By Debbie Gardner
dgardner@thereminder.com
They were on the cutting-edge of 1980s heavy metal and shock rock.
Big hair. Smeared makeup. Outrageous costumes. Over-the-top stage theatrics.
And an anthem that defied a music era — “I Wanna Rock!”
With more than 9,000 performances under their belt, 35 million worldwide album sales, and 31 silver, gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums across eight countries since rocketing to international stardom in 1984, Long Island-born Twisted Sister certainly earned its induction into the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame in 2023.
Their 2016 “Forty and F**k It” tour was supposed to be their last gig together following the untimely death of drummer A. J. Pero.
But the band is back in 2026, with a surprise 50th Anniversary tour.
Founding guitarist Jay Jay French recently reflected on the impact of Twisted Sister’s music, the 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour that almost wasn’t, and what it takes to keep a music legend alive.
And Prime was there to listen…
We caught French a few days after the band played a late August warm up show in Atlantic City’s Starlight Ballroom under the moniker Bent Brothers, something their press agent Matt Currie said the band does historically as a prelude to a tour.
But this warmup was different. It was more than just the band working the kinks out after a 10-year hiatus. It was a concert replacing legendary frontman Dee Snider with another lead singer, guest vocalist Sebastian Bach of Skid Row fame.
After days of rehearsals, French felt the first show was an OK start to a tour that almost wasn’t.
“It went well, “French shared. “We worked really hard to create the magic that Twisted Sister creates, that our reputation is based on. I think it was successful, based on the comments I read.”
“We don’t really play the United States very often,” French continued. “This fall tour is unusual for us because it’s really in America. There’s a date in Canada, but we play primarily in Europe and South America, but with Sebastian, it’s a whole different scenario.”
Getting the band back together
French had focused less on music of late, expanding his career to include authoring a book, “Twisted Business: Lessons from my Life in Rock ‘n’ Roll,” doing business conferences teaching the Twisted Sister method of reinvention, booking gigs as a motivational speaker, hosting his own podcast, the Jay Jay French Connection, and writing for several magazines, when the reunion tour idea came up.
Co-founder Eddie Ojeda, who resides in Nashville, was still involved in music, performing as a solo musician and promoting Twisted Sister merch, as far as French knew. Dee Snider had launched a solo music career and dabbled in media and film.
“Ironically, Dee is the one who talked me and Eddie into doing a 50th Anniversary tour and we were kind of ‘I don’t know…’,” French said of his reaction and that of fellow founding member Eddie Ojeda. “But then he was so compelling we agreed, and no sooner than we booked it and he was confronted with health issues that prevented him from performing.
“It went from doing it, to not doing it, to doing it … that’s when we contacted Sebastian,” French said.
When Bach said yes, that led to the abbreviated U.S. anniversary tour, including an Oct. 2 appearance at the Big E, the first time the band ever played the major New England state fair.
“The last time I was in Springfield was to listen to a band called Seven Dust record an album,” French joked.
When asked about the last-minute replacement of Twisted Sister’s iconic frontman, French said his band isn’t the only legendary act from the 1980s that’s faced this problem. He cited other bands – such as Queen losing Freddy Mercury - that had to make changes to keep playing.
“Examples of supposedly irreplaceable frontmen who were successfully replaced were Sammy Hagar replacing David Lee Roth and the new singer for Journey replacing Steve Perry,” French said. “The fact that Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd are touring with absolutely no recognizable original members shows that in the world of legacy rock, this is now becoming a habit because of the simple fact of aging out and people still wanting the music.”
And Bach isn’t the first musician Twisted Sister has had to replace, French added.
“I’ve seen 20 people come and go,” French said. “Sebastian is our fifth lead singer; we’ve had nine drummers and eight guitar players.”
“Half of our drummers are dead; it’s a very dangerous position to be in. I warn Joey that it’s a very lethal position,” French joked.
But he felt scoring Sebastian Bach to front this 50th Anniversary tour was a coup for the band.
“We replaced Dee with a bonafide superstar… who is an extraordinary talent,” French said, adding, “Sebastian is a big Twisted Sister fan; you stand a pretty good chance of the public loving the band.”
He also thanked fellow musicians Russell Pzütto on bass and Joey Cassata on drums for making sure Twisted Sister continues to put on a legendary show for fans.
As far as future concerts after this tour wraps in December, French said that depends on Bach and his schedule.
“Sebastian has his own band, and we have to honor his own projects,” French said.
But he didn’t say it couldn’t happen….
Reflecting on 50 years
French said it’s been an extraordinary ride shepherding the legacy of Twisted Sister for the past 50 years.
“If you look at the bands that came out in 1973, that’s a pretty amazing list – Aerosmith, Kiss, Twisted Sister, Motorhead, Judas Priest – and here we are 50 years later,” French said.
Twisted Sister had its roots in the clubs around the Tri-State area, spending a decade dominating the scene, and was the only band without a record contract to sell out New York’s iconic Palladium Theater – twice. They finally hit it big in 1984 with twin rock anthems “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”
“If you would have asked any one of us in 1973 how long our careers would last, I would have said 10 years,” French said candidly. “And here we are at 50 years with an immense worldwide following.”
Together, he said he and Ojeda have played more than 6,000 performances.
And despite the band’s loyal fan base in the U. S., French said Twisted Sister now has its largest following in South America, followed by fans in Europe.
“In America, the fan base is teenage to age 70. In South America, it’s kids under 20 who weren’t there 10 years ago,” when they toured for the 40th Anniversary, French said, “The kids weren’t even born when our songs came out. They say ‘We love you and ACDC and Judas Priest and Ozzy’… it’s a rite of passage. We’re blessed to be appealing to the likes of these people.”
What these fans do is “keep the music in the soundtrack of their lives in South America,” French said.
The band even took the Spanish connection one step further, doing a Mariachi band version of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in 2012 for a commercial for Hornitos Tequila for Cinco de Mayo.
But whether that audience is in America, Europe, or South America, French said Twisted Sister sets out to put on a show that exceeds their legend.
“Kiss did that, Aerosmith did that, Judas Priest does it… that’s what great bands do, they deliver consistently for their fans,” French said. “You always have to be fantastic. You have to expect people to come to a show and want to walk away with a smile on their face. They want to have a great evening of entertainment.”
That means playing the songs fans want to hear, including “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.” French said the band even learned to sing the words to some of their songs in Spanish for their South American audiences.
And though French indicated it’s always an honor to get up on stage and play the songs the fans want to hear, he did admit to having two personal faves. And they weren’t the band’s famous anthems.
“I personally have two songs that we do that are my favorites, ‘Shoot ‘Em Down’ and ‘We’re Gonna Make It,’” French admitted. “ ‘We’re Gonna Make it’ is from our second album, ‘You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll’. You can add that song, too.”
“You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll” was released first in the UK in May, and then in the U.S. in June of 1983. “Shoot ‘Em Down” comes from their 1982 album “Under the Blade.”
Everyone knows Twisted Sister
French is more than just a founding member and current manager of Twisted Sister. From the early days he’s taken an active role in making sure the band’s name and music live on. French said he and Ojeda started talking about licensing the band’s music for films and commercials in the early 1990s. Even before that, French and Snider began discussing making their music available to indie filmmakers who could not afford high royalty costs for other music.
The first indie film to use the band’s music was 1986’s “Iron Eagle.” The song was the iconic “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
The first time a Twisted Sister song was used in a commercial was for Comtrax nasal spray in 1999. Licensing agreements grew yearly after that.
“We made an effort to make our music available to be licensed in every avenue we could find, to continue to keep the band’s music and name alive,” French said. “And now ‘We’re Not Gonna Take it’ and, ‘I Wanna Rock’ are the most licensed songs from the ‘80s rock era.
To date, Twisted Sister’s music “is in more TV shows, movie soundtracks and commercials than any of the songs, not to mention all the sports stadiums that played the music regularly,” French continued. “It really is an incredible experience to know that this music is out there, not just in America. It’s been turned into commercials in Europe and South America as well, and the music’s been played in soccer stadiums around the world.”
French said, “It’s an incredible legacy.”