Scandal

Scandal is the name of more than one rock act. The best-known group with this name in the available facts is the 1980s US rock band fronted by Patty Smyth, formed in New York City in 1981. It is also associated with a Japanese all-girl rock band that starts in Osaka in 2006, but the verified identifying details here point to the New York group.

New York rock band fronted by Patty Smyth

Scandal forms in New York City in 1981 and plays rock. The group is led by Patty Smyth on lead vocals. Zack Smith writes most of the band’s hits and plays guitars. Early members include bassist Ivan Elias, guitarist Keith Mack, keyboardist Benjy King, drummer Frankie LaRocka and, briefly, Jon Bon Jovi. Thommy Price later replaces LaRocka on drums.

The band has a string of US chart singles in the 1980s. “The Warrior” is its biggest hit, reaching number 7 in the US in 1984. Other singles include “Goodbye to You” (1982), “Love’s Got A Line On You” (1983) and “Hands Tied” (1984). By the time of the “The Warrior” tour in 1984, only Smyth and Mack remain from the original lineup. The group breaks up shortly after the tour ends in 1985.

Scandal reunites in 2004 for VH1’s Bands Reunited and plays a run of East Coast concerts, ending with a show at Irving Plaza in New York in February 2005. It reunites again in the summer of 2006 for VH1’s We Are The 80’s tour, without Thommy Price, and tours again in 2007 without Zack Smith. Later activity includes new music under the name Patty Smyth & Scandal, with original members Keith Mack and Benjy King involved. In 2009 the group debuts “Hard For You To Love Me”, also referred to as “Make It Hard”, and plans follow for an EP that expands toward a full-length release.

Personnel

Members listed across the group’s history include Patty Smyth, Zack Smith, Keith Mack, Benjy King, Ivan Elias, Kasim Sulton, Tom Welsch, Frankie LaRocka, Thommy Price and Eran Asias.

Japanese band with the same name

A separate band called SCANDAL starts in Osaka in August 2006, formed by four high school girls: HARUNA, MAMI, TOMOMI and RINA. They perform regularly in Shiroten and at clubs and music venues, gain recognition across Japan, and sign to Epic Records in September 2008 after interest from Tower Records. In 2008 they release three singles in three consecutive months, followed by a long run of albums, mini-albums and singles through the 2010s and 2020s.

The Japanese SCANDAL line-up is HARUNA on vocals and guitar, MAMI on guitar and vocals, TOMOMI on bass and vocals, and RINA on drums and vocals.