The story of rock band Kingdom Come is much like that of a meteor. If commercial success and popular acclaim could be said to be the Earth’s atmosphere, as soon as the band, which comprised both European and American players, including founder/vocalist/songwriter Lenny Wolf, hit that atmosphere burning its brightest with the release of their debut single Get It On in early 1988, less than a year after forming. .
But like a meteor, the heat of success from their debut album and acclaim last only a short while, as internal strife caused the band to break apart, splintering into seeming nothingness by the late summer of 1989. But unlike the meteor of our analogy, Kingdom Come is back, with four of the five original members embarking on a run of shows across the United States starting Sept. 27 in Seattle and wrapping up at the end of October in Kansas City. For a couple of the shows in October, Canada’s Killer Dwarfs will be the opening act.
The reunion is the labour of love for original drummer James Kottak, who is bringing back fellow co-founders Rick Steier (who also played in Warrant for eight years), Danny Stag and Johnny B. Frank, alongside former Montrose and Lynch Mob member Keith St. John on lead vocals. And Kottak is putting all the cards on the table for this venture, fronting much of the money for advance expenses, meaning he has the bulk of the risk, but also the bulk of the rewards, both financially and emotionally.
“The rehearsals are going great and we’ve got tickets up and running and the shows are selling. Of our 20 or so shows, I think 12 are sold out. And they are in clubs, which is where we belong at this stage because we have to get up to speed and we have to deliver and we have to show the world and the fans that we are up and running and that we are presenting some serious rock and roll,” said Kottak, who past battle alcoholism that led to some erratic behaviour and his eventual ouster from The Scorpions after nearly 22 years behind their drum kit a couple of years ago. He is over these issues, but said he still needs to prove to the music industry that he is back, healthy and better than ever.
“If I didn’t do this, it would never happen. I am producing the entire project and financially taking care of everything. But we have offers from Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Australia – so many places around the planet are excited that Kingdom Come is back. But the thing in the rock and roll world is that people don’t believe what you say, you have to prove it to them. Some see me as a flake, but my past doesn’t really represent what is now a really good story. I am an alcoholic and have been for some time and I have to continue to replenish myself and I have to make good on things. But the thing is, I believe in this band and I am putting my money where my mouth is.
“I tell you what; Kingdom Come is going to come out and play and we’re going to be great and we want to do this tour to really jump start this thing. And in 2019 it’s going to be stupid busy. We’re going to really, really get on board big time. And that’s all I can say right now, man. People need to come out and see for themselves. We’ve got four guys from the original outfit and we have been rehearsing and we’re going to kick butt beyond belief. And we have an amazing new lead singer in Keith St. John who is phenomenal. I am not trying to make it sound bigger than it ever will be, but I will tell you that it’s definitely better than it ever was. We’re going to go out and give it our best shot and everything will be wonderful and that’s because I know one thing, and that’s rock and roll.”
Kingdom Come was a monster success right out of the gate, on the strength of their Zeppelin-esque debut single Get It On, which received heavy rotation on both radio as well as video channels around the world. Based on this success, the self-titled debut album, released later in 1988, became the first initial album of a new band to ship Gold (500,000 units), actually selling 610,000 right out of the gate.
By the end of the year, Kingdom Come had sold more than a million albums and had been chosen to open the North America version of that year’s Monsters of Rock Tour, which was headlined by Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken and Metallica. They continued touring throughout North America with the Scorpions and then took lengthy sojourns through Europe and Japan opening for Bon Jovi.
A second album, In Your Face, was released in 1989, and was produced by Keith Olsen and sold half a million copies on the strength of singles such as Do You Like It and Who Do You Love. But the ride was seemingly over as suddenly as it began as the band was torn asunder, with drummer Kottak, guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier and bassist Johnny B. Frank going their separate ways.
Vocalist Wolf retained the name, returned to Germany and kept the Kingdom Come brand afloat releasing a dozen studio albums and a live album from 1991 to 2013, with airplay, touring and sales limited primarily to Europe.
Kottak toured for a bit with Warrant and Michael Schenker, before landing a primo gig, replacing legendary German drummer Herman Rarebell behind the kit with The Scorpions – a position he held for 22 years until his substance abuse demons caught up with him in 2016, and he was forced to relinquish his stool to former long-time Motorhead skin basher Mikkey Dee.
Even before his departure from The Scorpions, Kottak said there was talk of bringing all five original members of Kingdom Come back together, but circumstances intervened at that time – and those circumstances were that the apparent retirement of The Scorpions, led by the talented Teutonic trio of legendary members, vocalist Klaus Meine, and the twin guitar attack of Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, was put on hold. The band continues to tour and release new music to this day, with no end in sight.
“We tried to do it back in 2013 and early 2014 while we were still doing The Scorpions’ farewell tour. I got a call from Klaus Meine and he said, ‘James could you maybe not do your Kingdom Come reunion? We’re going to continue on and do a new album.’ And at the time, because I thought we were done, not only did I have Kingdom Come going, but I had my own band Kottak going, and I had Project Rock, so I was involved with 20 other humans and I had to put it all on hold because my allegiance was to The Scorpions,” he said, adding that there was another attempt at a reunion without him in 2016, but Wolf pulled the plug after just a couple of dates, including the Monsters of Rock Cruise that year.
Kottak got healthy and the bug to reform Kingdom Come never abated, nor did it for Stag, Frank and Steier. The notion got a kick start when everyone involved realized that 2018 would be the 30th anniversary of the first albums, and therefore was the perfect hook on which to hang their reunion plans.
“I am infatuated with this band and I am doing this because I love the first Kingdom Come album. And I love the second album too. It was a very pivotal point in my life and I want to go back and revisit it and celebrate it. It’s all I want to focus on right now. I just want to celebrate this rock and roll album, and I am excited to do just that,” he said, adding that the debut album was special, thanks in large part to producer Bob Rock.
“Thirty years is a long friggin’ time. But that album was massive. We shipped more than 600,000 albums and we were the first rock and roll band to ever do that. And I am so proud of that and I want to go back and celebrate that. And I’ll tell you what, rock and roll is not dead. We’re going to take this music and go play rock and roll. And this album was phenomenal dude. It was a ground-breaking album. That album led to Motley Crue doing the Dr. Feelgood album, and it was a massive success for them. Tommy Lee is my ex-brother in law and he asked me who was the producer of the first Kingdom Come album and the next thing you know, Tommy Lee’s got Bob Rock. And then after that success Bob Rock went on to do the Metallica stuff. There’s no mystery here man, ours was a ground-breaking album. That album changed the rock world in many ways.”
Kottak said one of the reasons why the first Kingdom Come album may have resonated so strongly with fans was that it was a unique combination of the blues based hard rock that tended to come more from Europe and the U.K., with the attitude and swagger of American rock and metal.
“We were blues rock. We were not heavy metal. We were definitely not hair metal. And in a world of double kick drums at the time, I had a single kick. You know why? Because Lenny insisted on it. We were hard rock, and we were blues rock. I want to represent that music and give it to the world again. I want this whole thing to represent the best of the Kingdom Come brand, the best of the Kingdom Come music and the best of these three other original guys, especially my very, very best friend Rick Steier, who has been my best friend since 1978 and I owe a lot to him,” he said.
While the departure from The Scorpions seemed to be rancorous as portrayed in the press, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as Kottak remains in regular contact with Meine and Schenker in particular, even popping backstage to say hello during a recent Scorpions show. The subject of his departure is nonetheless still raw for Kottak himself, who broke down while talking about his friends in the band and missing their comradeship on a daily basis.
“They rock, and they are the best band in the history of the world and I will always be proud of them and proud of my time with them. I was at their last show here in L.A. and I spent time with Klaus and his wife and all the crew guys and Rudolph. When I left, we parted on good terms. So, when I got to go down and see everybody there were a lot of hugs and a lot of friendship. I have no animosity to those people.
“They are my friends, they are my family. I love them. They went above and beyond for me. They are like brothers. I do get emotional talking about it, but they are like family. I spent almost 22 years with them. I love them more than life. They are my friends and they are my friends for life, until the day we die.”
Lenny Wolf was not interested in returning to the Kingdom Come fold but did sign a licencing agreement with Kottak to enable him to use the name and other peripherals.
“It is what it is. It’s a business relationship with Lenny. And I miss him, and I love him, but there’s no advancement there, and I am sorry about that. I wished he was part of this so bad. But it’s not going to happen, so we have Keith St. John. He is going to kick down the door and is going to make things great. There are so many great bands out there and those bands change from time to time, and we had to make a change,” he said.
“And I am the kind of guy where I am not going to let anybody stand in my way, and what I want to do. And what I want to do is I want to revisit Kingdom Come and I want to reboot it and I want it to be great for everyone, especially the fans. And you know what, with the four original guys and Keith, it’s going to be more blistering and better than anything in the history of Kingdom Come. Keith has really given us a good shot of energy. I cannot wait until we get out there and show the world that Kingdom Come is a rocking band and how amazing and intense our songs are, especially the ones from that first album.”
For more information, visit www.KingdomComeBand.com, or their social media channels.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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