LOS ANGELES – Hell-bent for eyeliner and ready to rock the world, Twisted Sister stormed the stage at London’s famed Marquee Club in March of 1983 for two intense shows that cemented the band’s live legacy in the U.K. Recordings from those legendary nights reveal the Long Island quintet raw, hungry and catching fire just a few months before it achieved breakout success on radio and MTV.
Rhino Handmade taps into that power with LIVE AT THE MARQUEE CLUB, a concert album that collects rare and unreleased recordings from both nights on a single disc. The music comes in a glammed-up gatefold made from heavy-duty cardstock and die-cut into the shape of the iconic Twisted Sister logo. Due out September 20, LIVE AT THE MARQUEE CLUB is available now for pre-order exclusively at www.rhino.com for $19.98.
Mirroring the setlists from both shows, the collection’s 13 blistering performances feature singer Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda, bassist Mark “The Animal” Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero. Until now, the only way to hear some of this historic two-night stand was through a series of 7” and 12” records released in 1983 exclusively in the U.K.
LIVE AT THE MARQUEE CLUB combines those hard-to-find cuts with five previously unreleased songs, including the title track from the band’s hard-rocking debut, Under the Blade, and covers of the Shangri-Las’ “Leader Of The Pack” and the Slade version of the R&B staple “Let The Good Times Roll.” The album also includes the first ever public performance of “You Can’t Stop Rock ’n’ Roll,” which would surface just three months later on the band’s second album. Bits of Snider’s legendary stage banter – also unreleased – can be heard interspersed between a few songs.
Feeding off the crowd’s energy, the band’s ferocity is unrelenting throughout LIVE AT THE MARQUEE CLUB as it demolishes nearly every song from its debut Under the Blade, including the show opener “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You),” plus “Sin After Sin,” “Shoot ’em Down” and “Bad Boys (Of Rock ’n’ Roll).”
Veteran metal journalist Malcolm Dome recalls in the liner notes how the Marquee dates represented a turning point for the band. “There was a growing belief that the still young and untried Long Island group had something a little special about them, but the world at large had yet to be convinced. But what you have here is, perhaps, the moment when all that was overturned – when this quintet of focused and fired-up talents became one of the all-time greats.”
TWISTED SISTER
LIVE AT THE MARQUEE CLUB
Track Listing
1. “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)”
2. “Sin After Sin”
3. “Bad Boys (Of Rock ’n’ Roll)”
4. “Destroyer”
5. “Leader Of The Pack”*
6. “Tear It Loose”
7. Band Rap*
8. “You Can’t Stop Rock ’n’ Roll”*
9. “Run For Your Life”
10. “Shoot ’em Down”
11. Dee’s Rap*
12. “It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll (But I Like It)”
13. Band Introductions*
14. “I Am (I’m Me)”*
15. “Under The Blade”*
16. “Let The Good Times Roll”*
* Previously Unissued
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