Femme Fatale (80s band)

Femme Fatale was a heavy metal band active in the 1980s. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, the band settled in Los Angeles and signed a recording contract with a subsidiary of MCA Records after an extremely well-received showcase in 1987. Their self-titled album peaked at #141 on the Billboard 200. MTV gave heavy airplay to the videos for "Waiting for the Big One" and "Falling in and out of Love". The heavy airplay helped the album to sell nearly 200,000 copies, but they were unable to cut through the glut of similar-sounding bands at the apex of the spandex and hairspray glam metal scene. The band saw their status at MCA shrink and the band's manager, Andrea Accardo, developed a rare brain cancer. Shortly after touring the world in support of Cheap Trick, recording was to commence on a new album, but, ultimately, it was never completed and the band dissolved.

Since leaving Femme Fatale, Lorraine Lewis has done a few modestly successful solo albums in country/western, new age and rock styles. Guitarist Mazzi Rawd left the music business went on to get his PhD in Physics, and is now a Vice President in a Fortune 500 company. Guitarist Bill D'Angelo died of a heart attack in 2005, aged 43. The Albuquerque Tribune reported on March 26, 2006 that D'Angelo's death was due to methamphetamine use. [http://www.sleazeroxx.com/news06/0321fem.shtml] Given the epidemic of meth abuse in the southwest, it apparently took more than 4 months for state toxicology labs to work through the backlog of cases.

In recent years, satellite radio and VH-1 Classic have given the band's two signature songs a new life, with display on VH1C's Metal Mania and the two main satellite networks' 80s-themed stations. The newfound attention has sparked interest in re-releasing the first album and possibly the unreleased demos for the second album.

Trivia

Lorraine Lewis competed on MTV's Remote Control in 1988 against Britny Fox's Dizzy Dean Davidson and Anthrax's Charlie Benante, who won. [http://hairmetallives.dc-lundberg.net/remotecontrol.html]

Bassist Rick Rael is Lewis' brother.

Members

*Lorraine Lewis - vocals
*Mazzi Rawd - guitarist
*Bill D'Angelo - guitarist (replaced [http://www.michaeljdowney.com] Michael J Downey -aka Mick Nichols - in 1986)
*Rick Rael - bass
*Bobby Murray - drums

Discography

*1988 Femme Fatale
*1990 License to Drive: Touch and Go

EPs

*Waiting for the Big One ('88)
*Falling In and Out of Love b/w It's a Long Way To The Top & Fortune and Fame
*Rebel
*Touch and Go (Kerrang flexi disc)

External links

*Amg|11:tdjb7i3jg75r|Femme Fatale
* [http://www.fullinbloommusic.com/lorrainelewis.html History of Femme Fatale w/ Lorraine Lewis]