BLACKIE LAWLESS Reflects On W.A.S.P.'s First U.S. Tour In 10 Years: 'I've Never Wanted Something Not To End So Badly Before'

W.A.S.P. wrapped up its first U.S. tour in 10 years with a sold-out show on December 11 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This marked the 18th sold-out shows for the U.S. tour, which kicked off in late October. W.A.S.P.'s performances included the return of the band's classic song "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", which hadn't been played live in over 15 years.

The European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour begins March 17 with a sold-out show in Manchester, England. Five new shows have been added to the trek, with additional dates in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Because of fan demand, the VIP meet-and-greets with W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless that the fans loved in the U.S. will now also be offered on the European tour.

Tickets previously purchased for the 2022 European tour that was rescheduled to 2023 are valid for the new dates. Contact your venue if you have any questions. Tickets for the new shows and VIP tickets will go on sale January 27, along with tickets for all the shows in Sweden that had been on hold due to a change in promoter.

Looking back on the U.S. tour, Lawless said: "There have been a number of times in my life when I was caught between agony and ecstasy, many times while either making a record that had great meaning for me or a tour that was truly memorable. But the U.S. tour that we just finished has been a joy I've not felt since the first tour we did in '84-'85. When that first tour was over, I felt like a little kid that had his brand new toy taken away from him. When I got up on Elvis [Blackie's mic stand] at the end of the last show finale, I stayed up on him longer than I normally do. I held that pose for what seemed like forever, and in my mind, it was a blur and I was flashing in my head all the shows we had just done and how desperately I wished this tour would just keep going and going. I've never wanted something not to end so badly before… even more than the first world tour in '84-'85.

"I've been blessed with a good memory, and as I was on Elvis, I could see the faces of many of you that were at these shows. In a flash it flooded my head and I just wanted to stay up there.

"When we played the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville a couple of weeks ago, it had a profound effect on myself and the whole band. We knew we were standing on sacred ground. Where I was standing and singing was the exact spot where Loretta Lynn's body had been lying at her funeral just a couple of weeks before. She was music royalty; she was true greatness…. the Coal Miner's Daughter.

"That was an emotional night for us and from that moment on for the rest of the tour, we all kept talking about how we absolutely did not want this tour to end. In these shows we got an awful lot of love from all you guy's and it was so heavy when we'd stand on stage it felt like we could cut it with a knife. Something truly special happened between all of you and us on this tour. More than I've ever felt before in my entire career.

"Additionally, I must take a couple of minutes to address the meet-and-greets. I had never done these before. Especially not where I could have a real dialog with those who were there. In the course of the 30-plus gatherings, I learned more about your true feelings than I've ever learned before. Someone might say I should have started doing them several years ago. If I did, I don't believe it would have had the same effect because the things I was hearing from you was an accumulation of years and years of you studying those lyrics and having the space to let them speak to you that only time can do. Time to let you really reflect on how it's spoken to your lives. The looks on your faces when you spoke was at times for me a frustration that is difficult to express, because mere words cannot paint the raw emotions I was feeling from many of you. And I'm supposed to be the writer here!

"The European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour begins March 17th in Manchester, England. Like most of the shows here in the U.S., Manchester now shares the two most beautiful words in show business, 'Sold Out'.

"Yes, we're coming to hit you, we're coming to hurt you…as this traveling Circus Insane Asylum Rolls On….and I CANNOT WAIT to start it all again!"

Lawless has led W.A.S.P. as its lead vocalist and primary songwriter since its beginning. His unique brand of visual, social and political comment took the group to worldwide heights and sold millions of records alongside a legacy of sold-out shows across the globe for four decades. He is joined by bassist Mike Duda and guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band span 26 and 18 years respectively, along with drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

W.A.S.P.'s most recent studio album of all-new original material was 2015's "Golgotha".

W.A.S.P.'s first live performance since December 2019 took place on July 23, 2022 at Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden.