Concrete Blonde

The Los Angeles alternative rock band Concrete Blonde have a fragmented history during which the band were active in three distinct periods 1982-1995, 2001-2004 and 2010-2012. The band were formed by the talented bass player Johnette Napolitano and guitarist James Mankey along with drummer Harry Rushakoff. Mankey was one of the founding members of Sparks and became the musical anchor of the band during their various incarnations. Due to his battles with addiction, drummer Rushakoff was to prove a liability for the group and had to be replaced by ex-Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson prior to the release of Concrete Blond's third album 'Bloodletting'.

'Bloodletting' and its hit single 'Joey' became the band's most successful release, both from a critical and sales point of view. Sadly Thompson was forced to leave the band due to US immigration problems and Rushakoff was drafted back in for the next album 'Walking in London' but subsequently had to be replaced once again by Thompson for Concrete Blond's fifth album 'Mexican Moon'.

After two splits the band reformed in 2010 before finally disbanding in 2012 leaving behind a legacy of eight studio albums of varying quality. Music from their early albums often appears in soundtracks from the era and they remain an enigmatic band whose limited commercial success doesn't reflect their talent.