![]() ![]() This was years before the internet made researching such things possible. Bolan and his bandmates had no clue that another band had used the name. One urban legend that Bolan debunks is the notion that his band paid Gary Moore $35,000 for the rights to use Skid Row, which was the name of the famed Irish guitarist’s pre-Thin Lizzy group. Throughout the ’80s the major label had groomed various hard rock and metal acts to varying levels of success – everyone from Raven, Testament, and Savatage to Twisted Sister, White Lion, and Ratt – and they had built up a bigger roster of heavy acts than their competitors. It made sense for Skid Row to wind up at Atlantic. It was a collective sigh of relief that we ended up there because we would have probably just fallen off the edge of the earth into pop-metal obscurity.” “Thankfully, we went there because they got us. “In the 11th hour, Atlantic came in and increased the money,” says Bolan. ![]() “We showcased for Geffen and they brought in a producer who convinced our A&R guy to scrap all but two of our songs.” The two tunes were “18 and Life” and “Makin’ A Mess” future hits “Youth Gone Wild” and “I Remember You” were not considered to be good enough.Ītlantic A&R guru Jason Flom had been courting the band for a long time, but the band’s manager Doc McGhee decided they were going to go with Geffen. “It was down to Geffen and Atlantic, and Geffen pretty much wanted a Bon Jovi and Atlantic wanted a Guns N’ Roses,” recalls Bolan. In 1988, a bidding war erupted between Geffen Records, A&M Records and Atlantic Records, and the latter won out because they best understood the group’s vision and music. The song ‘Youth Gone Wild’ has been stuck in my head ever since I heard it. “The melody line was different, but I knew these were great songs. “I remember when they sent me a tape and the song ’18 and Life’ was on there,” recollects Bach to Billboard. ![]() They re-recorded the vocals on their demos and continued shopping around their music and playing live. The combination of Bach’s powerful pipes and commanding stage presence, along with the group’s take-no-prisoners attitude and musical/songwriting chops, was a recipe for success. Then 18 years old, the blond belter had joined his first band Kid Wikkid when he was just 14 fronted Madam X, the former band of Vixen drummer Roxy Petrucci, for a year and also sang for a Toronto group called Vo5 before joining the Skid Row camp. As it turned out, one of their friends had seen Bach singing at photographer Mark Weiss’ wedding and recommended him. After the band decided to let Fallon go, they sought out a new frontman. Zakk Wylde’s band Zirus even opened some shows for them. Skid Row played around the New Jersey, Staten Island and Long Island circuits. Bon Jovi’s manager Doc McGhee witnessed the raw power of the band and signed them. Skid Row had signed a production deal with Bon Jovi and Sambora’s publishing company Underground, and they were even given the opportunity to open a couple of Pennsylvania shows on the Slippery When Wet Tour. Sabo had played guitar with Bon Jovi for a few shows around early 1983 before Richie Sambora snagged that coveted slot. Original singer Matt Fallon had already been working with Sabo, and then they recruited guitarist Scotti Hill and drummer Rob Affuso.īy 1987, the quintet was recording demos with Jon Bon Jovi, whom Sabo had been friends with since the early ’80s. The ambitious duo would get together and write incessantly through the night at Bolan’s parents’ house, and they built-up a solid repertoire of songs. Sabo lived in Sayreville, New Jersey, an hour from where Bolan was in Tom’s River, but he worked in the latter town at a music store where they met. The Skid Row story goes back to 1986 when guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo and bassist Rachel Bolan formed their musical partnership. ![]()
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