Metal Sludge Gossip Board

Obviously in 80s we didnt have a ton of research or knowledge, but I assumed most bands debut albums had the guys in their early 20s
Wasnt till the past decade when you can actually look up guys ages that you find out how old some guys were
ex
Ratt: Warren was 21 but Pearcy was already 28
Motley: Tommy 20, Vince 21 but Mick 31
Dokken: Don 29, George 28
Love/Hate: Jizzy 32
Quiet Riot: (Metal Health) Banali 32, DuBrow 28, Sarzo 33
Twisted Sister: JJ 30, Dee 27

Were you surprised how old some guys were when it became available?
Who else fits that older bill?

Doug Pinnick of Kings X was 37 when Out of the Silent Planet was released in 1988

In Bon Jovi, Alec and Tito pretended to be younger than they were.

I think they initially lied about Pearcy's age. You would sometimes read he was born in '59, when he was actually born in '56.

Mr. Big
Eric Martin - 28
Billy Sheehan - 36
Paul Gilbert - 22
Pat Torpey - 35

Biggest "surprise" was that both Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent were 30 when they joined Kiss in the early 80s, around the same age as the originals. Bruce Kulick was born just one year after Paul.

Vinnie Vincent Invasion, debut 1986
Robert Fleischman, 33
Dana Strum, 29
Vinnie Vincent, 34
Bobby Rock, 23

Saxon, debut in 1979.
Biff Byford, Paul Quinn, Pete Gill 28
Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson 27

Manowar, debut in 1982:
All 28 except drummer Donnie Hamzik 26

Andy Summers was 35 (soon 36) when The Police's debut was released.
Jet Black was 39 when Strangler's' debut was released.
Ed Cassidy was 45 when Spirit's debut was released.

Hellsinkey wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 2:36 am Andy Summers was 35 (soon 36) when The Police's debut was released.

Good call. His earliest Discogs credit is from 1965 and he even played on one of Jon Lord's solo albums before Police.

When the Stones first album was released, Jagger and Richards would have been just 20. Brian Jones and Charlie Watts were both 22. Bill Wyman, the old man of the group, was about to turn 28.

Love_Industry wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:10 am

Hellsinkey wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 2:36 am Andy Summers was 35 (soon 36) when The Police's debut was released.

Good call. His earliest Discogs credit is from 1965 and he even played on one of Jon Lord's solo albums before Police.

Great call. He was the first guy that came to mind. He must have been nine or ten years older than the others.

This thread wouldn't be right without mention of the classic Sludge interview with Anthony Focx from Beautiful Creatures.
https://metalsludge.tv/classic/?p=28540
I've never heard of him before or since but it's worth a re-read.

CrankerBait wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:14 am

Love_Industry wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:10 am

Hellsinkey wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 2:36 am Andy Summers was 35 (soon 36) when The Police's debut was released.

Good call. His earliest Discogs credit is from 1965 and he even played on one of Jon Lord's solo albums before Police.

Great call. He was the first guy that came to mind. He must have been nine or ten years older than the others.

Also Brian Johnson, 33 when he joined AC/DC and older than the others.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Def Leppard:

Rick Allen 16
Rick Savage 19
Joe Elliott 20
Steve Clark 20
Pete Willis 20

TUFF "WCAGA" released May 1991, we were signed roughly 1 year earlier spring/summer 1990.


When Tuff Debut Released (May 1991)
Stevie - 25
Todd - 24
Jorge - 24
Michael - 23

When Tuff Signed to Atlantic (Summer 1990)
Stevie - 24
Todd - 23
Jorge - 23
Michael - 22

When I joined Tuff (July 11th 1987)
Stevie - 21
Todd - 20
Jorge - 20
Michael - 19


$tEvil

By debut do you mean when they first picked up a guitar and got lessons from their rich supportive musical parent families?

I'm pretty sure "another forum" "rival" to metal sludge already mentioned how if you watched all those VH-1 documentaries all your rockstar heroes got guitars for Christmas while watching KISS on tv. With parental support and nepo baby contacts gaven them ample time to play with ridiculous sounds, images and concept ideas. Bon Jovi doing the STAR WARS Christmas album being one of them.

Meanwhile you were stuck in the gate at age 16-18 with your Cash Converters knock off secondhand imitation brand guitar? Best of luck with your equally deluded Yellow Pages/Gregs List guitar teacher thinking you have/had a shot at the big time.

GoodJudge wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:30 am This thread wouldn't be right without mention of the classic Sludge interview with Anthony Focx from Beautiful Creatures.
https://metalsludge.tv/classic/?p=28540
I've never heard of him before or since but it's worth a re-read.

I think of that A. Focx interview whenever age comes up on here. Great to see that the interview still exists - thanks for the link!

The guys in Autograph were all over 30 I think, and at least half of them are dead already.

Jarvis Cocker of Pulp was 31 when the band broke thru in 1994, he was 20 at the time of the band's debut.

Rick James was 30 when his first album was released.... 33 when he hit big with "Superfreak".

Charles Bradley released his debut album 'No Time for Dreaming' at 62

factchecker wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 9:35 am By debut do you mean when they first picked up a guitar and got lessons from their rich supportive musical parent families?

I'm pretty sure "another forum" "rival" to metal sludge already mentioned how if you watched all those VH-1 documentaries all your rockstar heroes got guitars for Christmas while watching KISS on tv. With parental support and nepo baby contacts gaven them ample time to play with ridiculous sounds, images and concept ideas. Bon Jovi doing the STAR WARS Christmas album being one of them.

Meanwhile you were stuck in the gate at age 16-18 with your Cash Converters knock off secondhand imitation brand guitar? Best of luck with your equally deluded Yellow Pages/Gregs List guitar teacher thinking you have/had a shot at the big time.

Oh, yeah, all those rich rockers, who fall back on their familial millions once the fame stops, and never have to embarrass themselves playing pubs and corndog circuit shows.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 10:18 amOh, yeah, all those rich rockers, who fall back on their familial millions once the fame stops, and never have to embarrass themselves playing pubs and corndog circuit shows.

I'm fully aware that a lot of bands don't make as much money anymore and either pissed it all away. Or their large houses heating bill bankrupted them or they opened a profit losing restaurant etc.

What I was talking about was getting noticed by debut by starting out young. Rather trying to thread the needle with a perfect sound, a perfect debut record and not being too old. Korn, Avril Lavigne and New Found Glory had to toy with multiple musical genre ideas and demos before releasing an official debut. Korn played house parties while young, Lavigne was going to be pop before her Mallrat anthem introduced early 2000 males to "alternative" and I heard New Found were a hardcore punk band before they went slightly above heavy pop punk.

I do wonder why Vince Neil plays to 100 people at a corn circuit, sells crap quality t-shirts and flys to some dive pub in the UK where no-one knows who he is. Despite allegedly having a nice Vegas property and a revolving door of purse habit girlfriends. Being rich and poor at the same time?

factchecker wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2024 10:18 am
I do wonder why Vince Neil plays to 100 people at a corn circuit, sells crap quality t-shirts and flys to some dive pub in the UK where no-one knows who he is. Despite allegedly having a nice Vegas property and a revolving door of purse habit girlfriends. Being rich and poor at the same time?

Because without adoring fans and willing sluts around, Vince Neil has to face that he is a fat 62 year old depressed drunk who was cool and looked great 30 years ago, lost his daughter and killed his friend. By keeping busy he keeps some semblance of sanity.

FreddyFender wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:42 am Rick James was 30 when his first album was released.... 33 when he hit big with "Superfreak".

But he had been kicking around Canada, California, and Buffalo/Niagara for years before then... he was in a group with Neil Young in the 60s, then he got arrested for going AWOL from the Navy. He went back to Buffalo and formed the Stone City Band and then finally signed with Motown.

GoodJudge wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:30 am This thread wouldn't be right without mention of the classic Sludge interview with Anthony Focx from Beautiful Creatures.
https://metalsludge.tv/classic/?p=28540
I've never heard of him before or since but it's worth a re-read.

Hahaha that was great. Haven’t read that in years!

The singers from Malice and Hericane Alice were in their thirties ,

Todd Jensen said when he was in Hardline that the record label told him to say he was 27 when he was 34 or 33 ,

I always thought Jack Russell was older than he said he was,
and probably other GW members too .

Dio was a whopping 33 when the first Rainbow album came out.

I think the Runaways were all fifteen or sixteen when they started. I know Lita was 17, making her the oldest at the time.

GoodJudge wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:30 am This thread wouldn't be right without mention of the classic Sludge interview with Anthony Focx from Beautiful Creatures.
https://metalsludge.tv/classic/?p=28540
I've never heard of him before or since but it's worth a re-read.

good times.

I don't recall, but did he ever respond after the interview was posted?

Weren't the guys in Trixter supposed to be in high school when their debut came out? They all looked much older than what was advertised.