This past weekend was a classic case of Back To The Future as three of the classic bands from the 80’s Sunset Strip heyday came together again all on one stage at the Whisky in Hollywood a venue was home to all of these groups 40 years ago. For this photographer it was especially cool as I had previously worked with three of these groups having done the Bitch album cover for Be My Slave and promo shoots for London and Leatherwolf as well as the gatefold image for their just re-issued Endangered Species album.
Written by Don Adkins
It was a fully loaded bill of artists with 5 opening acts before the triumvirate of Bitch, London and Leatherwolf did their sets. Starting with Bitch, fronted by LA’s metal queen Betsy who originally came on the scene in 1980 fronting the reggae/ska band The Boxboys who I first experienced on this same stage. During the reggae/ska craze this group was popular on the LA music scene, but deep down inside Betsy had a rock and metal heart. Three years later after answering a vocalist wanted ad in Music Connection magazine Betsy reemerged like a blowtorch fronting Bitch, the first female fronted band signed to the Metal Blade record label. The latest line-up on this group still can be found lighting up stages in SoCal and Betsy and the band is really a cohesive force.
Next up was London, a band that I had gotten to know and work with during their headlining shows at the former Starwood in Hollywood. This is the band that used to be the home of bassist Nikki Sixx before he left to start Mötley Cruë. Following the departure of former Mott lead singer Nigel Benjamin left and after two more lead singer changes settled on their current lead singer Nadir D’Priest who fronts the band to this day. Originally more of a pop influenced rock band this group is much more metallic 40 years later as evidenced by the live show and last year’s appearance at the Metal Hall Of Fame. Nadir is charismatic and his 5 bandmates know how to deliver the goods live with their high energy set.
Closing out the evening was Leatherwolf whose driving force is original drummer and producer Dean Roberts. This group rose up in the 80’s alongside peer groups like Metallica and Slayer quickly drawing large LA audiences which resulted in their major record deal with Island Records alongside U2 and Robert Palmer. This group has had a myriad of lineup changes over the decades but this current line-up that includes RockGodz Hall Of Fame guitarist Rob Math is as solid as it gets. I was felt taken back to the 80’s in a good way as they delivered a high wattage set to the die-hard audience to close out the evening.
These three bands are still very active and worth seeing live on their own — having all three on one stage was the coolest way to spend a Saturday night, the past and the present in all its metal glory.
The image gallery below shows some images from this show.
Written and Photography all rights reserved by Don Adkins
https://www.instagram.com/donadkinsphoto
Leatherwolf web site
London web site
Bitch web site
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