Paradise Alley “Psychotic Playground (25^th Anniversary Edition)”

Back in the glorious days of the glam metal/sleaze metal peak, Paradise Alley emerged as one of the few UK bands that might compete with their often more glamourous US counterparts. Sadly, time and a shift in the music trends meant that they never quite made it. But now they have this new edition of their album available.

Opener “Metropolis Boys” certainly shows that they did indeed have the sleazy rock n roll sound to at least match the numerous bands that were tearing up the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The catchy glam punk of “Baby Don’t Go” and the ballad “Empty Spaces” suggests that maybe, if they’d come a few years earlier or had been based in a sunnier climate, they too could have been seeing their videos on MTV.

Although, to be fair, songs like “Shot Down” and “Leave Me Alone” probably demonstrate that they owed as much to the dirty, punkier sound of bands like Hanoi Rocks and The New York Dolls as the shiny (artificial?) sound of the ‘hair metal’ bands. Indeed, one of the additional tracks on this release is a great cover of Hanoi Rocks’ “Shakes”.

The band have made sure that this release appeals to ‘older’ or original fans by including that cover and some demo tracks. So, it offers the chance for everyone to hear something new. It’s fair to say that there’s a sense of nostalgia with this release. Certainly, for many of us it will have us reminiscing about long hair, ripped jeans and carefree days. The good news is that the band are also hoping to play some gigs. So, we might all get the chance to truly revisit those days….now where did we put that bandanna and eyeliner!?!?!