London

After expulsion from Sister at the hands of Blackie Lawless, glam rock hellions Nikki Sixx and Lizzie Grey launched London with the explicit aims of irritating Rush devotees, mirroring the debauched New York Dolls spectacle, and extending the sonic approach of Cheap Trick, Slade, and Love It to Death. Nigel Benjamin, the singer from the fading Mott the Hoople lineup, responded to a Recycler advertisement and joined as frontman, much to the pair’s satisfaction. The Mötley autobiography Dirt recounts how Sixx forwarded a London demo to his idol Brian Connolly of Sweet, only to receive the blunt reply “This kind of music is never going to make it,” with the advice to retain his day job. Sixx promptly left to establish the monstrous Mötley Crüe and disprove Connolly. Grey steered London through the remainder of the 1980s, dominating the Sunset Strip while reputed legends such as Izzy Stradlin and Fred Coury (Cinderella) moved through the lineup. The band’s appearance in the notorious Decline of Western Civilization Part II: the Metal Years marked its dissolution. Grey, now an underground legend, subsequently formed Spiders & Snakes.