Guitarist for Rock Band Ratt Dead From AIDS (posted 6/10/2002)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock guitarist Robbin Crosby, a founding member of the 1980s heavy-metal ``hair'' band Ratt, has died after an eight-year battle with AIDS, according to the group's official Web site. He was 42.

Crosby, who went public with his illness in a radio interview last July, saying he had contracted the disease through heroin use, died on Thursday.

The band's Web site (http://www.therattpack.com) carried a photograph of the guitarist performing in concert beneath the words, ``In Memory of Robbin Crosby.'' The site's ``forum'' section posted dozens of messages of condolences from grieving fans.

Crosby co-founded Ratt in 1983 with vocalist Stephen Pearcy, and after adding guitarist Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer, the Los Angeles-based group became one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-1980s.

The band released its self-titled debut independently in 1983, leading to a major-label recording contract with Atlantic Records, which issued the band's breakthrough LP, ``Out of the Cellar,'' in 1984. The album featured the huge radio and MTV hit ''Round and Round,'' which like many of Ratt's songs was co-written by Crosby.

Three more platinum-selling albums followed, starting with ''Invasion of Your Privacy'' in 1985, but the band's popularity waned after the 1990 release of ``Detonator'' as the alternative rock movement took hold, and the band broke up in 1992.

In keeping with the band's raucous, free-wheeling image, Crosby's indulgence in drugs took its toll as the musician's lavish lifestyle dissolved into a maelstrom of addiction.

``Robbin had everything kids dream of growing up,'' his brother-in-law, Bill Decker, told the San Diego Tribune. ``He was married for a while to a Playboy Playmate, he had a Ferrari, a Laurel Canyon house with a pool that overlooked L.A., a personal assistant. ... But then he started getting heavily into drugs, and his marriage started to fall apart. He lost his way.''

In July 2001, Crosby disclosed in an interview with the Los Angeles radio station KNAC that he had full-blown AIDS, a disease he said he believed he contracted when he began using heroin in the mid-'80s as a member of Ratt.

``Basically, it's killing me,'' he said at the time. ``I've been in the hospital for eight straight months, and in and out for over seven years.''

Ratt reunited without Crosby in 1997 to release another two albums. Last year, Blotzer and DeMartini launched a tour with several new members, and are due to play this summer's Rock Fest tour with other 1980s glam-metal acts.

I think that this is false and totally biased

With all due respect, I don't consider David Lee Roth to be metal, although I suppose that is debatable. More importanly, however, you know absolutley nothing of the subject of which you speak. You know nothing about heavy metal, or the lyrics, whereas those of us here debating you are very, very familiar with it. Linking to wacko sites like you did earlier in fact weakens your contention that you know anything about the subject.

Ok, that's fine though violence, the occult, etc. are prevalent in the music form. My real purpose in this thread is to really show the hypocrisy common on this site. Metal is not my preferred music but I understand that it is someone else's. I understand that not all metal songs have bad lyrics though many do. I understand that metal songs are often an outlet that doesn't necessarily entice the listener to act upon the lyrics. I understand that problem youngsters are often drawn to metal music while the music itself is not the root cause of the problems.

My problem is the double standard. While a thread about rock music and heavy metal can easily become a general chat about the various artists, any thread about rap music is practically 100% negative and involves portrayal of the music form's popularity as a sign of America's moral decay and the cause of all of America's problems. People make broad sweeping statements about all rap and all rappers being bad. If one believes this, fine, but how can one conclude this and not conclude the same about metal?

How can one discuss 50 Cent and ignore Bestial Devastation with songs like "Io Necrofilo", Megadeth's "Prince of Darkness", Blood Simple’s "Blood in Blood Out", or Funeral for a Friend’s "All the Rage"? These are a few among many.

You grew up listening to metal and therefore feel that you understand it and that it is not nearly as bad as many would make it out to be. I grew up listening to Kid n Play, LL Cool J, Run DMC, MC Hammer, Salt n Peppa, Heavy D, etc. etc., all of whom basically had innocent lyrics. I even enjoyed some of gangsta rap of NWA, Notorious B.I.G, etc. with the knowledge that the bad lyrics would in no way override my upbringing. Violence, drugs, broken families, etc. existed in the inner city well before rap became popular and would continue if rap no longer existed as long as we are influenced by liberal culture.

In my opinion, it is wrong to make negative EVERYTHING that comes out of the inner city and then exaggerate it on top of that. I don't like destructive lyrics in hip hop just as I don't like destructive imagery on television and destructive lyrics in other music forms as heavy metal. It is only right to be fair.

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