Awesome ! What part of Alabama ?

Electric Circus is my favorite too! Killer album! I'm glad you got to meet him!

You need to listen to some more recent albums. The drumming is so much better. Try Dying for the World or Unholy Terror.

The first album is the best and the drumming is great but there is great drumming on crimson idol.

Agreed. There might be better overall on every album,but no one outside hardcore WASP fans talk about it. Tony was the best drummer they ever had.

Nothing is better than KFD

@@davidames1746 you mean kfc.

Much appreciated. Thank you, Todd.

This is an awesome channel

@@anthonypeters44 Thanks for listening, Anthony.

Great channel. And I’m a subscriber.

Agree..

Agree!

Yall are crazy

Lost Band.

Blackie wrote all of W.A.S.P.'s songs from day one.

I hear ya on Blackie, but that doesn't mean Tony didn't fuck up and just didn't see it too. If you've never been in a band with a fuck up who blames everything on everyone else it might be hard to relate to there possibly being more than one "bad guy" in a story like this.

As I'm getting older I actually start to see how smart Black has been the last 30 odd years. His career moves have been nothing but brilliant compared to the majority of bands from back when they started out.

@@StONed-mb1iv He was young and bored.People do strange stuff and those women participated in that stupidity too.People also grow and wisen up and become better....sometimes.

@@dirface He didn't sell his soul or self destruct.

Sounds to me like Blackie made the right decision. Tony Richards was a serious problem waiting to happen, and it happened. Can't blame Blackie for protecting his own interests and his band

Clive Burr had a medical condition and basically had to retire. He couldn't continue drumming to the extent that Maiden would've needed him to. He's talked about it in interviews that he's done.

@@samuelgirard1407 Clive Burr got a medical condition (and he died out of that) nearly 20 years after he was dismissed from Iron Maiden... He was given the boot from Maiden because he was a heavy party dude, that's what it was told at the time and during the last years previous to Clive's disease he several times declared that he wasn't partying more than the rest of the band, so I guess we'll never know the real truth of it :/

@@franciscomartingutierrez951 Well years later we have other accounts from Bruce's book and others around at the time that he was forced out the band because he stopped getting on with Steve Harris. They came up with the whole drugs and alcohol thing after but they all did some of that on tour really, apparently Steve and Clive had a falling out on tour cumulating in a show where Clive purposely slowed down his playing to wind Steve up. During the tour Clive's dad died so he went home to sort out the funeral and they played a couple of dates with Nicko behind a mask which was really a bit of a stitch up as it acted as an audition for his replacement who Steve and Rod preferred. Steve also tried to kick Bruce out the band after arguments with Bruce on tour, they nearly got into a fist fight while filming for the Number of the Beast video and Steve demanded he be fired. Rod smoothed that one over because he knew they needed Bruce and which way the wind was blowing on their rise as a more commercial metal band.

The fact that he's done nothing shows you they made the right decision in firing him. Seems like he was out of control for years.

Blackie set him up to fail imo, forcing him to play the kit as is. He's a lefty!!! Unreal.

@@davidperez5089 Blackie is not going to fly him out there and not let the guy move a few drums and cymbals around. Here's what happened. The drum kit was fine. The drummer was not fine. The drummer blamed the drum kit and Blackie for his own shortcomings.

@@Explorer766 who knows...

All the hate on Blackie is not deserved. Try dealing with smack addicts. You saw it.

Great to read your comment. Thank you so much.

@@fullinbloom ...I like the cassette sound, takes me back to those exciting & sometimes dingy sounding cassette days when i hear it. I still play my old cassettes I had in the 1980s sometimes, especially the old mix tapes I made, still like the songs (Dokken, Scorpions - Uli/Matthias, Vinnie Vincent Invasion etc) . I reckon it's the emotion/nostalgia you remember on the particular recording format that matters.

Have you heard of Stet Howland and Frankie Banali? They were legendary drummers. Tony had drug problems. That is why he had to go.

I saw wasp in 04 Stet Howland was the drummer he was a beast

Frankie Banali is definitely better

no the frummer on KFD is the best drummer

The drumming on WASP (1984) is epic. Agree that both Howland and Banali are/were great drummers. But the debut album will forever stand out as their best album. Hands down!

Glad you dig it. Thanks for listening, Jacob.

Heroin Addiction

@@johnconnell4503 cant recall how many members lawless got rid of, surely they couldn't all be heroine addicts, randy piper leaving was another nail in the coffin, and lawless didn't do the band any favours by switching to rhythm guitar, they had it all in the first album, and within a year, that spark was gone, could have been massive, imho

Chris Holmes said 1st record was a group record...after the success he said the 2nd record and on was the Blackie show. Why 1st album had member's on it and after that it was just Blackie.

I love the 1984 lineup of WASP. The best. Steve Riley as replacement of Tony Richards was a JOKE.

He was an addict, no way was he going to be a benefit to the band.

U right!!!!

His pose on the album was like a picture of the Warrior!

Thanks for listening.

Why? Because he drank away his job and marraige? Give me a break.

@@shaynewest8757 Hate to say it ...Sounds about right.

"...when Blackie decided he wanted to play guitar & got rid of Randy I never listened to them again" Yep...that was the final nail in the coffin for me as well.

Yep same here. I thought that original band was dangerous or lunatics or something LOL. When they got rid of Tony I was so disappointed and it just wasn't the same. After the first I jumped off. When Tony was gone and then Randy I knew it was a joke

@@foamrob6577 Circus was it for me, I had to stretch a little even with Last Command , but Circus ...Done. The first album has the best drum "sounds" on any album EVER. In my opinion, if wasp wasn't going to sound like that then pishhhhhhhh!

@@mysteriesoftherealm Totally agree. I did a few listens to Command but....nope.

@@foamrob6577 It doesn't really sound good from an engineering perspective. Of course that is only an opinion. Kiss Dynasty, sounds better from 79, ha ha aha aha

Right!?

@Samí Warrior It's different when the band is essentially you "Blackie" and you've had previous issues with band members who cannot control their vices. Chris (in his own words) was not drunk or high when they went out on stage. Tony was, most often.

@Samí Warrior nah, the truth is, nobody really gives a fuck what you think. Tony was still fired from WASP. Still couldn't control his vices. And NO,, he wasn't that good of a drummer or he would have kept playing even if playing by himself in a room of his house. A musician who is passionate about their craft doesn't stop just like that. Peter Criss didn't stop playing when he was kicked out of KISS. Riley was a far better drummer. That Double-bass you hear occasionally on the Self Titled Album, that's not Tony and the songs sounded a little different when he played live. So it's likely that some songs were recorded with a different drummer, probably one of the many session musicians available in L.A. As Royalties are concerned, your image doesn't earn royalties unless you've trademarked your image. If you didn't write lyrics or create a specific sound, you don't get Royalties over the music. Drunkenly saying "hey, let's write a song about having to go to school, hahaha!" is not songwriting. None of that makes Tony a bad person. He's got a great heart. That's why Blackie reached out to him again for Crimson Idol. But there are many thinks Tony could have done, LIKE PRACTICE BEFORE HE GOT TO THE STUDIO. Rent his own drumkit before and after. Blackie gave him a chance to earn some money as a session musician and be on the last WASP album under the CAPITOL label. Tony did NOTHING that makes sense to even the casual musician. I play bass and a handful of other instruments. If Blackie calls Me up and says he wants Me to play guitar or piano on a song on the next album, guess what I am going to do! I am going to rehearse on guitar and piano. Even to some of the recent albums to get a feel for what the songwriting had been trending. But for Tony, "The Torture Never Stops".

@@m.vondrake5534 I agree with most of what you wrote but that Tony wasn't that good of a drummer... there aren't that many live footage (almost none) of him playing but by listening to his recording and also watching the clips you can see that the guy was a great drummer, it only takes to see him how he sits and moves, I'm not saying he's Neil Peart but he was a highly talented drummer but with a non so good ethic for work, or at least that's what we've said from the W.A.S.P. camp since decades now :)

@@franciscomartingutierrez951 I had seen them live a handful of times. There's semi-live footage of Tony Richards playing with WASP in the movie "Dungeon Master" but the soundtrack has double-bass so it's obviously overdubbed with a different drummer, as is some of the Self Titled album. My point in saying he "wasn't that good of a drummer" was he wasn't dedicated to his craft of drumming, otherwise he wouldn't have stopped playing. I know plenty of musicians, like myself, who continue to practice and rehearse in between projects. And there are Plenty of musicians that are addicts that never chose to stop playing. And you don't get better by not playing. Do you think Steve Riley or Frankie Banali (rip) would stop playing long enough to Not be able to record one song for Blackie when asked? Frankie was gigging just weeks before he passed. Tony quit days after he was fired. He didn't stop doing dope tho. So where was his passion? Drums or Dope? Blackie knew what that answer was. Everyone else in the band and management knew what that answer was. That's why he was fired. Blackie has said in interviews that he doesn't mind if people have vices but he doesn't like when people cannot control those vices. Tony says he speaks the truth but it cannot be the real truth unless he comes to grips about why he was fired.

That album still surprises me on how raw, melodic and ground breaking their style was at the time.

One of my Top Ten all time…

Thank you for listening.

Always grateful. Thank you, my friend.

@@fullinbloom You need to post a PayPal account email address so people can start sending you some money to your PayPal account for all the work you do I’d be happy to donate some money to your channel

@@fullinbloom Donate the channels that I feel are ahead of their time and doing stuff that nobody else is ever done before and nobody has really done before producers have been interviewed and magazines and this and that once in a while you’re doing something that nobody else is doing and I think it’s fantastic

@@fullinbloom This popped up on my feed, surprised since I left music many years ago. Funny is that my high school band played "Be Somebody" at our talent show in 1985. I have many WASP and Chris Holmes stories(girl friend was there in Austin with them when Blind in Texas was inspired, played Chris's guitar past my knees...) I always wondered what became of Tony so this was a great chapter of the never ending story we call Rock. Thanks for bringing it to light.

​@@ModernMountainLiving Music to my ears. It sounds like you need to do an interview. I'd love to hear about your WASP stories. I interviewed Jason years ago, but it was a print interview. I have thought about getting some Dangerous Toys stories on the podcast several times. If you are up for it, you can contact me via the website, fullinbloom.com, or let me know how to reach you.

Especially from Chris Holmes interviews

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Maybe Blackie was right.

Blackie still has a career, so business-wise, yes.

No body wanted him around he couldn't be trusted not to break shit. who do you hang around that always breaks stuff ? You'd want him gone too, cuz he was breaking the law and blackie wasn't playing that, he wanted to play shows, makes perfect sense.

Nobody want's to hire a hard core Herion addict. In LA, your reputation preceeds you. Get real people. Tony could have seeked help and got his shit together, but he didn't do that. He was too in love with the drug. Thats the end of the story!! Sad, but factual!!

He did from 1987 to 1989 He played with Max Havoc after being with them briefly before in 1983 .

I agree for the most part. On the other hand great band leaders know how to handle different personalities and use them for the common good. For example a guy like Blackie probably would´ve fired Keith Moon if he´d been in the leading role in The Who. Pete Townshend surely knows his own value too, but at the same time he always understood the importance of the band having four big personalities. Seems to me Blackie is ruling a little musical pond when he actually could´ve been part of a more longer term musical ocean.

@@carl-johanfougstedt199 thats possible sure. On the flip, maybe Keith Moon would be alive today if someone had intervened in his life and he could have realized his choices were ruining his life and he would be alive today. Maybe the real greed was Townshend who ignored the man's demons for the sake of making more money fearful that replacing Keith would cost them money. No doubt running a band or a company requires great management skills and while there are a few ex members if not all that say Blackie was controlling and in it for himself, there are many others who thought he was a great guy and a hard worker. See the other interview by FIB where he interviews the producer of Inside the Electric Circus. Guy speaks very highly of Blackie. There are moments when we have to fire people who then go on too greatness (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Arthur Blank, etc.) And any interview of those people they all speak too how failure redefined them and created a greater persistence and drive. Others pick up the bottle or some other vice to cope with failure. Great ones persevere no matter what. As the saying goes, Know when to hold em and know when to fold em. Hiring great people is as important as firing bad people. I would say that possibly the way Blackie treated Chris, was not cool and underhanded. On the other hand I know Chris was a debilitating alcoholic and the scene in Decline of Western Civilization was a real blow to the band and cause for a lot if embarrassment for the band as the single most recognized moment in the film. The infamous Pool Interview. Chris would have 5 or 6 DWIs by the mid 90s. He would continue to use meth well into the most recent periods of his stay in the U.S. maybe moving to France he got clean idk. But I know for a fact he was using meth until that move. So is Blackie at fault? Or Chris? Or both? I love Chris. One if my guitar heroes. Love Blackie too for writing and composing some excellent material that impacted my life very positively.

Further point. If Blackie were as greedy and self centered as they say, I say, he hasn't written a book about any of it. He stays quiet about those members or there problems in the press and doesn't throw shit on those guys like they do him. Even out of spite he doesn't do it. He's actually been very cordial despite it. A book written by Blackie would sell really well and I'm sure he has lots of slag to throw. All things to consider. Hope you have a good year my friend and great pointA

@@Lordhumongus You really have many good points both here and in your comments above. I´ve reflected over all criticism against Blackie. Some say he´s greedy, some say he´s a control freak, some say he´s cold and distant, some say he´s egoisthic and some say he´s a fake. I obviously don´t know Blackie personally, but one thing is bothering me in many comments. It´s the same thing that you are referring to. Both Richards and Holmes have been boozing and using drugs and at least Holmes have been badmouthing Blackie already during his membership in W.A.S.P. Makes me wonder why Blackie is the bad guy, when he wants to keep the bandtrain on the right trail. You made also a brilliant point in lifting up that Blackie has kept his mouth shut about his former bandmembers. Blackie is a very smart and highly articulative person. He could sweet-talk his way out of all accusations and throw dirt on his former bandmembers if he wanted to, but he´s not done that. My guess is that Blackie can have good and friendly conversations with people who stand up to his intellectual standards. He´s not a small talk guy at all. We all have to remember that W.A.S.P started as a studio project and then when the music really seemed to work Blackie collected a band. Then he came up with all theatrical and shocking stage show elements to catch the attention of the audiences. It worked out well and the first record of W.A.S.P. was a huge success. My second guess is that Blackie felt in a few years trapped by the shocking elements and he wanted to be taken more seriously. I actually think he´s a very serious guy. I´m sure he has his flaws. It seems to be a fact that he was greedy and Richards got a very shitty deal, but nevertheless Blackie is in my opinion one of the best heavy metal/hard rock singers and he´s a great songwriter. Hope you have a good year too!

Sounds like bitter jealousy, it's a job if you cant commit go the fuck home

Thank you, Brian.

👍🤘🤘

Nice to get some female perspective on here. Thank you for your well-thought-out comment, Colleen.

@@fullinbloom Thank you full in bloom.I appreciate that!

Wow. Sorry to hear this. You guys definitely kicked ass.

@@jb-yi4di Cool words Jeff, glad you like the music. You are one of the ones that make the world keep spinning.

Dangerous Toys were great! First time I heard you guys was on the Shocker Soundtrack. I then had to track down the first album; that wasn’t easy in Australia back then!

@@BrisbaneAOR Too Cool. The Shocker song was our song we closed most shows with called Dangerous Toys(I am the boy with the Dangerous Toy). Desmond Childs rewrote it for the Shocker Sound track. If you dig deep you can hear the original on a live album.

First Dangerous Toys album is great.

I think he's supposed to early next year, for the WASP 40th anniversary.

The band wasn't the same without Randy Piper either.

@@corvettebmw no it wasn’t....when Randy Piper left,that was the end of WASP for me....

@@scottpeters4401 Thats what i meant, the band was not the same without Piper, i was done when he left as well.

Thank you for your kind words, M.K. Firework! The theme is taken from a song called "The Parting" by FOOL OF FATE. Regarding the interesting choice, I've always had a hard time meeting expectations, or following rules.

Oh sh!t. Thanks, Joey. Proud to be part of your addiction.

Agree 100 %

True words.

Music to my ears. Thank you, Bruce.

@@fullinbloom yea, this is great....thanks!

@@randallfloyd4476 Thanks for listening, Randall.

It's taken from a song called "The Parting" by the band FOOL OF FATE.