Blackie Lawless - leader of the WASP group Biography, personal life, creativity

Blackie Lawless is a well-known musician, leader of the WASP group. Are you interested in his personal and creative biography? All the necessary information about him is presented in the article. We wish you a pleasant reading!

Biography: family

Stephen Edward Duren - so truly call our hero. He was born September 4, 1956 in Florida, but his youth was held at Staten Island (one of the districts of New York).

In what kind of family was the future musician brought up? His father was a military man. And after retiring he created his own construction company. Stephen's mother received a higher pedagogical education, but for many years she was a housewife. The musician had a brother Clifford, who died in November 2012. Our hero has a sister, Brenda.

Childhood

Blackie Lawless Grew up an active and sociable boy. In the yard he had many friends. Even then, he showed his leadership qualities.

At the age of 9, our hero began to show interest in music. In a short time, the boy learned to play the guitar. Soon he created his musical collective The Underside. At that time, the idol of Blackie and his peers was Elvis Presley.

Stormy youth

At 12, Stephen Duren turned into a real bully. He stoned the windows in the houses with stones, sharpened other people's cars with sharp objects, and so on. At the age of 13, during a street fight, the boy was stabbed. Parents tried to put their son on the right path. When he was 14 years old, the boy went to military school. Mother and father insisted on this. In this institution, Stephen was delayed for only a year and a half. He was expelled because of the beating of the senior sergeant.

The beginning of the creative path

At 16, Blackie Lawless became a member of the Black Rabbit group. The team performed in clubs and restaurants in New York. Part of his fee our hero gave to his parents.

In 1974, Stephen joined the New York Dolls. He took the place of Johnny Sanders who left the band. In the same place the guy got acquainted with bass player Arthur Kane. For half a year, Lawless acted as part of this group. Then he and Arthur decided to move to Los Angeles. Nobody began to forcibly keep them.

In Los Angeles, the buddies created a new group called Killer Kane Band. Arthur played the bass guitar, Blackie was a vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Also, the guys were joined by two musicians - Jimmy (drums) and Andy (solo guitar).

In 1975, a band led by Blackie Lawless released a demo album. Cool. During one of the concerts our hero met Paul Daniel Frauley. This young man began his creative career with the KISS team.

New project: Sister Group

Blackie began working with Randy Piper. They formed the Sister group. These guys created a frightening image for themselves. Their speeches were held against the background of pentagrams, blood spots and raw pieces of meat. The musicians made a bright make-up, highlighting the eyes and lips in black.

Lawless was trying to shock the public. In front of hundreds of spectators, he ate live worms and raw meat, it was Sister leader who threw all these at people. It would seem that this behavior should push the fans away from the group. However, this did not happen. After all, people who adored heavy metal, hooligan antics and a frightening atmosphere came to their concerts.

When Blackie played in Sister, he met Chris Holmes. This guitar virtuoso Lawless found in the magazine Hustler in the section Beaver Hunt. Chris was a talented guy with a rebel character. He was expelled seven times from school for his terrible behavior, and the guy was in no hurry to improve for the better. He devoted much time to playing the guitar. I must say that Chris has mastered this tool. It was this guy that was missing the Sister group. Blackie offered Chris cooperation, and Holmes agreed.

After some time the collective released 3 demo albums. The Sister Group existed from 1976 to 1978. B. Lawless and R. Piper created a new project Circus-Circus, but he had no particular success. The 1970s were bad times for such a direction as heavy metal. Therefore, the group Sister also failed. The guys could not find a label that could record and promote them. Although the performances of the collective in the clubs were excellent, the local audience sang along with them.

WASP

Black Lawless believed that he would certainly achieve world fame. In 1982, our hero, together with Randy Piper began to create a new group. They were joined by Tony Richards and Don Costa. But it was not the final composition. One day a fight broke out between Lawless and Payer. As a result, Randy had to leave the group. In its place came already known to us Chris Holmes. The collective consisting of four persons, has received name WASP

In late 1982, the guys gave the first concerts in Los Angeles. The new composition and repertoire came to the liking of the local audience. In May 1983 the team was already able to sell almost 3000 tickets. After the WASP speech on the largest Santa Monica Civic Hall, the band had to part with Don Costa. And the fault of all his inadequate behavior on the stage. Blackie found the strength and reconciled with Randy. So, Piper got into the band again.

At the end of 1983, musicians from WASP signed a contract with one of the best record companies. That's not all. In 1984, the band began collaborating with the label Capitol Records. Then the guys started recording the first disc, which was called WASP. It was released in August 1984, the entire edition was sold out by the fans of the band.

Achievements

To date, WASP discography is presented by 15 studio albums and 3 concert collections. The guys acted in 5 video clips and gave hundreds of concerts in the largest cities of the USA and Europe. Heavy metal is a genre in which they have proven themselves as true professionals.

Blackie Lawless: personal life

The thousands of WASP fans want to know if the heart of the legendary musician is free. Let's take a closer look at Lawless's personal life.

The first time he married when he was little in 20 years. This marriage was only on a crazy passion, which soon passed. The couple quietly and peacefully parted. And after a while, Blackie found out that the ex-wife had given birth to a son from him. Our hero recognized the boy and promised to provide him with material assistance.

In 2009, American tabloids reported on the novel of the leader of the WASP group and the 27-year-old model. Her name and surname were not disclosed. The musician does not hurry to officially formalize relations with her. For several years now, the couple live in a civil marriage. They dream of having children together.

Interesting Facts

• Our hero believes that heavy metal is anarchy, which is understood and accepted by far not all.
• The rise of Blackie Lawless is 193 cm. For a long time he was engaged in basketball and baseball.
• At the concerts of the tour, organized in support of the debut album, the musician took with him a box of fresh meat. He scattered pieces around the room and gave them a chewing group. Thus, the boys mimicked the behavior of wild animals.
• More recently, Stephen Duren considers himself a believer. The scandalous legacy of the WASP team is embarrassing.
• Composition Scream until you like it was used as a soundtrack to the famous film "Gremlins-2."
• Blackie - the only member of the group, which is in it from the very beginning. In an interview with the print media, he repeatedly stated that he did not want the reunification of the 1980s.

Finally

Now you know where Blackie Lawless was born, trained and worked. Biography, career and personal life of the musician - all this was considered by us. We wish such a bright and talented person to advance in creativity and victories on the love front.