TKO (band)

TKO (band)

TKO was a hard rock and heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, which was active between 1977 and 2001. The group's lead vocalist and only consistent member was Brad Sinsel.

Sinsel came to Seattle from his hometown, Yakima, Washington, in the early 1970s. He joined a group called Mojo Hand. As members of the group moved on Brad replaced them with musician friends from his high school days. Eventually all of the members of Mojo Hand were replaced; among these members was Rick Pierce, who later joined Nightshade and found major success in Europe, especially Germany.

Line-up changes continued. Eventually the group settled on a stable line-up and came to the attention of managers who also represented Heart. This led to a major label recording contract in 1977, though it would be more than a year before the first album appeared.

The group released their debut Let It Roll on the Infinity Records division of MCA Records in early 1979 (INF-9005). During this time the group had a type of Glam rock image and fans compared their music favorably with The Who. They toured the U.S. extensively and sold roughly 150,000 copies of the first album. TKO was unable to complete a follow up when Infinity went out of business and was absorbed by MCA in the spring of 1980.

A different lineup of the group released In Your Face on Combat Records in 1984. The band found a secure new fan base with the growing Heavy Metal audience. The album became a cult classic, but again, record company troubles prevented them from making a second album for the label. At this time the group was part of a vibrant Seattle metal scene which included Metal Church, Queensrÿche, Rail and Culprit, among many others.

Changing lineups again they later released Below the Belt, their first album to appear on CD in 1986. This became the most successful TKO release. Brad Sinsel formed the short lived band War Babies which released a self-titled album on Columbia Records in 1992. A revived version of TKO formed to play the at the opening ceremonies for the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2001.

The first CD issues of the first 2 TKO albums were unauthorized by the group. The musicians have not received any compensation for these two discs. "Let It Roll" and "In Your Face" have since been reissued via North Carolina's Divebomb Records (a new division of metal/hardcore label, Tribunal Records) with full participation of TKO vocalist, Brad Sinsel. Both issues feature bonus tracks and new essays written by Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Editor In Chief, Martin Popoff. The master tapes for "Let It Roll' were not available, so all CD versions have been remastered from a cleaned up LP. Bonus tracks on the "Let It Roll" CD were taken from a tape of in studio live performance that was broadcast in 1978 on Seattle rock radio station KZOK-FM.