'80s Metal History (December 23rd)

Happy Birthday to Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray (December 23, 1956).

December 23, 1987: After meeting up with Slash at the Cathouse Club before going to the hotel where Guns N' Roses were staying, Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx overdosed on heroin. He was later pronounced dead when his heart stopped beating for two minutes, but adrenaline shots to his chest revived him. Crüe band members were prematurely informed of his death.

December 1986: Released a month earlier, "Modern Day Cowboy", the first single from Tesla's debut album "Mechanical Resonance" was taking American rock radio by storm-y night under jet black skies. Radio trade publication ad

December 1987: Ace Frehley's new band "Frehley's Comet" went gold in the US and Canada with their debut album and were now gearing up for two shows on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at Brooklyn, New York heavy metal club, L'Amour.

Happy Birthday to former Alcatrazz, Michael Schenker Group and Rainbow singer Graham Bonnet (December 23, 1947).

Happy Birthday to Coney Hatch co-lead singer and guitarist Carl Dixon (December 23, 1960).

Remembering Malice co-founder and guitarist Mick Zane, who died December 23, 2016 at age 57. R.I.P.

December 23, 1987: Motörhead concluded the "Rock 'N' Roll" Tour at Brixton Academy in London. This performance was originally intended to be used for 1988's "Nö Sleep At All" but went missing for some years and was evenutally released in 1994 as "Motörhead - Live At Brixton '87", but without permission of the band until its reissue in 2005.

December 23, 1992: Motörhead played London's Hammersmith Apollo. Kerrang! also reported the band would be opening for Ozzy Osbourne in the Spring. They ended up on one show with Ozzy as they were recording the "March ör Die" album.

METAL SHOP wishes you Happy Holidays, or not 😬🤘 Thanks for listening!