Michael Monroe

Matti "Makke" Antero Kristian Fagerholm (born 17 June 1962), also better known by the stage name Michael Monroe, a Finnish rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and saxophonist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks. He has also fronted several side projects, including Demolition 23. (sic) and Jerusalem Slim (with Steve Stevens).

Early life Monroe was born Matti "Makke" Fagerholm on 17 June 1962. His father Pentti Fagerholm (1935–2015) was a well-known Finnish radio personality and reporter.

Monroe has said that one of the first times he was exposed to rock and roll was when he saw Black Sabbath's 1970 Paris performance on television. Later, Monroe and McCoy briefly played together in a band called Bolin before Monroe went on to play saxophone in Maukka Perusjätkä's band, where he met guitarist Nasty Suicide.

After Razzle's death the band performed in Helsinki, Finland at a concert televised throughout Europe as part of the Europa Go Go project. The show had over 500 million viewers across Europe and was Hanoi Rocks' first public concert with their new drummer Terry Chimes. It was also their last performance with Sami Yaffa, who left the band due to personal differences with McCoy. The band tried to record demos with new members Rene Berg and Terry Chimes, but according to Michael Monroe things "didn't feel the same any more," and the band disbanded after a short tour of Poland. One of the shows in Poland was recorded and later became the Rock and Roll Divorce album, released after the band had already split up.

In December 1985 Monroe announced that he would move to New York, and in 1986 he founded his first solo band.

In 1987 he released his first solo album, Nights Are So Long. The album was a moderate hit, but it attracted big record labels, and in 1988 Monroe signed to Mercury Records. Axl Rose appeared in the music video for "Dead, Jail or Rock 'N' Roll", and the video was also screened at MTV's Headbangers Ball, which Monroe hosted.

At the time Not Fakin' It was released, Guns N' Roses' record label UZI Suicide was re-releasing Hanoi Rocks' albums in America. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash also made a guest appearance at Monroe's Los Angeles shows in December 1989, performing the song "Looking at You". Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler had also taken notice of Monroe and asked him to perform with Aerosmith at Les Paul's 75th birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, where Monroe played saxophone on the song "Big Ten Inch Record."

Monroe mostly spent the rest of 1989 and 1990 touring, but at the turn of the decade he performed along with Bryan Adams, Don Henley, Huey Lewis, and Loudness in two New Year's shows at the 70,000-seat Tokyo Dome in Japan, held on 31 December 1989 and 1 January 1990.

Monroe's solo career did not prove to be as successful as he had hoped, so in 1990 he decided to put together a new band called Jerusalem Slim, featuring former Billy Idol-guitarist Steve Stevens, Sami Yaffa, Greg Ellis, and Ian McLagan. The next year he appeared on Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I album, where he played harmonica and saxophone on the song "Bad Obsession." Monroe also later appeared on Guns N' Roses' 1993 album "The Spaghetti Incident?", where he sang on the cover of The Dead Boys' "Ain't It Fun". He also joined Guns N' Roses on stage performing Honky Tonk Women with the band and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones.

Jerusalem Slim released an album titled Jerusalem Slim but broke up in 1992 due to Monroe's and Stevens' musical disagreements. Following that, Monroe formed another band called Demolition 23. with Yaffa, Jimmy Clark, and ex-Star Star guitarist Jay Hening, who was eventually replaced by Nasty Suicide. Demolition 23. released a self-titled album in 1994 and toured successfully in Japan and Europe, but the band broke up after Suicide announced that he would be retiring from the music business.

During the rest of the 1990s and the early 2000s Monroe released four more solo albums.

In June 2009 Monroe performed in Helsinki and Tampere at the Sauna Open Air festival with Duff McKagans Loaded band. On 3 July 2009 Monroe performed at the Ruisrock festival in Finland with Ginger's band, The Wildhearts, and at the end of July Monroe shared the stage with Sami Yaffa for the first time in many years when his band, the New York Dolls, were performing in Helsinki. After these performances with Yaffa and Ginger, Monroe and Yaffa started discussing the possibility of working together again.

In December 2009 Monroe met Ginger again while he was playing in Alice Cooper's band. Monroe joined Alice Cooper on stage to play "School's Out" at Cooper's concert in Espoo, Finland, and after the show Ginger and Monroe discussed the possibilities of working together.

Michael Monroe Band (2010–present) On 25 January 2010, Monroe held a press conference in Los Angeles where he unveiled his new band featuring Sami Yaffa on bass, guitarist Ginger from The Wildhearts, Todd Youth from Danzig, Samhain on second guitar, and Jimmy Clarke on drums. The Michael Monroe Band started a US tour on 11 March at San Francisco's Paradise Lounge and continued touring until 21 March. After some of the first shows, Todd Youth and Jimmy Clark were replaced by guitarist Steve Conte of New York Dolls and drummer Karl Rosqvist.

During the summer of 2010 the Michael Monroe band played a number of festival gigs all over the world, including Helsinki Live in Finland (headlined by Guns N' Roses), the Sweden Rock Festival, and the Download Festival in England. The band also performed at Ruisrock festival in Turku, Finland, where Monroe joined Slash on stage for a performance of "We're All Gonna Die" (from Slash's solo album) and "Up Around the Bend." At the Ankkarock festival in Finland, Steve Conte couldn't perform and was replaced in the Michael Monroe Band for this one show by ex-Hanoi Rocks guitarist Nasty Suicide. This was the first time that these three original members of Hanoi Rocks had performed on stage together since the Demolition 23. tour in the early 1990s. Monroe performed at the Summer Sonic festivals in Tokyo and Osaka where Slash was also performing, and the two shared the stage for a couple of songs. During the performance of the song "We're All Gonna Die," Monroe broke two of his ribs when he hit a metal barrel in front of the stage.

On 28 June 2010 it was announced that the Michael Monroe Band would be supporting Motörhead on their 35th anniversary UK tour, and their first album, the live album Another Night in the Sun, was released in September 2010. The album was recorded at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki, Finland, and mixed in Los Angeles by Niko Bolas (Keith Richards, Kiss, Spinal Tap), with the album mastered by Grammy winner Richard Dodd, who had worked with Tom Petty and The Dixie Chicks.

In September 2010 the Michael Monroe Band started recording their first studio album, Sensory Overdrive, recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon). The first single, "78", was released in January 2011 and the album was released on 14 March 2011. The band also booked an extensive UK tour for April 2010 at venues in London, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds, Exeter, and others. Also in September 2010, Monroe signed a recording deal with Spinefarm Records / Universal Music to distribute Monroe's upcoming albums.

On 9 November 2011 Sensory Overdrive won album of the year at the 2011 Classic Rock magazine awards.

In the fall of 2012 Michael Monroe announced that the band would be back in the studio recording a new album to be released in 2013. By July, Steven Van Zandt was playing the lead single "Ballad of the Lower East Side" on his radio show almost weekly. On 23 August 2013 the band released Horns & Halos, which went straight to number one on the Finnish album charts and was certified gold in four days in Finland.

On 6 March 2014 it was announced that guitarist Dregen was leaving the band to focus on his solo career, to be replaced by former Black Halos, Amen and Ginger Wildheart guitarist Rich Jones.

Personal life During the 1980s Monroe lived in Stockholm, Sweden, spending six months on the streets. He met his first wife Jude Wilder in 1985 while she was working at CBS for Hanoi Rocks' Two Steps From The Move project. After they married in 1989 the couple moved to Los Angeles and then to New York, where Monroe lived for ten years. After many years spent living in the United States, the couple relocated to Turku, Finland. Wilder died of an intracranial haemorrhage on 19 June 2001. Monroe married his second wife, Johanna, on 3 July 2003.

Unlike other 1980s members of Hanoi Rocks, Monroe was never a big drug user or a big drinker, although in the band's book All Those Wasted Years he tells about being addicted for a short while to amphetamines and heroin in the 1980s while living in London, and to amphetamines between 2000 and 2002 after his first wife died. I Only Wrote This Song for You – A Tribute to Johnny Thunders (2003) White Flame: Swimsuit Issue Centerfold (single) (2007) Mikko Herranen: Kylmä Maailma (album) (2012) Tarja Turunen: "Your Heaven and Your Hell" (2016) Lordi: Killection (2020) on the track "Like a Bee to the Honey" Rock-Criminals: "Get Yourself Together" (2023)

Live band Current members Michael Monroe – lead vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitars, tambourine Steve Conte – guitars, backing vocals Sami Yaffa – bass, backing vocals Karl Rockfist – drums Rich Jones – guitars, backing vocals

Current touring members Lenni-Kalle Taipale – keyboards

Former members Ginger – guitars, backing vocals Dregen – guitars, backing vocals Jari Paulamäki – bass, backing vocals Pete Lehtelä – drums, backing vocals Jude Wilder – guitars, backing vocals

Special guest appearances Axl Rose – lead and backing vocals Nasty Suicide – guitars, backing vocals Slash – guitars, backing vocals Lemmy – bass, lead and backing vocals Sebastian Bach – lead and backing vocals

After Hanoi Rocks' breakup in 1985 and saddened by Razzle's death, Lemmy offered up Motörhead to Monroe as his backing band. However, this lineup never came to fruition.

Tours Headlining

Not Fakin' It (1989–1990) Another Night in the Sun (2010) Pikkujoulupiknik (2011) Horns and Halos (2013–2014) Spring Tour 2014 (2014) Blackout States (2015–2016) The 30th Anniversary Tour (2017) One Man Gang (2019) Spring Tour April 2023 (2023) Murder The Summer of 2023 (2023) Japan 2024 (2024) (An Evening of De-Electrified Songs and Stories with) Michael Monroe and Rich Jones (2024) Spring Tour 2024 (2024) Two Steps From The Move (2024) USA April 2025 (2025) UK Tour May 2025 (2025)

Supporting Alice Cooper – Detroit Muscle (2022) Guns N' Roses – We're F'N' Back! Tour

With Hanoi Rocks Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes (1981) Oriental Beat (1982) Self Destruction Blues (1982) Back to Mystery City (1983) Two Steps from the Move (1984)

Cancelled US tour Twelve Shots on the Rocks (2002) Another Hostile Takeover (2005) Street Poetry (2007)

With Demolition 23. Demolition 23. (1993–1994) Fall 2023 (2023)