Harnell keen to start Skid Row album

Skid Row frontman Tony Harnell says he’s keen to start recording an album with his new bandmates as it will cement his place in the group.

The former TNT man was brought into the fold following the sudden departure of vocalist Johnny Solinger, who split with the group after 14 years in April.

He tells One On One With Mitch Lafon: “The first thing I’m going to do with Skid Row as far as original music is the third EP in the United World Rebellion trilogy.

“Then there’s the possibility of a full-length album maybe as soon as next year. That makes me really excited because that’ll obviously make me feel much more a part of this legacy. Playing live and singing songs that I maybe co-wrote and recorded will make me feel a lot more at home.”

Last month, Harnell and the band released a new version of 18 And Life which appeared on their self-titled 1989 debut with original singer Sebastian Bach.

And while Harnell says it’ll be “easy” to sing tracks from that era live, he reckons the albums Solinger was involved with were strong but didn’t get the recognition they deserved.

He continues: “I love the Johnny stuff and there’s a lot of great songs on those records. I think probably people dismissed them because an era was over and they were carrying the weight of Sebastian’s name, which right now isn’t a weight any more – it’s a very strong brand.”

While Harnell reports he’ll still work on solo projects and on Starbreaker’s follow-up to 2008’s Love’s Dying Wish while not on Skid Row duty, he’s with the band for the long haul.

He adds: “It’s not a summer job, it’s not a part-time thing. It actually came up before I officially left TNT that they wanted this to be my priority.”

The third chapter of United World Rebellion is expected to be released later this year.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.