Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider says their success in the 80s came as a shock as he never expected to front a big band.
Their breakthrough came with the release of third album Stay Hungry in 1984. It spawned hits We’re Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock which became huge thanks to airtime on MTV. And Snider says the reaction from the public came as a complete surprise.
He tells Chicago radio station 89 WLS: “It was a shock. I never expected to be a band that became a household name and had hit records.
“I thought we’d be one of those bands that went from town to town and sold records at every show – like Black Oak Arkansas, a band nobody ever heard of on the radio, but still was popular.
“But just suddenly, MTV came out and they were looking for visual bands and we fit the bill.”
Snider also insists he was treated as an outcast from the rock community as he steered clear of the hedonistic lifestyle led by other artists at the time. And he says his life hasn’t changed.
He continues: “My philosophy on life has always been pretty against the norm. I never did drugs, I never drank, I was always into fitness and I’ve been with the same woman 38 years.
“I was an alien in the rock and roll community. They were looking at me, going, ‘What is this guy’s deal?’ And I’m looking at them, going, ‘You don’t get it. This is a long game. You’re looking to exit at 30, I’m looking to exit in my 90s.’”
Film director Andrew Horn has been working with the band on upcoming movie We Are Twisted Fucking Sister. It looks at their early days before the group’s MTV success and will premiere at the Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam tomorrow (November 23).
Snider said: “It’s for people who are original fans, true fans or those who want to know more about this band. This is independently done which is the way a documentary of this kind should be – not like other rock documentaries where the band puts it together like a piece of propaganda to make themselves loo good.”
