"Ricky was a young boy, he had a heart of stone
Lived 9 to 5 and he worked his fingers to the bone
Just barely out of school, he
came from the edge of town
Fought like a switchblade so no one could take him down, oh no
He had no money, no, no good at home
He walked the streets a soldier and he fought the world alone
And now it's 18 and life, you got it
18 and life, you know
Your crime is time and it's 18 and life to go"
Sebastian Bach. He was a bit of an obsession of mine back in 1989. I remember the very first time that I heard "Youth Gone Wild" by Skid Row was on Headbanger's Ball after work one night. It was a MOMENT. The song just clicked in my brain and Skid Row was instantly placed in my top three fav hairbands (behind Whitesnake & Ratt). I bought the tape and had a bit of a battle over it with my mom. She was super religious and would toss out any music that looked or sounded questionable, so Skid Row was a goner. I probably bought the cassette four times before the band released their second single, "18 And Life".
That is the song that most people remember and it was THE song that caused them to charge up Billboard's hot 100 charts into the top five. By the time all of my friends caught on to them, I had already invested six months (and probably $50) in them. "18 And Life" is the cautionary tale of a teen named Ricky who is serving life for murder. Thirty years later, it remains a worst-case scenario, cautionary tale. It was also the highest charting song for Skid Row. Check out Sebastian & the rest of the band below!