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Doro Pesch

Today we will tell you about Doro Pesch, a singer, and songwriter who greatly influenced the female Metal world and earned the nickname "Metal Queen".

(Photo: Fullmetalhipster.com)


1. She was born on June 3, 1964, in Düsseldorf, Germany, as Dorothee Pesch.


2. She is an only child who absorbed music at home from an early age. Her first musical memory is of herself at age 3 singing Little Richard's song "Lucille".


3. At the age of 10 she began to play the piano and sing. By this time she was already exposed to glam rock and bands like "T. Rex", "Sweet" and "Slade".


4. At the age of 16 she overcame tuberculosis which endangered her life. At that point, she decided she wanted to devote most of her time to music and singing.

(Photo: kickassforever.com)



5. She started her career singing in garage bands on the local Düsseldorf underground music scene and already in 1980, she joined her first band "Snakebite".


6. Her first recording as a singer was a demo that included 7 songs and was meant to market "Snakebite" to the record companies.


7. After the breakup of "Snakebite" in 1981, Doro moved to garage bands like "Beast" and "Attack".


8. In 1982 she formed "Warlock" with Peter Szigeti, Rudy Graf, Thomas Studier, and Michael Eurich.

(Photo: Musicscore.ms)


9. "Warlock" soon signed its first recording contract with "Mausoleum Records".


10. In 1984 the band released their debut album "Burning the Witches". Doro served as a singer and participated in the writing of the songs.


11. Already at this point Dorothy attracted the attention of the fans and the press and became the spokesperson and symbol of the band.


12. The voice and stage presence of Doro led "Warlock" to success in the metal scene of the '80s, which at the time was almost completely dominated by men.


13. The band's success leads it to the arms of the international label "Vertigo", with which they released their second album "Hellbound", in 1985. Doro participates in writing all the songs on the album.


14. In 1986 the band released their third album "True as Steel" and on August 16, 1986, Doro became the first woman to lead a metal band at the "Monsters of Rock" festival, which was the most important European metal festival of the '80s.


14. After completing the tour to promote the album "True as Steel", Doro moved to New York, where she recorded the album "Triumph and Agony" with "Warlock", which became their fourth and final album, released in 1987.

(Photo: https://bravewords.com)


15. It was the band's most successful album, which won the gold status in Germany and even entered the Billboard 200 charts in the US. The album features drummer, Cozy Powell.


16. At the end of "Warlock"'s tour in the USA in 1988, Doro remained the only German in the band, after all the other original members retired and were replaced by American musicians.


17. In 1989, while Doro was busy writing material for the band's next album, she lost a lawsuit against the band's former manager and was barred from using the name and rights of "Warlock".


18. From that date onwards she started releasing albums under the name "Doro", starting with the first album "Force Majeure" from 1989.


19. Here second album "Doro", released in 1990, was produced by none other than Gene Simmons.


20. Doro did not give up, she continued the legal battle for the name "Warlock" and eventually regained the rights in 2011.


21. In 2012 she released her 12th album "Raise Your Fist", which includes the songs "Revenge" and "Victory", apparently related to her victory in the legal battle.


22. The album also includes the song "Hero", which was dedicated to Ronnie James Dio, who passed away in 2010.


23. Doro also participates in the 1999 tribute album "Holy Dio: Tribute to Ronnie James Dio" and performs the song "Egypt (The Chains Are On)".


24. Doro is the first heavy metal artist to perform a "drive-in" concert during the Covid-19 crisis.


25. Doro is also known for her duets with singers and musicians from the metal scene, including: Motörhead, "Saxon", "Dio", "Scorpions", Udo Dirkschneider, and more.


26. To date she has released 17 studio albums as a solo artist and with "Warlock", the latest "Forever Warriors, Forever United" is from 2018.


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