Michael Monroe

Michael Monroe is the stage name of Matti Fagerholm, a Finnish singer from Helsinki. He begins as a saxophone player in Finnish bands in the late 1970s before switching to vocals and co-founding Hanoi Rocks in 1980. He is the lead singer of Hanoi Rocks and is associated with hard rock, glam rock, glam metal, glam punk, punk rock and rock.

Hanoi Rocks

Hanoi Rocks forms around Monroe, guitarist Andy McCoy, guitarist Nasty Suicide, bassist Sam Yaffa and drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley. The group is one of the early adopters of the glam look in the period that follows the late 1970s punk and garage rock scenes, while drawing on influences including the Stooges, early Alice Cooper, New York Dolls and Dead Boys. Its early releases include Bangkok Shocks, Self Destruction Blues, Oriental Beat and Back to Mystery City. After building a European following, the band signs to Columbia Records and later releases Two Steps from the Move. The death of Dingley in a car accident in 1984 leads to the group’s collapse the following year. Monroe later reunites with McCoy under the Hanoi Rocks name for Twelve Shots on the Rocks, Another Hostile Takeover and Street Poetry.

Solo career and other projects

After Hanoi Rocks ends, Monroe moves to New York and starts a solo career. His first solo release is Nights Are so Long, issued in Scandinavia and Japan. He later signs a worldwide solo deal with PolyGram Records, and Not Fakin’ It becomes his first solo album to receive a domestic release in the United States and his most successful solo release there. Monroe also appears on Sun City and on Guns N’ Roses releases including Use Your Illusion and The Spaghetti Incident?.

His later solo albums include Peace of Mind, Life Gets You Dirty, Take Them and Break Them and Whatcha Want. He records Jerusalem Slim in 1992 and forms Demolition 23. in 1995, releasing its self-titled album the same year. He also releases live album Another Night In the Sun: Live in Helsinki on Spinefarm Records, followed by the studio albums Sensory Overdrive, Horns and Halos and Blackout States.

Style and collaboration

Monroe’s solo work includes material influenced by the Dead Boys, and his early solo release features contributions from guitarist Jimmy Zero. A planned collaboration with former Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens does not come to fruition. Across his career, he works in both band and solo formats, and his recording history spans independent releases, major-label deals and later work for Spinefarm Records.