In Memorium... "On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams" For the Late Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley
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| Razzle, pictured far right. |
December the 8th is one of the darkest days in the history of rock music. Three musician's lives were cut tragically short on this date. John Lennon in 1980, Dimebag Darrell Abbott in 2004 and Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley in 1984. All three were taken way too soon. All by the hands or the actions of another. Lennon and Dimebag annually receive numerous tributes on this date. Razzle and his band mates in Hanoi Rocks deserve one as well.
Nicholas Dingley (nicknamed Razzle, which was emblazoned on his drum kit instead of the names of bands he played with) died December 8th, 1984 as a passenger in a sports car driven by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil, who was found to have a blood alcohol content level of 0.17 at the time of the crash. The head on collision with another vehicle in Redondo Beach, CA also resulted in serious injuries to 18-year old Lisa Hogan and 20-year old Daniel Smithers. This tragedy effectively killed the band Hanoi Rocks not long after.
Despite the passage of more than a quarter century since its release, Hanoi Rocks' fifth album, Two Steps from the Move, is a set of music which should be considered a lost classic. Released just over three months prior to Razzle's death, the album truly withstands the test of time without sounding dated. The band had perfected its sleazy glam rock revivalist sound with this 1984 release, produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd's The Wall, KISS' Destroyer, Peter Gabriel (I).) The lead off track from the album is this rocking cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Up Around The Bend".
This is an album I have spun countless times since it originally released. One of the best tracks on it is the melodramatic power ballad, "Don't You Ever Leave Me," featuring a spoken word bridge by Razzle at the one minute mark.
Two Steps from the Move is a perfect example of the lost art of album crafting. The sequencing of the songs and their moods is spot on and the effect is not lost (perhaps improved, even) by no longer having to turn over your physical media.
If this is your first time hearing the music of Hanoi Rocks, do your ears and your rocking soul a favor and get a copy of Two Steps from the Move.
He never had the chance in his young life to have made a fraction of the impact on the music world as John Lennon or Dimebag Darrell, but Razzle's talent and memory lives on every time the music he recorded with Hanoi Rocks is listened to.
Rest in Peace... Razzle
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