TWISTED SISTER – Hammerheads 1980 (2025) HQ *0dayrox Exclusive*
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TWISTED SISTER will release soon “Hammerheads 1980“, a vintage early performance by New York’s finest glam metal icons. This landmark show finds the band strutting their stuff for a homestate audience in West Islip, Long Island, N.Y.
Listen to these legends of crazed, cross-dressing hard rock mayhem absolutely slay on stage with performances of the classics “Rock ’N’ Roll Saviors,” the early version of “Under the Blade”, “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You),” their raw cover of the classic “Born To Be Wild”, and many more.
Back in 1980, Twisted Sister were still a few years from superstardom. They’d already been around since 1972, growing out of a band called Silver Star, who styled themselves as New Jersey’s New York Dolls. A year later, though, they changed their name and shifted their direction as well.
Constantly gigging, forever sharpening their sound, and undergoing a veritable plethora of line-up changes, Twisted Sister as we know them best would not emerge until 1982. But already they’d made appearances on major label comps, and they’d recorded live shows too.
One of the most ferocious taped performances is this West Islip, N.Y., August 1980. Opening with a positively roof-raising rampage through “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You),” the 12 song concert sees these legends of crazed, cross-dressing hard rock mayhem absolutely slaying on stage.
It’s a devastating concert – the sound of a band that, still awaiting their first major break, have already put all the pieces in place. Now all they need do is wait for the world to catch up with them.
Which, of course, it would.
Around 18 months later, two of the songs featured here, “What You Don’t Know” and “Under The Blade”, would feature on the band’s first ever release, the UK-only ‘Ruff Cut’s EP, and hit #2 on the UK metal charts.
Others – “Bad Boys (Of Rock’N’Roll)” and “Destroyer” – would make it onto their debut album, ‘Under The Blade’; one more, “I’ll Never Grow Up Now!,” would be added to the album when the band was picked by Atlantic Records.
All adding up, then, to one of the most explosive live proto-glam metal shows of the era. Sound quality of the recording is just fine, quite distorted at places, but dude – this rocks! This is raw, in-your-face, unadulterated early ’80s hard rock.
Highly Recommended
You saw it here first at 0dayrox
01 – What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You) (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
02 – Come Back (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
03 – Bad Boys (Of Rock ‘N’ Roll) (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
04 – Destroyer (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
05 – Pay the Price (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
06 – Without You (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
07 – Under the Blade (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
08 – Rock ‘N’ Roll Saviors (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
09 – Plastic Money (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
10 – You Know I Cry (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
11 – I’ll Never Grow up Now! (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
12 – Born to Be Wild (Live 1980 Hammerheads)
DEE SNIDER – Lead Vocals
JAY JAY FRENCH – Rhythm & Lead Guitars
EDDIE OJEDA – Lead & Rhythm Guitars
MARK MENDOZA – Bass
RITCHIE TEETER – Drums
Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Hammerheads-1980-Twisted-Sister/dp/B0FWKQ4YJV
