Legendary Twisted Sister has once again addressed impact of Grunge on Hair Metal.
In a new interview with Tom La Vecchia of Armchair MBA, Dee was asked if he saw Seattle bands like NIRVANA and SOUNDGARDEN slowly gaining popularity of at the expense of 1980s metal.
Here’s what Dee said:
“Well, no one saw it coming, but I was already dead and semi-buried before grunge hit. TWISTED arrived in the early ’80s and then we hit our stride in the mid-’80s and by the late ’80s, the band had broken up”
“I had a band called DESPERADO [with former IRON MAIDEN drummer Clive Burr and ex-GILLAN guitarist Bernie Tormé] that got shelved by Elektra Records; a lot of money we spent on that record. So I was sort of already removed as a featured artist by that point, and I was struggling trying to find my footing with DESPERADO and then WIDOWMAKER. And then I got the letter in the mail, certified letter, ‘We have decided we’re no longer doing what you do — look like you, sound like you, sing like you, write like you, perform like you. We actually don’t want anything to do with anything you ever did. Sincerely, the music-buying public.’ [Laughs]
Dee added:
“And that’s when the bottom really fell out. I mean, imagine being a doctor who studied a form of medicine, and they found a cure for it. You’re a cancer specialist — a specialist; it’s what you dedicated your life to — and you get a pill that cures [cancer]. You’re out of work. Grunge cured hair metal. So I was out of work.”