarding the future of Quiet Riot.

"I have been approached to see if I would be interested in contacting Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo and to audition singers for Quiet Riot. I have also been approached to see if I would be interested in contacting and reforming the version of Quiet Riot that included Paul Shortino, Carlos Cavazo and Sean McNabb. Let me make this very simple and perfectly clear. While I am still actively involved in the business interests of Quiet Riot and will continue in that capacity, I reject any and all suggestions to have Quiet Riot continue as a live performing entity. My friendship, love and respect for Kevin DuBrow as well as my personal love and affection for Kevin's mother and his family makes it inconceivable for me to ever entertain any ovation to reform or to continue Quiet Riot. Kevin was too important to go on without him. It would also be a disrespect to the fans who have supported Quiet Riot for nearly 25 years. I thank everyone for the wonderful and sometimes unpredictable adventure that I was able to share as a member of Quiet Riot. The only regret that I have is the loss of Kevin. May he rest in peace. I now begin life after Quiet Riot."^[17]

Post-Dubrow: New lineup (2010–present)

Despite his previous insistence that Quiet Riot could never return as a live performing entity, in September 2010 Frankie Banali announced a new version of Quiet Riot: himself on drums, Chuck Wright on bass, Alex Grossi on guitar and newcomer Mark Huff on vocals (formerly of Van Halen tribute band 5150^[18]). The band has sought the blessings of the DuBrow family (DuBrow's mother encouraged Banali to revive the band), has recorded new versions of classic hits with Huff singing, and is seeking to do a full US tour. In April 2011, Quiet Riot started their "Metal Health 2011 Tour" in Australia with support bands Warrent and L.A. Guns.^[19]^[20]