Blackie Lawless
Talented singer, bassist, guitarist, and songwriter Blackie Lawless celebrates his 65th birthday today.
(Photo: Wallpaperflare.com)
Steven Edward Duren was born on September 4, 1956.
He was raised in the Staten Island area of New York, where he had a Baptist Christian upbringing.
Steven has Irish, French, and Indian ancestry, along with Jewish heritage.
His initial introduction to the guitar came through his brother, and he received his first guitar at the age of 9.
Steven has been influenced by bands like "AC/DC", "Black Sabbath", "The Beatles", "Kiss", and Alice Cooper.
The first band he joined was named "The Underside".
At 14, he was sent to a military boarding school but was expelled after a year.
When he was 16, he became part of the band "Black Rabbit" and later transitioned to "Orfax Rainbow".
In 1975, at 18, he took over for guitarist Johnny Thunders in the "New York Dolls" after Thunders left during a tour. Blackie completed the remaining shows in his place.
Six months later, he and Arthur Kane left the band, moved to Los Angeles, and formed "Killer Kane", which released one EP. He was then known as Blackie Goozeman.
In 1976, he formed the heavy metal band "Sister," which included guitarist Randy Piper, who would later form W.A.S.P. with Blackie. Nikki Sixx later joined the band, but Blackie fired him shortly after, leading Nikki to move on to "Motley Crue".
Even at that time, Blackie used gimmicks during performances, such as lighting his boots on stage or eating worms.
He formed "W.A.S.P." in 1982 and switched to playing bass guitar during this period.
The name W.A.S.P. stood for "White Anglo-Saxon Protestant" but also "We Are Sexual Perverts," which aligned more closely with the band's essence and the concept it aimed to represent at the start of its journey.
W.A.S.P. was part of the Shock-Rock genre, and its motto, from the very first single, was to shock and horrify!
From its inception and even prior to the release of its debut album, W.A.S.P. faced opposition from conservative groups because of its use of offensive and abusive language, as well as its portrayal of women with disdain and humiliation. The band's music videos frequently featured nude women, and the singer and bassist at the time, Blackie Lawless, was known for wearing leather pants with a chainsaw blade between his legs.
The band released its debut album in 1984. Read more about the album here:
On their second album "The Last Command", Blackie and W.A.S.P. shifted their musical style slightly towards heavy metal.
Following the departure of guitarist Randy Piper from W.A.S.P., Blackie transitioned from bass guitar to guitar. The band's third album, "Inside the Electric Circus," was the first to feature Blackie as the guitarist.
To date, Blackie Lawless has released 16 studio albums with the band, with the most recent one in 2015.
In 1987, Blackie co-wrote the song "Scream Until You Like It" with W.A.S.P. for the movie "Ghoulies II".
In addition to being a musician, Blackie also appeared in films such as "Can't Stop the Music" from 1980.
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