

In November 1980, the band struck a deal with Johanna Kustannus and released its debut single, "I Want You / Kill City Kills." "I Want You" was a new version of the Swedish song "Vill ha dej" by Heartbreak. When the band moved to Stockholm, its members lived mostly in the streets, begging for money, except Andy McCoy, who lived with his wealthy girlfriend. By then Peki had left the band, and when it relocated to Stockholm, they hired an old friend of Monroe and McCoy's, drummer Gyp Casino. McCoy replaced Stefan Piesnack, who had been arrested for drug possession, and Yaffa replaced Nedo. In late 1980 Andy McCoy left Pelle Miljoona Oy to join Hanoi Rocks, and was later joined by another former Pelle Miljoona Oy member, bassist Sami Yaffa.

Vesterinen soon became the band's manager after speaking with McCoy and Monroe. The band toured Finnish clubs, playing McCoy and Monroe's own songs and covers like Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore," The Police's "Born in the 50's" and MC5's "Looking at You." At one of the band's first shows was Seppo Vesterinen, who had brought big name artists like Iggy Pop and Frank Zappa to Finland. The original lineup of Hanoi Rocks was Michael Monroe on vocals, former Pelle Miljoona Oy guitarist Stefan Piesnack, Monroe's guitarist Nasty Suicide, bassist Nedo Soininen, and drummer Peki Sirola. McCoy allowed Monroe to form the band with an agreement that McCoy would join later. McCoy did not join the band immediately, because he was the guitarist for the Finnish punk band Pelle Miljoona Oy. Hanoi Rocks was formed in Helsinki in 1980 by Michael Monroe (Matti Fagerholm) and his friend, guitarist Andy McCoy (Antti Hulkko).
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Although musically closer to traditional rock n' roll and punk, the band have been cited as a major influence in the glam metal genre for bands such as Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Poison.Īccording to Finnish radio and TV personality Jone Nikula, who was the band's tour manager in the 2000s, Hanoi Rocks's albums have sold between 780,000 and 1,000,000 copies around the world, but mostly in Scandinavia and Japan. Original vocalist Michael Monroe and guitarist Andy McCoy reunited in 2001 with a new lineup that lasted until 2009. The band broke up in June 1985 after the drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a car accident during their first US tour in December 1984. Hanoi Rocks became internationally the most successful and influential Finnish band of the 1980's and they released five studio albums and two live albums before disbanding in June 1985. Glam/hard rock band from Helsinki, Finland, founded in 1979.
