Former WASP / LA Guns drummer Steve Riley dead at 67

By Paul Brannigan
( Classic Rock )
published

Steve Riley, best known for playing with WASP and LA Guns, has died after a short illness

WASP in 1987
WASP's Chris Holmes, Steve Riley, Johnny Rod, Blackie Lawless pose with the Munster Koach (Image credit: Chris Walter/Getty Images)

Steve Riley, formerly the drummer with WASP and LA Guns, has died, aged 67. 

The glam rock website Metal Sludge broke the news of the drummer's death yesterday, writing "According to a source close to the [LA Guns] camp, Riley passed away yesterday (October 26) after he had been suffering various health issues which landed him in the hospital in recent days."

Blabbermouth reports that Riley's passing was confirmed by his longtime friend Jason Green, who shared a new video on his Waste Some Time With Jason Green YouTube channel.

Riley played on the first four WASP albums and toured with Blackie Lawless' shock rock band from 1983 to 1987. During this period, he also played on Keel's second album, 1985's The Right To Rock.

After being fired from WASP by Blackie Lawless, Riley hooked up with LA Guns and played on the band's most commercially successful albums. After a legal dispute, Riley formed his own version of the LA hard rock band, known as Riley's L.A. Guns. The band released a new single, The Dark Horse, on Golden Robot Records just last month, and were due to release their second album next year. 

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.