MICHAEL MONROE Breaks Ribs At U.K.'s PLANET ROCKSTOCK Festival; Finnish Shows Postponed

Legendary HANOI ROCKS frontman Michael Monroe was forced to postpone two shows in Finland after breaking his ribs at this past weekend's Planet Rockstock festival in Trecco Bay, South Wales, United Kingdom.

Earlier today, the following message was posted on Michael's social media: "We regret to announce that this weekend's Michael Monroe shows in Helsinki & Tampere have been postponed.

"Michael was injured this past weekend at Planet Rockstock, resulting in broken ribs. His doctors have said that he will need at least 6 weeks to recover.

"Tickets for both shows will be valid for the new dates. If you are unable to make it to the rescheduled dates, refunds will be available from point-of-purchase."

The rescheduled dates are as follows:

March 5, 2025 – Tampere, Finland @ Tavara-Ssema
March 6, 2025 – Helsinki, Finland @ Kulttuuritalo

* New venue. Tickets remain valid.

As previously reported, Monroe will return to the U.S. West Coast for three very special shows in 2025.

After nine long years, the 62-year-old Finnish-born singer, who has been performing as a solo artist for the past four decades, will perform at the following venues:

April 11 - Count's Vamp'd - Las Vegas, NV
April 12 - Whisky A Go Go - Hollywood, CA
April 13 - Rainbow Bar & Grill - Hollywood, CA

The April 13 concert at the Rainbow Bar & Grill will be extra special as it celebrates the 53rd anniversary of the world-famous bar on Sunset Boulevard. Admission is free with a two-drink minimum. Also appearing on the bill at the Rainbow Bar & Grill will be FASTER PUSSYCAT, ODIN, BLACK OAK ARKANSAS and more.

In a September 2019 interview with Love Is Pop, Monroe was asked if there was any chance of him touring the United States anytime soon. He responded: "Well, we'd love to play the States and we've done some tours there and stuff. New York and L.A. are always great, but the rest of the country… We've come to the conclusion that unless you get to be an opening act for a stadium-sized band, you're just banging your head against the wall, playing to a couple of hundred people a night. We can do that forever and not get anywhere in the Midwest and all that.

"I like the audiences in America — they appreciate good, authentic rock 'n' roll — but unfortunately, the situation is such," he continued. "Especially now because the mainstream is like country and hip-hop. Rock 'n' roll isn't happening there, so far as I know. So, unless you get to play to a big amount of people every night for about a year or two opening for a stadium-sized band, then it's kind of not worth it. You're just wasting money and time. Unfortunately."

The Monroe band's all-star lineup features former HANOI ROCKS and NEW YORK DOLLS bass player Sami Yaffa, who has played with Michael since the '80s. On guitar duties are Rich Jones (formerly of the Ginger Wildheart band) and Steve Conte (best known as the guitarist who filled the void left by Johnny Thunders in the NEW YORK DOLLS, as well as playing guitar with many other name acts such as Suzi Quatro, Eric Burden and many more) and drummer Karl Rockfist (who has played with notable acts such as DANZIG).

Monroe's latest solo album, "I Live Too Fast To Die Young", came out in 2022 via Silver Lining Music.

Monroe celebrated his 60th birthday in September 2022 at the Helsinki Ice Hall (Helsingin Jäähalli) in Finland. As the grand finale of the concert, the original lineup of HANOI ROCKS, one of Finland's most significant rock bands of all time, took the stage: Monroe, Andy McCoy, Sami Yaffa, Nasty Suicide and Gyp Casino. The "support band" for the show was the reunited DEMOLITION 23. Led by Monroe, the band rose to great cult fame, although they only released one album ("Demolition 23") in 1994 and broke up shortly afterwards. This was DEMOLITION 23's first performance since the band's breakup in 1995.

Monroe and McCoy founded HANOI ROCKS in the late 1970s and the band's original lineup was established in 1980. HANOI ROCKS, the first Finnish rock band to make an international breakthrough, recorded their first three albums with the original lineup: "Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks" (1981),"Oriental Beat" (1982) and "Self Destruction Blues" (1982). Casino was replaced in 1982 by Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley who became an integral member of HANOI ROCKS. Razzle died in a tragic accident in 1984. Unfortunately, this led to the band's untimely demise in early 1985.

HANOI ROCKS did reform once before in 2002, albeit with only Monroe and McCoy from the band's classic lineup, and released a comeback album, "Twelve Shots On The Rocks". The reunion lasted until 2009.