The Del Fuegos were an American 1980s garage-style

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band. Formed in 1980, the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

–based band gained success in 1986 with their songs "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" and appearing in a widely seen television commercial for Miller Beer. The band's fans included

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

, who appeared on one of the band's songs and featured them as an opening act on one of his tours. The Del Fuegos are named after the island of

Tierra Del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

History

The relationship between brothers Warren Zanes and Dan Zanes, then and now, has been described as being "fractious". Shortly after the band was dropped by

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acq ...

due to the commercial disappointment of their third album for the label, Warren left the band, as did Woody. After Dan and Tom recruited two replacement members, they released a fourth album with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. The band broke up within a year of the album's release. Dan later said of the group's demise, "The '80s were over, we were over." On June 23 and 24, 2011, the band played together for the first time in 21 years at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. These shows raised money for Right Turn, a rehab program run by Woody. Later, they embarked upon a reunion tour beginning in February 2012 and ending in Dan and Warren's home town of

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

, at the

Capitol Center for the Arts The Capitol Center for the Arts is an entertainment venue in Concord, New Hampshire, Concord, New Hampshire, United States, which features a 1,304-seat theatre designed with an Egyptian motif. The center opened in its current form in 1995 after ...

on March 4, 2012. The reunited band also recorded eight new songs in three days, releasing them on February 21, 2012, as an EP titled ''Silver Star''. The Del Fuegos reunited for a one night event in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in July 2023. On December 21, 2024, they reunited again for two sold out shows at the Boston City Winery. The Del Fuegos are scheduled to perform on September 13, 2025, at th
Bellforge Arts Center
in

Medfield, Massachusetts Medfield is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,799 according to the 2020 United States Census. It is a community about southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, which is a 40-minute drive to Downtown Bos ...

Band members

* Dan Zanes (guitars/vocals) Dan Zanes released a solo album in 1995. Later, after distributing a cassette of original children's songs throughout his neighborhood, he began recording children's music with his band Dan Zanes and Friends. The band's music became very popular due to heavy airplay of the group's music videos on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

's preschool morning block

Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Tele ...

(now

Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...

) and Noggin (now

Nick Jr. Channel The Nick Jr. Channel, sometimes shortened to Nick Jr., is an American pay television, pay television channel owned by the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. An offshoot of Nickelodeon ...

). In 2007, his album ''Catch That Train!'' received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Musical Album for Children. * Warren Zanes (guitars) Warren Zanes left the Del Fuegos after the band's third album. He went on to earn two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in Visual and Cultural Arts. He is also the vice president of education at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

. He returned to music in 2002 with a solo album titled ''Memory Girls''. *Tom Lloyd (bass) Lloyd left the Del Fuegos after the band's fourth album. He returned to college and earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, before graduating with a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

in 1999. *Adam Roth (guitars) After the Del Fuegos, Roth (born Adam Wingfield Roth on May 16, 1958, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

) worked on musical endeavors with comedian

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, he first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole") and th ...

and recorded with Jim Carroll,

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...

, and

the Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

frontman

Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and the frontman of the rock band the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015, Dando was inducted into t ...

. He was also involved in the bands the Enablers and the Liza Colby Sound. Roth died of cancer on December 16, 2015, at the age of 57. * Steve Morell (drums) Morell left the Del Fuegos before the band recorded their first album. *Woody Giessmann (drums) Giessmann founded Right Turn, a program offering assistance to artists in recovery from

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

and other mental health issues, in 2003. *Joe Donnelly (drums) Donnelly has worked in a number of music projects since the end of the Del Fuegos, including Wiki 3 and Chris Pahud. *Sonny Columbus Columbus worked with the Del Fuegos on

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

Discography

Albums

*'' The Longest Day'' 1984

UK Indie #20 *''Boston, Mass.'' 1985 Slash Records U.S. #134 *''Spin Radio Concert'' (live) 1985 BBE Sound *'' Stand Up'' 1987 Slash Records U.S. #167 *'' Smoking in the Fields'' 1989

U.S. #139 *''Best Of The Del Fuegos: The Slash Years'' 2001 Warner *''Silver Star'' 2012 February Records

Singles

Other appearances

* ''Miller Music'' (1984; promotional compilation album; multiple artists;

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

) * ''Miller Music II'' (1986; promotional compilation album; multiple artists; RCA)

References

External links

* *
Right TurnDel Fuegos Miller Commercial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Fuegos Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts American blues rock musical groups Garage rock groups from Massachusetts American new wave musical groups American garage punk groups Hard rock musical groups from Massachusetts Punk rock groups from Massachusetts Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from Boston Slash Records artists Warner Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups disestablished in 2012