W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 by Blackie Lawless, who is the only remaining original member of the band. They emerged from the early 1980s Los Angeles heavy metal scene. The band's popularity peaked that decade, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock-themed image, lyrics and live performances. They have sold over 12 million copies of their albums.
There has been much speculation over the origin of the band's name, and whether it actually stands for anything, since it is written as an acronym. One possible interpretation is "White Anglo-Saxon Protestants", being the original meaning of the acronym. The song "Show No Mercy", the B-side of the band's first single "Animal", contains the repeated lyric, "White Anglo-Saxon / A violent reaction".
The original U.S. release of the band's debut album W.A.S.P. had the words "We Are Sexual Perverts" inscribed on both sides around the label in the center, while "Winged Assassins" is inscribed on the spine of the first vinyl pressing. When asked about the band's name Lawless has avoided giving a straight answer: in one interview he answered, "We Ain't Sure, Pal."[7] In another, broadcast on the radio program Metal Shop, Lawless said that if one didn't know what it meant (implying White Anglo-Saxon Protestant), "It's a bug".
"The Crimson Idol" is their fifth studio album, released internationally in 1992 through Capitol Records and on May 24, 1993 in the United States; a remastered edition was reissued in 1998, containing a bonus disc of B-sides and live material from 1992. The album charted within the top 40 in five countries. It is a concept album, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel. "The Idol" like and all songs of the album was written by Blackie Lawless and appears as the 8th track of the album.
W.A.S.P. was a prominent target in the mid-1980s of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), an organization that pushed for warning labels on recorded music. The band immortalized its fight with the PMRC on the song "Harder, Faster" from their 1987 live album, Live...In the Raw. Some of their most notable songs are "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", "I Wanna Be Somebody", "L.O.V.E. Machine", "Wild Child", "Blind in Texas", "Forever Free", "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)" and "The Idol", as well as their cover versions of Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor" and The Who's "The Real Me". The band's most recent album, Golgotha, was released in 2015.
Lyrics:
Will I be alone this morning?
Will I need my friends?
Something just to ease away my pain
No one ever sees the loneliness.. behind my face
I am just a prisoner to my fame
If I could only stand
And stare in the mirror..could I see..
One fallen hero with a face
Like me
And if I scream, would anybody hear me?
If I smash the silence, you'll see what fame
Has done to me
Kiss away the pain and leave me lonely
I'll never know if love's a lie
Being.. crazy in paradise is easy
Do you see the prisoners in my eyes?
Where is the love.. to shelter me?
Give me love, love, love.. come set me free
Where is the love.. to shelter me?
Only love, love, love.. love set me free
Set me free..
Kiss away the pain and leave me lonely
I'll never know if love's a lie
Being.. crazy in paradise is easy
Do you see the prisoners in my eyes?
Where is the love.. to shelter me?
Give me love, love, love.. come set me free
Where is the love.. to shelter me?
Only love, love, love.. love set me free
Set me free..
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