Ann Boleyn

Ann Boleyn is best known as the founder and singer of L.A. heavy rock/metal band, Hellion. Ann Boleyn was raised in a small town in Washington states and was already a professional musician at age 13 or 14. By the time she was in high school, Boleyn had a full keyboard set up, including a Hammond B-3 and leslie, and was sought out by number of established groups that toured the USA performing "cover versions" of popular songs. One of the bands that asked her to join was Zephyr, which included the late Tommy Bollin (who eventually went on to play with Billy Cobham, James Gang, and Deep Purple). As a high-schooler, Boleyn's parents refused to allow her to join Zephyr. According to an interview in 1984, a few years after turning down the offer with Zephyr, Ann Boleyn realized she'd made a mistake, especially as Tommy Bollin's career began to take off. As she approached her junior year in a small-town high school, Boleyn said she was depressed and thought she had missed her one chance in the music business. In the winter of 1974, however, fate intervened. As the winner of a "4-H" contest, Boleyn received a free trip to the 4-H convention in Chicago. Due to problems with snow at the airport and flight delays, Boleyn arrived late. Instead of being placed in the same area of the hotel as other 4-H members, Boleyn was assigned a room on a floor that was occupied mainly by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and the Dickey Betts Band. According to an interview in "Metal Scene" in 1987, Boleyn met a keyboard roadie who offered to allow her to come and watch the soundcheck. However, when the soundcheck time approached, and keyboard player had not arrived, Boleyn volunteered to sit in and played some Almond Brothers songs. Following the soundcheck, Boleyn was approached by a several people claiming to be managers, one of whom provided her backstage passes to Deep Purple, ELO, and Elf, who were playing the next night. (Boleyn says this was probably the first time she met Ronnie James Dio, who, years later, would assist her band, Hellion). And, shortly thereafter, Boleyn began receiving phone calls from other bands. And by early 1976, she was asked to come to Hollywood and play for The Runaways. When Ann Boleyn arrived in Los Angeles, The Runaways were recording their first album. There are various stories as to why Ann Boleyn did not stay in the band. Boleyn, and former Runaways members, have hinted that the band's manager at the time was abusive of the teenager girls in the band. Another story, that appeared in an interview with the Runaway's drummer, Sandy West, before her death, mentions that the band wanted Boleyn to play bass instead of keyboards. Sandy West also stated that when Boleyn arrived in the studio, she was concerned because singer Sherry Currie had not been see in weeks, and that Boleyn doubted if the band was going to break up. Another story, states that Tommy Bollin convinced Ann Boleyn to stay away from Kim Fowley, the Runaway's manager. After the Runaways, Boleyn briefly worked with Dianne Diamond and Marie Currie (Sherry Curry's sister) in Venus and the Razorblades. Boleyn also may have been in the glam-punk band "Shock." Boleyn soon surfaced as a DJ on KROQ, a major radio station in Los Angeles. Boleyn apparently got the job after driving Tommy Bollin to an interview at the station. While at KROQ, Boleyn did the overnight shift, during which she would play bootlegs of bands like Deep Purple and Led Zepplin, along with then-newcomers such as Judas Priest and early Whitesnake. Because of the fast-paced music she liked to play, she began referring to her favorite music as "Speed Metal." And, her show took on the name "Speed Metal Hell." Experts in the music business generally agree that the term "speed metal" was coined by Boleyn. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Boleyn continued to play keyboards. She is included on the Third Stage Alert album, which also features Yngwie Malmsteen (released . In about 1981 or 1982, Boleyn formed Hellion. According to various music magazines, Hellion arose from the ashes of another band, Beowulf, which included singer David Reese, who eventually sang with accept. When the band was unable to replace Reese, Boleyn started singing. In a short time she was spotted by Ronnie James Dio and his wife Wendy Dio who produced and managed Ann's band, Hellion until about 1986. Throughout the 1980s, Hellion was popular among metal and hard rock fans. Despite having some success in Europe (Music For Nations and Roadrunner Records) and Japan (Pony Canyon & Sony), and being a popular band on the L.A. club circuit, Hellion was unable to secure a major label record deal in the USA. By 1986, Boleyn had begun pressing Hellion's recordings herself, on a label that was initially called Bongus Loadus Records. Boleyn later changed the name of the label to New Renaissance Records when she began releasing the albums of other bands. Boleyn's label was the first to release the music of bands such as Sepultura, Florsam & Jetsam, Morbid Angel, Blood Feast, At War, Wehrmacht, and The Rock City Angeles (which included actor Johnny Depp). By 1987, Hellion's album "Screams In The Night," had achieved airplay on over 100 radio stations, as well as a video on MTV (on daytime programming as well as on Headbanger's Ball) and VH-1. In 1988, Hellion released "Postcards From The Asylum," a mini-LP that was engineered by Angelo Arcuri, of Dio fame. In 1988 and 1989, Ray Schenck was absent from Hellion. Guitarist Kenny Kanowski filled in for Schenck in Europe. Tim Kelly, who eventually joined Slaughter, filled in for Schenck in the US. By the 1990s, Hellion had finally secured a record deal with Enigma Records, which had distribution through Capital Records. The band's album, "The Black Book," was geared to be a priority release for Enigma, with two videos shot, and with Ann Boleyn set as a guest host on Headbanger's Ball, a TV show. However, while the band's video was being edited, MTV cancelled Headbanger's Ball. Shortly thereafter when bands like Nirvana began to take over the airwaves, the release of Hellion's album was placed on hold. While Hellion awaited the release of their album, the band was offered a support slot with the legendary metal band, Kruiz, from the former Soviet Union. In the summer of 1991, Hellion became the first US band to tour what was then the USSR (now Russia). The line-up included Ann Boleyn (vocals), Rex Tennyson (who eventually was in Heavy Bones, on bass), Sean Kelly, Chet Thompson, and Ray Schenck. When "The Black Book" was eventually released in the USA, it came out on the "Medusa" label, after Enigma Records closed its doors. The version of the album that was released in England, France, Germany, and Japan has a gate-fold sleeve and top rate packaging. The edition released on Restless Records, however, has different artwork and is of poor quality in comparison. Medusa did not release "The Black Book" on vinyl. Videos of the song "Stormrider" and "Living In Hell" were recorded to support "The Black Book." However, the final versions were never edited. In about 2003, Boleyn joined together with guitarist Ray Schenck and Chet Thompson to record "Will Not Go Quietly." The album was released only in German on Massacre Records. Producer Mikey Davis, who had worked with Korn, wanted to update Hellion's sound. While the album has some strong songs, Boleyn was not satisfied with the final result and chose not to release it in the USA> Years later, Boleyn remains a respected singer, and has occasionally made guest appearances with other bands and on sound tracks. From 2008 through 2009, Boleyn filled in for Dawn Crosby (RIP) in the band Detente. Because Detente is a thrash band, some people questioned Boleyn's ability to sing a style of music other than traditional (NHOBHM) metal. However, the reviews were surprisingly good and Boleyn was welcomed by Detente's fans. In early 2009, Detente went into the studio with legendary producer, Bill Metoyer, to begin work on a new album. According to an interview, Boleyn and Detene disagreed about the lyrics once they were in the studio. In Hellion, Boleyn had always written the lyrics. Apparently she refused to sing a song called "Kill Rush (Limbough)" and another one about US servicemen torturing puppies. Boleyn's split, however, was amicable. A few days after leaving Detente, Ronnie James Dio died. Boleyn is mentioned in a number of books about the late singer as well as in the closing pages of the coffee table book by photographer P.G. Brunelli. Ann Boleyn reformed Hellion with a new line-up in late 2013. The band released a 2-CD anthology entitled "To Hellion and Back" in April of 2014. They are set to release their first new CD, entitled "Karma's A Bitch" in September of 2014. A North American tour is set to begin in October of 2014. Official Facebook site for Ann Boleyn: Founder and singer for Hellion. Queen of Hell. Duchess of Debauchery. Poseur Disposer.