The 1980s marked the emergence and explosion of many bands – and also mind-blowing stories involving the musicians, between rumors and facts. One of them tells that the guys from Manowar were challenged to a fight with Twisted Sister , but simply didn't show up at the confrontation site.
In a recent interview, Dee Snider confirmed the event, but corrected some errors in the version that became popular among the public. “Well, that’s partially true,” he told the Speak N' Destroy (via Ultimate Guitar ). “Actually, it was Manowar, Hanoi Rocks, and Twisted Sister. We called both bands for a showdown. We were there, neither of them showed up.”
Reflecting on that episode, the vocalist admitted he was going through a "dark period" and couldn't take it anymore when he heard about the mocking comments about Twisted Sister coming from other bands, who called them "fags in makeup" at the time. "We were really going through a tough time: at home, we were broke, we lost our contract, we didn't know where to go, I had a child," he recounted. "So I wrote a letter to a magazine and challenged them to a fight – both bands."
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Manowar responded, but they didn't intend to fight physically. The proposal was to have a musical battle to determine "the best band," but Snider insisted on a proper fight. "So, nobody apologized and we announced that we were going to meet with them," the singer continued. "The media came and a lot of fans came, and this was before the [album] Come Out and Play . I had a megaphone and I went around saying 'Hanol Rocks, come out and play!'. And I looked at trash cans and said, 'Manowar, come out and play!'"
An illustrious name was in the audience at the small show put on by Twisted Sister, supporting the band in their vendetta: Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead , introduced Manowar as "Manowhimp," replacing the word "war" with "whimp."
Even with this illustrious presence, the press seemed disappointed by the lack of a confrontation, so Snider made new threats to his rivals. “We’re going to their show and we’re going to push them off the stage. I want to get on stage in front of their damn audience, I’m going to knock them down and punch them, motherfucker, right in front of their own people! This isn’t over!” he said at the time.
Ross The Boss , guitarist for Manowar, knew Mark Mendoza , bassist for Sister, from their work together in the band The Dictators and tried to resolve the issue diplomatically, through a letter. “Dude, we can’t apologize because we’re Manowar. Could you guys stop this, please, and we’ll stop [too]?” Ross wrote. According to Snider, the truce was accepted on the condition that Manowar would not speak ill of the band publicly again. Otherwise, Mendoza would send the letter to Kerrang! magazine and make the agreement public.
Looking back on the whole story, Snider has a different perspective on the event. "Look, thinking about it now, I was a huge jerk. I was going through a lot, man," the musician concluded.
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