MICHAEL MONROE, iconic rock‘n’roll frontman and founding member of hugely influential Finnish outfit Hanoi Rocks, will release a brand new single/video on February 21st 2011 via Spinefarm Records UK.

Titled ‘’78’ (a homage to a year of great music and significant cultural happenings), the single will be available on both digital download & coloured vinyl 7” complete with exclusive extra track.

Three weeks later, on March 14th, Monroe will follow the single with a brand new studio album; as yet untitled, the record has been produced in Los Angeles by the legendary Jack Douglas (whose credits include everyone from Aerosmith through to John Lennon) and features such special guests as country star Lucinda Williams and Motörhead frontman Lemmy, who duets with Monroe.

The album will be available on a number of different formats, including deluxe digi-pack with bonus DVD and limited edition coloured vinyl.

Coming off the Hanoi Rocks rebirth from 2002-2009, MICHAEL MONROE made his long-awaited mark on America starting with SXSW and West Coast U.S. dates in March 2010 with his incredible team of players. In addition to a schedule of exclusive live performances, which also included Finland, Sweden, UK in April and east coast dates in May and an amazing gig at the UK’s Premier rock festival Download!

Having recently guested with Motörhead on their 35th Anniversary UK tour, Monroe and his regular touring / recording line-up (Wildhearts mainman Ginger on guitar, ex-Hanoi member Sami Yaffa on bass, Steve Conte of New York Dolls/Company Of Wolves fame on guitar, and Karl ‘Rockfist’ Rosqvist on drums – a Swedish/Finnish drummer who has played with both Chelsea Smiles & Danzig) are now ready to take on a run of dates that will see them headlining venues from Portsmouth up to Glasgow.

The full list of shows is as follows:- APRIL 2011

4th – Brighton, Concorde 2
5th – Bristol, Academy 2
6th – Exeter, Phoenix
7th – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
8th – London, O2 Academy
9th – Leeds, T.J.’s
11th – Norwich, Waterfront
12th – Sheffield, Corporation
13th – Newcastle, Academy 2
14th – Manchester, Academy 3
15th – Glasgow, Garage
16th – Nottingham, Rock City
17th – Birmingham, HMV Institute

** Live Review: Special Guest of Motorhead: Manchester 02: 16:11:10

It’s often strange how certain artists need each other, they find a soulmate and verything turns to gold, they part/split and everything turns to shit, like somebody turns the light out, Mick & Keith, Steve & Joe, Gene & Paul, the list goes on, not that any of them are not great on their own, but they are not ’special’ it’s not ‘magic’

Michael Monroe comes into that, with Hanoi Rocks he was unstopable, incredible, on his own, he was just great (still better than most) back together over the last few years with Andy McCoy in Hanoi Rocks and once again they proved why they are held in such high esteem, so when the Hanoi train rolled to a full stop and Mike come round to going solo once again he obviously realised that this time it needed to be not just as amazing as Hanoi, BUT better…

So with this in mind he put together a set of musicians who on their own are outstanding, former Hanoi Rocks bassist Sam Yaffa, New York Dolls guitarist Steve Conte and most importantly he brought in another like minded soul, a nemisis in Wildhearts mainman Ginger (Who has suffered himself from losing key members of the ‘Hearts) and from the moment they hit the ground running tonight it’s evident that this ain’t no gravy train, no retro kareoke bar blast, this is high octane glam-slam-punk n’ roll, the opening three songs tear past like a missile on speed, they hit ‘Motorvatin’ and it’s foot to the floor, fly through ‘I wanna be loved’ Johnny must be smiling in heaven, tear a new hole in ‘Malibu Beach Nightmare’ and leave us understandig that for all the members in this band it really is ‘Dead, jail or rock n’ roll’

I have seen Michael in Hanoi, solo 1st time round, again in Hanoi, but not since those heady days of the Marquee in early 80’s have I seen him om this kind of level, you can’t start a fire without a spark, and somewhere, somehow, this fire got ignited, Now is the time for him to get his just rewards… Outstanding… Jj: 2010

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