Biography
Blending hair metal flash, glam rock theatricality, and punk bite into a single sound, the Cherry Bombz existed only briefly yet drew notice thanks to their high-profile roster. Formed in 1985 shortly after the dissolution of Finnish hard rock outfit Hanoi Rocks, the group featured guitarists Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide (aka Jan Stenfors) plus drummer Terry Chimes, already known for his work with the Clash and for appearing in Hanoi Rocks’ final lineup. Bassist Timo Kaltio, an associate of the earlier band, and vocalist Anita Chellamah, formerly of Toto Coelo and the “I Eat Cannibals” hit, completed the lineup; Chellamah had also begun writing songs for a solo project alongside McCoy.
The Cherry Bombz issued their first recording in 1985, a five-track self-titled EP on Finland’s Yahoo! label that included the track “Hot Girls in Love,” which supplied the footage for their debut video. When the EP reached the U.K. and U.S. markets in 1986 under the title Hot Girls in Love, the song “Pin Up Boy” was left off. By then Timo Kaltio had departed, and Dave Tregunna, whose earlier credits included Sham 69 and Lords of the New Church, assumed bass duties.
A second EP, The House of Ecstasy, appeared in 1986; material from both EPs was later compiled for the American release 100 Degrees in the Shade. In September of that year the band captured a performance at London’s Marquee Club that became the 1987 live album Coming Down Slow; the same show was filmed and issued on video as Live in London and Hot Girls in Love. The Cherry Bombz toured the United States both independently and as openers for Poison, yet internal tensions proved unsustainable and the group disbanded by the close of 1987. McCoy and Suicide later reunited in the Suicide Twins, Chimes played with Black Sabbath and Billy Idol, and Chellamah moved into television presenting while forming her own solo project with Chimes on drums. In 1990 Mercury’s Japanese division issued the posthumous collection House of Ecstasy, pairing the Coming Down Slow live set with the studio tracks from the earlier EPs.
The Cherry Bombz issued their first recording in 1985, a five-track self-titled EP on Finland’s Yahoo! label that included the track “Hot Girls in Love,” which supplied the footage for their debut video. When the EP reached the U.K. and U.S. markets in 1986 under the title Hot Girls in Love, the song “Pin Up Boy” was left off. By then Timo Kaltio had departed, and Dave Tregunna, whose earlier credits included Sham 69 and Lords of the New Church, assumed bass duties.
A second EP, The House of Ecstasy, appeared in 1986; material from both EPs was later compiled for the American release 100 Degrees in the Shade. In September of that year the band captured a performance at London’s Marquee Club that became the 1987 live album Coming Down Slow; the same show was filmed and issued on video as Live in London and Hot Girls in Love. The Cherry Bombz toured the United States both independently and as openers for Poison, yet internal tensions proved unsustainable and the group disbanded by the close of 1987. McCoy and Suicide later reunited in the Suicide Twins, Chimes played with Black Sabbath and Billy Idol, and Chellamah moved into television presenting while forming her own solo project with Chimes on drums. In 1990 Mercury’s Japanese division issued the posthumous collection House of Ecstasy, pairing the Coming Down Slow live set with the studio tracks from the earlier EPs.
Albums