Blackie Lawless

Blackie Lawless

Blackie Lawless (born Steven Edward Duren; September 4, 1956) is an American songwriter and musician best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist (formerly bassist) for the heavy metal band W.A.S.P. He began his music career playing with bands such as Black Rabbit and Orfax Rainbow. In 1975, after Johnny Thunders left the glam rock band New York Dolls in the middle of a tour of Florida, the band started auditioning for guitarists. He was hired but only stayed for the remainder of the tour. After the tour, he went to California with bassist Arthur Kane and helped found Killer Kane. At that time, his stage name was "Blackie Goozeman" as stated on the back of Killer Kane's only EP. About a year later, Kane returned to New York City but Lawless decided to stay in West Los Angeles. In 1976, he formed Sister, which also featured future W.A.S.P. guitarist Randy Piper. Around 1978, a new lineup was assembled which included Nikki Sixx as bassist and Lizzie Grey on guitar. Later, Chris Holmes joined. Sister evolved into Circus Circus in 1979, with Piper again appearing in the lineup. In 1981, following Circus Circus' failure, Lawless joined Lizzie Grey and Nikki Sixx's band London, with whom he played a few gigs and recorded two songs as demos, though by this time Sixx had already departed to form Mötley Crüe. In 1982, he switched to bass after firing original member bassist Rik Fox, later of Steeler fame who had joined the band only 4 months prior, and had named W.A.S.P. over personal issues. The lineup also included Randy Piper and was soon completed with Chris Holmes on lead guitar and Tony Richards on drums. W.A.S.P. underwent numerous lineup changes, with Lawless being the last remaining original member and chief songwriter. Many of his songs tended to deal with religious or apocalyptic themes, due to his Christian upbringing. The band achieved their greatest success from 1985 to 1988, with several hit singles including "L.O.V.E. Machine", "I Wanna Be Somebody", and "Wild Child".

  • Title: Blackie Lawless
  • Popularity: 3.695
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1956-09-04
  • Place of Birth: Staten Island, New York, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Steven Edward Duren, Steven Duren
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Blackie Lawless Movies

  • 2004
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    Rockthology Presents: Hard 'N' Heavy, Volume 8

    Rockthology Presents: Hard 'N' Heavy, Volume 8

    1 2004 HD

    This compilation DVD features music videos with rarely seen footage of up-close and in-depth interviews with some of the greatest bands in rock...

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  • 1986
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    The Hear 'n Aid Sessions

    The Hear 'n Aid Sessions

    1 1986 HD

    Hear 'n Aid was a one-time collaboration of various individual hard rock and heavy metal artists in 1985 to raise money for famine relief in Africa....

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  • 1989
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    Hard 'N Heavy Volume 5

    Hard 'N Heavy Volume 5

    1 1989 HD

    Video magazine with interviews and video clips. Featured on this volume is: Deep Purple, Brian May, Skid Row, Lemmy, The Cult, Iron Maiden, Ace...

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  • 1988
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    Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground

    Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground

    5.8 1988 HD

    Geraldo Rivera investigates allegations of a widespread Satanic underground in the United States.

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  • 1990
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    Hard 'N Heavy Volume 7

    Hard 'N Heavy Volume 7

    1 1990 HD

    Video magazine with interviews and video clips. Featured on this volume is: Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Michael Monroe, Great White, Alice Cooper,...

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  • 2000
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    W.A.S.P.: The Sting: Live at the Key Club L.A.

    W.A.S.P.: The Sting: Live at the Key Club L.A.

    8 2000 HD

    The Sting is a live album and DVD by the band W.A.S.P. Originally released as a DVD/CD set, it is also available as a CD on its own. The concert was...

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  • 1993
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    W.A.S.P. | First Blood... Last Visions...

    W.A.S.P. | First Blood... Last Visions...

    9 1993 HD

    A very rare Japan-only video with eleven promo clips.

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  • 1984
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    W.A.S.P. | Live at the Lyceum, London

    W.A.S.P. | Live at the Lyceum, London

    7 1984 HD

    In September and October of 1984, within weeks of the release of their self-titled debut album, W.A.S.P. undertook their first headline World Tour,...

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  • 1984
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    The Dungeonmaster

    The Dungeonmaster

    4.8 1984 HD

    Paul, a computer whiz who spends more time with his machine than with his girlfriend, finds that he has been chosen as a worthy opponent for Mestema,...

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  • 2018
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    W.A.S.P. | ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol)

    W.A.S.P. | ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol)

    6 2018 HD

    A mostly black-and-white, narrated dramatization of WASP's 1992 album The Crimson Idol, filmed in 1992 and finally released with the 2017...

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  • 2005
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    Circus Circus: Los Angeles 1980

    Circus Circus: Los Angeles 1980

    6 2005 HD

    Circus Circus was a rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California, USA and was formed by Blackie Lawless in 1979. The band is seen as a precurser...

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  • 2018
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    W.A.S.P. | ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol)

    W.A.S.P. | ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol)

    6 2018 HD

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  • 2018
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    W.A.S.P. | ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol)

    W.A.S.P. | ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol)

    6 2018 HD

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