close
close
HomeNews UpdateDee Snider says “We won’t accept it” helped him despite bankruptcy

Dee Snider says “We won’t accept it” helped him despite bankruptcy

June 25, 2024
Dee Snider says “We won’t accept it” helped him despite bankruptcy

Twisted Sister’s 1984 hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” has served as an anthem for various movements and political campaigns over the decades, and frontman Dee Snider admits that the lyrics touched his heart even during a difficult time in his life.

In an interview with Fox News Digital published on Sunday, the 69-year-old singer reflected on how he “lost everything” after the band split up in the late ’80s.

“People need to share their failures, not just their successes. People need to know that there is no shame in falling and that you are not the only one who falls,” he said.

“When you crash like I did and lose everything – double bankruptcy, my career collapsed, I was biking to a desk job and answering phone calls. … You know, things just went downhill unbelievably. People need to hear these stories and know they’re not alone.”

“It was crazy how broke we were”

Snider cited his wife of 48 years, Suzette, as one of the reasons he survived the financial difficulties: “She was always by my side, so I always had someone who stood by me and said, ‘We can do this,'” he said.

“Besides, it’s just my attitude, the ‘We’re not going to take it lying down’ (attitude),” Snider added. “I sing my song to myself, (saying) ‘We’re not going to take it lying down. I’m going to get out of this. I’m going to get out of this and move on.'”

“And eventually, you know, radio, voice acting, reality TV, movies, I do all that stuff,” Snider said. “And then the band was back together for a while and that was great. So don’t worry about Dee.”

In a 2012 interview with Fox News, Snider blamed his ego for continuing to spend money he didn’t have and detailed the impact his mismanagement of his finances had on his family.

“Our heyday was 1984/85, and by 1995 I was completely broke. It didn’t happen suddenly, it was a gradual decline that you didn’t want to acknowledge. You tell yourself: ‘Oh no, no, it will get better,'” he said.

“We shopped at thrift stores and used coupons. We couldn’t take our kids to a 7-Eleven because we couldn’t afford candy for them. It was crazy how broke we were.”

He added: “I always looked at the other stars who crashed and burned and said, ‘That’s never going to be me. I don’t drink, I don’t get high, I don’t have a manager to rip me off. I don’t have anyone to rip me off,’ and I didn’t do that. I have only myself to blame.”

play

Mask opponents sing and parade around Florida Target

Protesters at Target demonstrated against the mask requirement to the tune of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister, and Dee Snider was not happy about it.

USA TODAY, Storyful

How Céline Dion changed Dee Snider’s luck

In a November 2023 episode of the podcast “Steve-O’s Wild Ride!”, Snider revealed that he didn’t make any money for a year in the ’90s.

“I couldn’t sell my catalog. I would have given it away. I would have sold it for $10,000 or $20,000,” he told the hosts. “I was broke. I had three children.”

A turning point, he said, was when his wife asked him to write her a Christmas song. Thanks to Snider’s engineer, the tune made its way to Celine Dion, who recorded the song and included “The Magic Of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)” on her best-selling 1998 album, “These Are Special Times.”

Snider, who owns the publishing rights to the piece, said: “It was the only song I never wrote for commercial release, and it is perhaps the most valuable song I have ever written.”

Snider was the subject of the latest episode of the A&E documentary series “Biography,” “Biography: Dee Snider,” which premiered Sunday. The episode “tells the untold story of how Snider went from high school choir boy to one of the most recognizable faces in hard rock.”

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related Posts

About The Author

hinata