London is an American

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

band formed in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

in 1978. The band included several members that would go on to play in more famous bands, such as

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

, W.A.S.P. and

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

History

Original late-1970s band

London was formed in 1978 by

Lizzie Grey Stephen M. Perry (August 13, 1958 – August 5, 2019), who used the stage name Lizzie Grey, was an American musician. He is perhaps best known for his membership as a guitarist in the heavy metal band London and for co-writing the Mötley Crü ...

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and radio personality, best known as the co-founder, bassist, primary songwriter, and only constant member of the hea ...

and Dane Rage (real name Dane Scarborough). The three met when Sixx and Rage were recruited to play bass and drums for

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

, the band that Grey was in with

Blackie Lawless Steven Edward Duren (born September 4, 1956), better known by his stage name Blackie Lawless, is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist (formerly bassist) for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.B ...

. This lineup did not last long and soon Grey, Sixx and Rage left to form London.Stone, Doug
London Biography
",

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved November 18, 2018 London was briefly joined by Michael White as the vocalist, who bore a resemblance, both in voice and image, to

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

.Popoff, Martin (2014) ''The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade'', Voyageur Press, , p. 25, 37, 110 After disagreements with the band, White left to focus on his own band, The White. By 1979, White had been replaced by vocalist Henri Valentine and keyboard player John St. John. Nigel Benjamin, an English vocalist who had sung for

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band

Mott Mott is both an English surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname B * Basil Mott (1859–1938), British civil engineer *Bitsy Mott (1918–2001), American baseball player C * Catherine R. Mott (1836–1880), American ...

(formerly Mott the Hoople) and English Assassin, joined the band after Valentine left. Henri Valentine has since died. Nigel Benjamin who, as an actor, appeared in exploitation filmmaker Ferd Sebastian's horror film,

Rocktober Blood ''Rocktober Blood'' is a 1984 horror film directed by Beverly Sebastian, starring Tray Loren, Donna Scoggins, and Cana Cockrell. The film also stars the Los Angeles rock band Sorcery, as well as musician Nigel Benjamim, as actors and on the so ...

, died in 2019, aged 64. Becoming jaded with all of the member changes and looking to move on, Sixx and Benjamin were next to leave the band. Sixx would soon meet drummer

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass; October 3, 1962) is an American musician who co-founded and plays drums for the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He also founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical projects. Early ...

and form what would become

and go on to massive international success.Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'', Mojo Books, , p. 319 On their debut album ''

Too Fast for Love ''Too Fast for Love'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. The first edition of 900 copies was released on November 10, 1981, on the band's original label Leathür Records. Elektra Records signed the band the fo ...

'', Mötley Crüe released a song that Sixx and Grey had written but never recorded with London entitled "Public Enemy No. 1".Callwood, Brett (2018)
London's Calling: Nadir D'Priest Looks Back on a Career of Highs and Lows
", ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'', October 9, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018 Benjamin joined Satyr and later recorded the soundtrack to the horror movie ''Rocktober Blood'' with

Sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...

. Blackie Lawless was brought into the band to replace Sixx on bass, but this didn't last very long, and Lawless would go on to form W.A.S.P.Klosterman, Chuck (2002)
Super Doomed: The 13 Unluckiest Bands of All Time
, ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', November 2002, p. 96. Retrieved November 18, 2018, via

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

After the original London had fallen apart, founder Lizzie Grey became involved with a couple of other groups, including

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

ers St. Valentine in 1983, featuring Nigel Itson (Ruby Slippers) and Desi Rexx ( D'Molls). Rage recruited Scott Free, Paul Hanson and Bobby Blitz to form the Brooklyn Brats. Rage later reverted to his real name and after graduating from the Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture in 1992, became an inventor, eventually establishing the toy company Überstix LLC in 2005. For years, London tried to get a record deal, but the formula was not working until 1984, when Nadir D'Priest and Brian West joined the band.

Second era: 1984–early 1990s

1984 saw the rebirth of London, although it was now a different group. The new lineup consisted of Grey, Itson, an English vocalist named John Ward and a bassist named Donny Cameron. By 1985, the lineup consisted of Grey and

Izzy Stradlin Jeffrey Dean Isbell (born April 8, 1962), known professionally as Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he re ...

, vocalist Nadir D'Priest, drummer Bobby Marks and bassist Brian West (TKO). Marks soon left to form the first lineup of

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

, and

Fred Coury Fred Coury (born October 20, 1967) is an American musician best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, John Bonham, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming i ...

was brought in as his replacement. Stradlin then left to join Hollywood Rose/Guns N' Roses with close friend

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose ( ; born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in ...

Steven Adler Steven Adler (born Michael Coletti; January 22, 1965) is an American musician. He was the drummer and co-songwriter of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s. Adler was fired from Guns N' R ...

was also in the lineup, playing on some early demos while with Nadir, Brian, Lizzie, and former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch. Adler left the band and eventually joined up with

. '' Non-Stop Rock'', London's debut album, was recorded at this point, and released in November 1985. Soon after the album was finished, Coury left the band, eventually becoming part of

. Wailin' Jennings Morgan replaced him. Before the band's second album '' Don't Cry Wolf'' (produced by

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed the Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

) was recorded, two new members, drummer Derek Shea and guitarist Frankie Jones joined. In 1988, London appropriately appeared in the

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American film director, film producer, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary film, documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decl ...

film '' The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years'' describing their band as a "training school for rock stars".Simpson, Dave (2015)
Hair! Despair! Nightmares! What happened to 1980s metal also-rans?
", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', October 15, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2018 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. Although the band now had no more original members, London carried on for two more years in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Brian West and vocalist Nadir D'Priest were joined by guitarists Amos Sanfilippo and Sean Lewis and performed shows in the Hollywood and San Fernando Valley areas. London also made an appearance in the 1989 film ''Hollywood Boulevard II'', starring Ginger Lynn, the band's record company having contributed to productions costs in return for making a promotional video as part of the filming. D'Priest moved to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

for a brief period working in the adult film industry, but returned to continue working with West and Sean 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 was managed by Eric Greif, coincidentally an early assistant manager of Mötley Crüe, with drummer Alan Krigger, formerly of

Ike and Tina Turner Ike or IKE may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ike (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Ike (surname), a list of people * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of ...

and

Giuffria Giuffria was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1981 by Gregg Giuffria after his departure from the band Angel. History Giuffria was formed as Gregg Giuffria's side project in 1982 after Angel disbanded. The band's clas ...

, replacing Yasui, and Sanfilippo replaced by occasional keyboardist for

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

Vince Gilbert. A last burst of publicity via an

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

-played, David Bellino-directed video for the single "Ride You Through the Night", coupled with a supporting tour, fizzled quickly, with the band breaking up by late 1991 after internal strife and a label wind-down. London/D'Priest charted on the Z-Rock "Z-50" as well as on MTV and toured extensively during 1990–1991 at Z-Rock affiliate and subscriber markets. D'Priest went on to work with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

on their ''Voodoo Lounge'' tour CD-ROM. Cleopatra Records also released '' London The Metal Years'' in 2008, a compilation of demos cut on the fly at American Recording Studios.

Third era: 2010–present

London, with the ''Playa Del Rock'' lineup of D'Priest, Lewis, West and Krigger, performed a reunion show at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA in early 2010, a show in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

in April 2011, and the Sunset Strip Music Festival at the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...

in Summer 2011. The band recorded "Shout at the Devil" for

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label that has the sub-labels Hypnotic Records, Goldenlane, Stardust, Purple Pyramid, Deadline and X-Ray Records. History Founded in January 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in go ...

' Mötley Crüe tribute album ''Crue Believers'' in 2010. In 2012 a new lineup played dates in Europe during November and December. The ''London Live!'' album, recorded in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, was released in 2013. D'Priest said in 2015 about the years before reforming London: "I've been clean for 19 years, and have done everything from construction to being a stylist, but haven't given up on London". The band released a new studio album, ''Call That Girl'', in 2018.LONDON To Release New Album 'Call That Girl' In October
", Blabbermouth.net, August 30, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018 On August 5, 2019 guitarist Lizzie Grey died at the age of 60.

Band members

Current

* Nadir D'Priest – Vocals * Billy The Fist – Bass * Alan Krigger – Drums * Ronee Peña – Guitar * Eric Ragno – Keyboards

Former

Singers

* Mark Andrews – Vocals (1978) * Michael White – Vocals (1978–1979) * Nigel Benjamin – Vocals (1980) * John Ward – Vocals (1984–1985)

Guitar Players

– Guitars (1978–1981, 1984–1988) *

– Guitar (1984–1985) * Frankie Jones – Guitar (1986–1988) * Amos Sanfilippo – Guitar (1988–1990) * Chris Sanders – Guitar (2007–2009) *

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

– guitarAznar, Thierry (2014) ''Hard rock & Heavy metal : 40 années de purgatoire Tome 2'', Camion Blanc, * Sean Lewis – Guitar (1987–1990, 2012–2013)

Bass Players

– Bass (1978–1981) *

– Bass (1981) * Donny Cameron – Bass (1984–1985) * Tony Richards – (1985) * Brian West – Bass (1985–1990, 2010–2011)

Drummers

* Dane Rage – Drums (1978–1981) * Nigel Itson – Drums (1984–1985) * Billy Dior – Drums (1984–1985) *

– Drums (1985–1986) * Walin' J Morgan – Drums (1986) * Derek Shea – Drums (1986–1988) * Gene Allen – (1987) * Bobby Marks – Drums (1984–1986) * Alan Krigger – Drums (1989–1991, 2012) *

– drums * Tim Yasui – drums

Keyboard Players

* Vince Gilbert – Keyboards (1990)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Non-Stop Rock'' (1985),

Roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States, Mexico and C ...

/ Shrapnel * '' Don't Cry Wolf'' (1986), Metalhead * '' Playa Del Rock'' (1990), Noise International/BMG * ''Call That Girl'' (2018), Vamps Worldwide

Compilations

* '' The Metal Years'' (2008),

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

/Deadline

Live albums

* ''London Live'' (2013), Vamps Worldwide

Singles, EPs

*"Hot Child in the City" (1990), Noise International *''Playa Del Rock'' (1990), Noise International

Compilation appearances

* ''Crue Believers'' (2010), Cleopatra: "Shout at the Devil"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:London Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Noise Records artists Roadrunner Records artists