After the relative commercial failure of Fleetwood Mac`s Tusk album, where many tracks were recorded in Buckingham`s home studio, Mick Fleetwood informed Buckingham that the band was not interested in recording subsequent releases in the same way. This was the impetus for Buckingham to create Law and Order. “That`s when I realized that if I wanted to keep taking risks and trying to define myself as an artist for the long term, I had to start making solo albums.” [3] Looking back, Law and Order`s three albums will continue to age like good wine, but the band`s discography reads like an unfinished business, from a band that retired before its time, but maybe, as you`ll discover, there could be more. Shane: My good friend Robert Steele, drummer for Law and Order, and I wanted to form a band that would be a four-piece hard rock band. I knew a bass player who had a solid reputation and lived in the area, Sean Carmody, and we started jamming together. Sean knew a few guitarists and we jammed with a small handful, but it was Phil Allocco who fit perfectly, he was an amazing songwriter and a edgy, bluesy guitarist. At a time when everyone was hitting and hitting Eddie Van Halen, Phil was the exact opposite – a player who had his own style. We started by jokingly calling the band “Romeo” until we all agreed on law and order. At the end of Season 3, NBC executives still felt that the show didn`t have enough female characters. On the orders of the network`s president at the time, Warren Littlefield, new female characters had to be added to the cast, otherwise the show could be canceled on its relegated Friday night slot.
Wolf realized that since there were only six characters in the show, someone had to be fired. He decided to release Florek and Brooks from the regular list, and later said they were the two most difficult phone calls he had ever made. Although the producers initially claimed that the layoffs, particularly those of Brooks, who did not get along with Moriarty, were for other reasons, Wolf confirmed that the layoffs were on Littlefield`s orders. [34] Andrew: Where are things in terms of law and order today? A lot of bands like you have reformed and signed with labels like Frontiers. Is this possible in the maps for law and order? Andrew: Like many other East Coast bands, Law and Order was denied great commercial success. Do you think MCA Records really supported the band? When the 80s erupted in the 90s, what was the influence of the grunge scene on the fate of Law and Order? Shane: I don`t know if there`s a simple answer to that. There were quotes from MCA: “Don`t bore us, come to the chorus,” but at the same time we heard, “Law and Order was our band with integrity.” Then there was a change of director up there, and it is possible that we got lost in the reshuffle. Looking back, we really should have gone through the bad times instead of ending our contract. Andrew: Law And Order was part of a dynamic hard rock and heavy metal scene of the late `80s and early `90s, with bands like Spread Eagle.
Paint a picture of this scene. What do you remember from the band`s first performance? We teamed up with outstanding producer Mack Reinhold, who has produced bands like Queen, The Rolling Stones and Presence by Led Zeppelin. It was a great choice, it took us to another level and our sound was more like an album in the style of the 70s, but with more modern technology. Andrew: Guide me through the end of Law and Order. In the end, what were the circumstances of the band at the time that led to the breakup? Shane: Yes, that`s right. In fact, the tour buses had just arrived when we heard the news of Andrew`s death. I think MCA had a lot of money invested in that tour, money they couldn`t get back. So they sent us with a New York band called Raging Slab for a few weeks.
It was a fun tour of the upper eastern regions of the United States. We were also told at the time that we were going to tour with Ace Frehley, unfortunately that never materialized, and few good tours that suited us were available so late in the game. After the breakup, we split into two bands, Phil and Sean continued their partnership and formed a band called “Dogma”, while Rob Steele and I formed a band called U235. Shane: Well, U235 has been very successful at home and abroad. A little story about U235 – for the past five years we`ve been touring with many big bands, including Motörhead all over Germany as well as Marilyn Manson and Type O negative to name a few. The first album was released on SPV Steam Hammer and was eventually released by Warner Records in the United States. I recently caught up with Shane for a rare interview in which, among other things, we talk about the fate of one of rock music`s most fascinating bands, Law and Order. Shane: I remember there was a vibrant community of bands from New York and New Jersey who were all close friends playing their own music and trying to sign. Many nights, all the bands celebrated until the wee hours of the morning and supported each other with the music. It was a good time for original music in New York. Shane: I`ve always thought of this band as a hard rock band with roots in the blues.
It`s true, we all had long hair and that put us in the same bag as this scene, but our music was very different lyrically, especially the content of the second and third albums. I do not know if that played a role in anything good or bad at the end of the day.