In 1987, Ronnie Sweetheart played guitar in a Toronto glam rock band called VO5, fronted by Sebastian Bach. However, Bach was heading for a career in Skid Row, so Sweetheart fled to New York. Soon to become a lead singer and lead guitarist, Sweetheart met bassist Danny Nordahl (Faster Pussycat, Motochrist, Stiv Bators And His Evil Boys, L.A. Guns), guitarist Pete Pagan and drummer Ronnie Taz(or Ronnie Magri). The original line-up of The Throbs did not stay together for long and Pagan was replaced by former Smashed Gladys guitarist Roger Ericson. The guy called Ginger joined also The Throbs for a couple of gigs before he left to form The Wildhearts in London.

The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds (Geffen Records)

The Throbs made a name for themselves in New York City for a couple of years, after which they were signed by Geffen Records. The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds debut album was recorded under the direction of Bob Ezrin and Dick Wagner. Both are remembered for Alice Cooper’s popular albums of the 70s, Ezrin from his Alice Cooper Band days and Wagner in particular for Welcome to my Nightmare and beyond. Ezrin’s output for Kiss should not be underestimated either. The album even features Little Richard himself on piano!

Reminiscent of the heyday of the Alice Cooper Band, Dogs D’Amour and New York Dolls, the album received excellent reviews and rightly so, but it just so happened that Geffen dropped the band from its roster six months after the album’s release. Ronnie Sweetheart recalled in an interview on Sleazeroxx: “All I remember is dinner at a Moroccan restaurant with Geffen Records, our lawyer and Andy McCoy (Hanoi Rocks). Geffen asked us: “How do we market or promote you?” According to Sweetheart, the band was practically shocked by this, especially as the band was a more difficult case to shape to the standards of the record industry at the time. In the same year, grunge was sweeping many genres under the carpet.

In 2004, The Throbs released their second album called Second. This release has been missed by many (including myself) even more than The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds, which every self-respecting glam/sleaze enthusiast should pick up. I may not be one, but the album has been one that I keep coming back to since its release.

Come Down Sister was released as a single. The song itself is an excellent introduction to this forgotten album, but not necessarily one of its best. Check out for example Underground and Only Way Out. It’s worth picking up the whole album if the genre is even remotely close to your heart.