W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band which formed in 1982. Of the current members, Blackie Lawless, Doug Blair, Mike Duda and Mike Dupke, Lawless is the only original member.
Their debut album was W.A.S.P. in 1984 though notably, it omitted their preceding single, "Animal (F**k Like A Beast)" in order to prevent the album being banned. The album sold well and they followed it with The Last Command in 1985, which remains the band's highest charting album, peaking at No.47 on the Billboard charts.
Although it marked an uncomfortable time for the band, being a target for Tipper Gore's anti-everything brigade -- the Parents Music Resource Center which she founded considered rock music to be partially responsible for many of the evils of modern society -- served only to increase awareness of the band and consequent sales. Ironically the album which is regarded as the best, The Crimson Idol (1992) was originally intended to be a solo album by Lawless. Under pressure, he released it with the W.A.S.P. name. The highest selling album in the band's history was the surprisingly sanitized The Headless Children -- Tipper Gore would have been proud.
In all W.A.S.P. have released 13 studio albums; the most recent is 2007's Dominator.
