Back In The Day With The BulletBoys

Picture it: London. 1989. The BulletBoys travel across the pond to rock the crowds. Of course, there was a long form interview made of the trip as well. I'm not ashamed to admit I enjoyed this! Thanks to the readers who emailed me this clip!

Comments

[crued]

love this clip ally-cat.... show the kids "smooove up in ya"

ok commence doggin it metal boy :D

[crued]

ok metal boy.. i know your gonna dog this vid...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x0fsZIkYqg#t=178

i got a better one from down here in georgia
i was down here when this was realeased and saw them too many times to count

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52p9jc-gOo

[Rita]

I saw them too at the now defunct Rock and Roll Heaven right after Smooth Up in Ya came out. Great song. They were awesome. Lonnie was my fav because up to that point I'd never seen hair that long on a guy. Ever. He was pretty nice too when we met him. A charmer for the ladies, I guess. Still have a hard copy of our pic with Lonnie buried somewhere as that was way before iPhones existed.

We also loved Marq cuz when he was onstage, he looked totally insane. This first album is really good. I can remember driving around with my BFF Carolyne cranking this tape (!), and people would roll up their windows at the stop lights. Too funny.

[Bob]

Awesome!!! This takes me back to my college days when that first BulletBoys album launched a lot of parties!

[Kixchix]

Fun fun fun band (for 1 album).
Good times

[Metalboy!]

WOW! This footage TOTALLY blows my mind!

So...

Crued! Where'd ya ever get the idea I was gonna dog this video? You sure you don't mean "dig" this video?...

First off I LOVE The Bulletboys! Always did, always will, particularly that first album and I list "Smooth Up In Ya" in my "Top 10 Greatest 80's Hair Metal Songs of All Time"!

Interestingly, and as I've explained here many times before, I found this very website on a lark when I was searching the internet for Marc Torien to see if he might be playing in the Southwest area of Florida, since I heard he lived in the same town I did at the time -- Naples.

I bought Bulletboys the minute I first saw "Smooth Up In Ya" on Headbanger's Ball. That song is SO kick a*s! I also picked up an original 4 ft. X 3 ft. official promo poster featuring the famous 1964 MIT photograph of the apple being shot by a bullet taken by Dr. Harold Edgerton.

I also have promo CD singles (which are still pretty easy to find on Ebay) of "Smooth Up In Ya" and others. And I also have the deluxe limited edition Digi-Pak CD package of their second album, "Freakshow" plus the official 3 ft. X 4 ft. promo poster for that album, as well.

If I had the bread, I would have bought Torien's jeans that were for sale on Ebay last year (which Allyson featured here) but the price tag was a little too rich for my taste.

Too top it all off, I saw these guys at The Cat Club in NYC off the first album in 1988!

So there, Crued... See? I don't hate EVERYTHING... Just stuff that S*CKS and these guys will always be one of THE Greats in my book!

\m/b

[ColsCPA]

I loved the music, saw them at the Columbus Agora (now Newport)back in the real early 80s which is why I can't remember the exact year, and they were great. Saw them again warm up for Motley Crue at the old Germain Amphitheatre in Columbus Ohio, but with a different singer. The old was great and the new was disappointing. Anybody know what's going on with them today? Do they still tour and if yes, did they get Marq back as the singer? Take care all!

[BatLizard]

Hey ColsCPA, you must be a little confused. The first album wasn't released until 1988. You likely saw them near the end of the eighties. Also, Marq has been the only constant in BulletBoys since day one. The band has NEVER had a different lead singer, either on album or tour.

[Him]

Still love the BBs. And Torien still brings it, even if his temperamental side (and other issues) hampered any chance he had at larger success.

That said, some of the issues weren't entirely his fault. By lauding him as the next DLR, they placed a huge weight on his shoulders.

If I have to pick a favorite song (and nobody asked), I would still go with his (their) cover of Waits's "Hang On St. Christopher." Not a throw-away sex romp that demanded you admire Torien's pipes (not knocking "SUIY" or "HAAR"), it pointed to a sweet spot that the band was never able to fully exploit.

[Metalboy!]

To your point, HIM, their selecting to do a cover of Tom Waits' "Hang On St. Christopher" points to a quality really not seen in other 80's Hair Metal bands... Sophistication!

[Him]

I have to agree (with you agreeing with me), Metalboy! They had a chance of being a really good end-of-the-era band (given that this clip is only around two years before the majesty that was "Smells Like . . ."). A host of factors, however, worked against them, some self-inflicted and others far beyond their control.

Live? Torien still brings it, nostalgia that doesn't feel like it is. One of those moments: the oddest thing for me, meeting Torien, was that he was so completely not what you hear in the press/on the boards. He was quiet, courteous, almost feminine in his bearing (and I don't mean that as a slam or a sexist diss). Also so unlike his swaggering stage persona as well . . . and I have seen him in front of less that 200 and more than 2,000. Who knows? Maybe I caught him on an off (or on) day. But he seemed genuinely appreciative of the fans the evening I met him.