Quote:
Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum
Just read the relevant pages in Billy’s book….
Paraphrasing….
Billy was at a dinner for Dick Clark. He was sat at a table with Mick. They hit it off.
‘About a week later I got a call from mick to meet him and Lindsey in Malibu. They asked me if I wanted to join a band. I said you already have one. Lindsey explained he wanted to start a band without the girls. Lindsey liked my album at the time and I joined the Cholos. Mick, Lindsey, George Hawkins, Steve Ross and me.
In 1982 our debut gig was SNL. Lindsey had a single out at the time called Trouble. We spent 2 days rehearsing that and Bwana. James Coburn was the guest presenter. I was in tremendous pain. I’d been in a leg brace and was due an operation. On the way to the stage I banged my leg on a coffee table. It hurt like hell. But Martell and cocaine got me through it.
Then, the Cholos were in the bar at Berkshire hotel and Dan ackroyd and John candy came over. They asked us to be on the letterman show with them. I don’t know why we didn’t do it.
When we got back from doing SNL we found out we couldn’t use the name Cholos. The Mexican consulate made us change it because it was the name of a Mexican gang. We changed the name to the zoo. Lindsey was in the band when we first put it together. He quit in the middle of making a record. But he was the one who actually got me in the band in the first place.
Terri Garr was the host when we did SNL for the second time with mick Fleetwood zoo on 12th November 1983’
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Interesting. Stevie did SNL one month later.
This would have made a great trivia question about the Cholos. Sounds to me they changed the name not because it was offensive but for fear of their lives LOL
Living in LA, the Mexican Mafia gangs were pretty violent. The gang could have had a real issue with using their name. When the book says the consulate "made" them change the name. He would have no power to do that. But his advice was probably pretty scary like "you guys are crazy to keep this name."