Neurotic Outsiders was a British-American rock supergroup founded in 1995, consisting of Steve Jones of the

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Matt Sorum Matthew William Sorum (born November 19, 1960) is an American drummer. He is best known as both a former member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he recorded three studio albums, and as a member of the supergroup Velvet Revolver. ...

and

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...

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, and John Taylor of

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. The first line-up featured

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and Steve Stevens, together with McKagan and Sorum, but they were soon replaced by Jones and Taylor. Originally a gathering of friends jamming together at the Viper Room in

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, the band released one eponymous album on Maverick Records in September 1996, and briefly toured Europe and North America. The band broke up in 1997 due to the members' commitments to other projects, but reunited briefly in April 1999 for three shows at the Viper Room.

History

Neurotic Outsiders was formed when

recruited Steve Jones,

and John Taylor to play at a benefit at the Viper Room in

in June 1995. The lineup soon began playing regularly at the venue, while friends of the band made guest appearances onstage, including

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

, Chrissie Hynde,

Ian Astbury Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer, best known as the lead vocalist, frontman and a founding member of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury fronted the short-lived band Holy Barbarians ( ...

and Mel C. The band was originally named Neurotic Boy Outsiders after an article in

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 ...

that Taylor had read in the 1970s, but "Boy" was dropped from the name at the request of Sorum and McKagan. Following growing interest from music executives, the band was signed to Maverick Records and given one million dollars to record an album. The band chose Jerry Harrison to produce the album, which was recorded in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

during the course of six days. A majority of the album's songs were written by Jones, while lead vocals were shared between Jones, Taylor and McKagan. The band's self-titled album was released on 10 September 1996. The album was met with little fanfare, while critics deemed the band "pure Hollywood, honestly and comfortably vulgar" and praised their musicianship. The band went on tour in support of the album through Europe and North America, but ceased to exist due to Jones participating in the

' reunion and McKagan focusing on

. Their final release was the EP ''Angelina'' in 1997. Neurotic Outsiders reunited in 1999 for three shows at the Viper Room.

Former members

;Final lineup * Steve Jones – guitar, lead and backing vocals *

– guitar, backing and lead vocals, bass *

– drums, backing vocals * Johnny Taylor – bass, backing and lead vocals ;Previous members *

– lead vocals (1995) * Steve Stevens – guitar (1995)

Discography

Studio albums * '' Neurotic Outsiders'' (1996) Studio EPs * ''Angelina'' (1997)

References

External links

Neurotic Outsiders fansite
{{Authority control Duran Duran Guns N' Roses Sex Pistols Rock music supergroups Musical groups established in 1995