interviews2

I didn't say anything because I'm not that kind of person and I didn't want to make a fool of myself, then he [Nasty] just quit the tour which was an unfortunate thing (because) Demolition 23 then went to tour England and England is the market that we want, it's the one in the world, Finland too but England obviously in 1984 - it was the Hanoi years.

It was just the worst thing when Razzle was killed - Michael was totally devastated and it took him ten years to really you know...and the rest of the band tried to reform and stuff but Michael could not.
Even Andy (Mcoy, Hanoi rhythm guitarist) has been talking

Of Course, Mike was further devestated with Razzle and Jay (Hening, Demolition 23 guitarist)
" He (Jay)left notes for his sister and he thanked Michael and all of Demolition 23 for the best experience of his life and he's very much missed. It was a horrendous loss for anyone who knew him. Suicide in itself is terrible. It's just something that people never get over, if you've loved somebody and they do that to themselves.
It's just such a waste and Michael gets pissed off.
You feel a mixture of anger at the person and I'm very compassionate, I can understand why somebody would do that to themselves at the same time I'm feeling `What a fucking asshole'.

If you'd just hung in here for just a little while longer or kinda like gotten help or something. I feel very strongly about suicide and karmically it sucks ".

" really talented. He was one of these people who play with Michael and they expect things to happen very quickly and very easily, but unfortunately Girls, it just doesn't happen that way, it's not really that glamorous at all, it's really hard work ".

While we talk , Mike is being interviewed by two Japanese girls for Satellite TV.
Not wanting to dwell too much on the tragic deaths of John Sierra, Jay Hening or Razzle, we tell Jude about a guy in the crowd at the gig, who unaware that Mike was appearing suddenly realised who was on stage and said " F*ck Me, thats Mike Monroe ! ". It was a touching, telling moment, as Mike brought a much needed dose of rock n' roll charisma to the stage.

Another of Mike's guitarists, John Sierra also killed himself, by jumping off a roof. Apparently, one of Mike's former managers, or 'damagers' as he calls them believes that, like Jimmy Page, Michael has this 'black darkness' hanging over him. Jude relates that Sierra was

" What Michael does on stage...when I'm singing with him I cannot believe what he does, he throws himself out into the audience! I cant believe his saxophone playing, he's incredibly multi-talented. I know I'm not being incredibly objective but I'm not the only person who feels this way ".

"And nobody does all of them. Michael plays drums and guitar now. Andy Mcoy used to tell him when they first started `If you start playing guitar now and every day you'll be a better guitar player than I am' and guess what he is! Andy said `You Motherfucker, you are' ".

"He's still loveable. Have you heard of Pekka Lehto filmaker/documentary maker in Finland . He's financing this film about Andy in which Andy is called Andi. Andy is a piece of work, he's still an amazing human being, he's a great guitar player, he's got a lot of love in him, he's got a lot of things to work out. Anyway, this guy's making a film about him and he's lost a lot of money making it....

"Anyway that's what happened with Jay, God Bless him and I hope his soul is in peace. I just feel so sad that it came to that. He was 30, too young, always too young. He was in this band Star Star ( !) and they did a video and Michael was in it, he played this real slimy promoter, his hair's all slicked back and he introduces the band, Michael has a copy, but he doesn't like talking about Jay because it's too painful for him".

(Mike strolls over and says `You talking about Andy? and Jude says `But I'm saying good things about him. Mike just rolls his eyes) " First thing he had me do in the film was stand across the street across from a movie theatre and some guy behind me crashes his car and dies. Jude says `That's the Andy curse. I hate to say it, but if you get near this guy you better psychically shield yourself.
This guy (director Lehto) was like `Hey, you killed a guy. Rock and Roll !' - Yeah Right ....

Starfuckers that we are, we get Mike to sign a stack o' Hanoi vinyl and chat about the Uzi Suicide re-issue program. Was that to say thank you?
"Yeah, it was to say thank you and to let people know about Hanoi. That's why they were cool, they were secure enough in their own thing to say that they were our fans unlike Poison who were like `Hanoi Rocks? Oh, never heard of them' ".
When I ask Mike if he minds if we take a picture he says `Yeah, sure just let me do my makeup first' and I thought he was taking the piss until he whips out a compact. Funny.

and saying the band is reforming and they tried recently but [Razzle] he's dead. How many times do you have to say it, you know? He was just an incredible human being and very much missed to this day . These guys grew up together, they started when they were like 14 years old, they were brothers, they lived on the streets together and I just thought it was inconceivable that that could happen.