Kevin DuBrow, the outspoken front man for the “glam metal” band Quiet Riot, was found mysteriously dead in his Las Vegas home over the weekend, his friends confirmed yesterday.
Paramedics found the body of the 52-year-old permed howler of the 1983 cover song “Cum on Feel the Noize” after they were called by a neighbor.
There were no signs of forced entry in the one-hit-wonder’s home and police are awaiting toxicology and autopsy results.
“I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this all day long. It sure is a shock,” said Bill Chavis, a friend and founder of Chavis Records which distributed Quiet Riot’s latest album, the October 2006 “Rehab.”
DuBrow had just celebrated his birthday last month in New Orleans and was scheduled to perform with his band at Gerard’s, a modest club in Sauk Centre, Minn., next month.
His only close relative was his mother, Chavis said.
“I’m at a loss for words. I’ve just lost my best friend,” Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali told CNN. “Out of respect for both Kevin and his family, I won’t comment further. There’s going to be a lot of speculation out there, and I won’t add to that. I love him too much.”
Bassist Kelly Gami moved quickly to quell rumors of a drug overdose or suicide.
“I ask that no one here offer any speculation or opinions, theories or other things that could be construed as negative,” he posted online. “I am already, within hours of this, having to deal with untrue rumors and speculation and that only adds fuel to that.”
Dozens of people posted tributes to DuBrow on his MySpace page thanking him for the music and inspiring them to perform. Nearly a quarter-century ago, DuBrow’s Quiet Riot helped launched the “glam” or “hair” rock scene with their cover of British band Slade’s “Cum on Feel the Noize.”
The album “Metal Health,” which featured the amped-up cover song, made Quiet Riot the first metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart. It eventually went platinum five times. But the band never recreated that success with subsequent albums.
The band once famously ditched a combative DuBrow in Hawaii. He then sued his former buddies for copyright infringement.
Mainly because of DuBrow’s behavior, the band broke up and reunited twice before finally getting back together in 2005 to work on its 11th album, “Rehab.”
That album has sold just 4,000 copies, according to Billboard. Rock critics today call the band a footnote in rock history. Quiet Riot actually got its start in the disco days of 1975 when it was formed with legendary guitarist Randy Rhoades, who later left to tour with Ozzy Osbourne.
Throughout the late ’70s and ’80s, it was a mainstay in the Los Angeles club scene before MTV helped turn its members into national stars.
“They had a certain effervescence in those MTV videos,” said Chuck Eddy, a senior editor at Billboard. “They helped set a template for Poison, Ratt and Motley Crue.” With Post Wire Services