NICHOLAS CHARLES DINGLEY
2nd December 1960-8th December 1984
Hanoi Rocks @Chicago Cabaret Metro,USA 2nd December 1984.Razzle's 24th birthday,the crowd sang happy birthday to him.
....Saturday,8th December 1984.Hanoi Rocks are staying at the Franklin Plaza hotel in Los Angeles,having booked in late last night.
A few miles away,over in Redondo Beach,Vince Neil of Motley Crue is having a party in his beach front condo.The party has been in full swing for a couple of days,some girls from the apartment complex are there,one of Vince's neighbour's and Motley's Mick Mars and Tommy Lee also.
Razzle,Andy McCoy and Sami Yaffa rock up to do some partying.
A few miles away,over in Redondo Beach,Vince Neil of Motley Crue is having a party in his beach front condo.The party has been in full swing for a couple of days,some girls from the apartment complex are there,one of Vince's neighbour's and Motley's Mick Mars and Tommy Lee also.
Razzle,Andy McCoy and Sami Yaffa rock up to do some partying.
Franklin Plaza Hotel 5640 Franklin Avenue 310,Los Angeles,CA 90028.
Razzle had first met Vince Neil at the 'Monsters of Rock' festival at Donington on August 18th 1984 when Motley Crue were on the bill.Razzle and Vince arranged to meet up a few days later in London and went to the Johnny Thunders gig at the Marquee Club.
Buck Defect,Vince Neil,Kim McAuliffe(Girlschool) and Razzle at London's Marquee Club,August 1984 (Photo from Thomas Ian Murdoch)
Buck Defect,Vince Neil,Kim McAuliffe(Girlschool) and Razzle at London's Marquee Club,August 1984 (Photo from Thomas Ian Murdoch)
Vince Neil's condo at apartment 404 on the 4th floor of The Delphi apartments,916 Esplanade,Redondo Beach,California.
As the booze supplies began to run low Vince asked who'd like to make a beer run with him. Razzle immediately volunteered and the two of them set off just after 6pm in Vince's new high performance muscle car,a 1972 Red De Tomaso Pantera.
They drove four blocks to the Redondo Liquor Deli in S.Catalina Avenue and bought a few hundred Dollars worth of Mexican beer and other liquor.Razzle had the box of booze in a cardboard box perched on his lap and they set off for home.
They drove four blocks to the Redondo Liquor Deli in S.Catalina Avenue and bought a few hundred Dollars worth of Mexican beer and other liquor.Razzle had the box of booze in a cardboard box perched on his lap and they set off for home.
Redondo Liquor Deli,529 S Catalina Avenue,Redondo Beach exterior and Interior.
As the car turned left from Sapphire Street into The Esplanade,Vince hit the gas,accelerating the powerful car to 65 mph,in a 25 mph speed zone,in seconds.
The street was dry except for one wet patch in the road.The inebriated Neil drove into the wet area,lost control of the car which skidded across the lanes into the Northbound lane and collided sideways on into an oncoming vehicle,a VW Beetle.The two occupants of the VW,18 year old driver Lisa Hogan and her 20 year old passenger,Daniel Smithers were severely injured.The time of the crash was 6:38 pm.
Lisa was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Little Company of Mary hospital where she remained in a coma until the end of the month with a broken arm,two broken legs and brain damage.
Daniel suffered a broken leg and some brain damage.The driver of a third car involved,25 year old Karimi Khaliabad,was uninjured.
Site of the crash outside of 616,The Esplanade at Redondo Beach.
Razzle had received the worst of it with extremely severe injuries to his chest and to his head and was rushed to South Bay ER with CPR in progress,but was declared Dead on Arrival at 7.12pm.
Redondo Beach Police Department crash scene photographs.Note in photo 3 the forlorn sight of Razzle's Chuck Taylor sneaker lying in the street.
Vince Neil miraculously escaped serious injury.He suffered only minor cuts to his forehead and cracked ribs.
He was taken to the hospital to have his injuries attended to and subsequently taken to Torrance County jail where he was arrested on suspicion of DUI and Vehicular Manslaughter.He was released on $2,500 bail.
One Witness stated he saw Vince Neil standing next to the mangled Pantera with a foaming bottle of Corona beer in his hand.
He was overheard to say "Everything's Ok".
Another witness stated he heard Vince tell someone "I must have been going 90 when I went through that intersection".
South Bay hospital,Redondo Beach where Razzle was declared Dead on Arrival.
This is a genuine,official copy of Razzle's death certificate obtained from the Los Angeles registrar.This is for information purposes only and unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material is strictly prohibited.
Do NOT share this on any social media websites-NO exceptions!
Do NOT share this on any social media websites-NO exceptions!
Razzle's memorial stone in the Church of the Holy Cross graveyard (Photo taken in 2009).
Razzle's body was flown back to the UK and on Friday,21st December the funeral service was held at the Church of the Holy Cross in Binstead,the small village on the Isle of Wight where he had grown up.
His body was taken to Whippingham crematorium at Newport and his ashes buried beneath a small memorial stone in the Church of the Holy Cross graveyard.
How the media around the world reported the tragedy
In July 1985 Vince Neil was sentenced to 30 days in jail,5 years probation and ordered to pay $2.6 Million in compensation to the victims of the car crash.$200,000 of that went to Razzle's parents Henry and Irene Dingley.
Neil in fact served just over half of his jail sentence,in a minimum security facility washing cars.
According to his autobiography 'Tattoos & Tequila',the guards would bring in burgers and six-packs of beer for him at the weekends and the sergeant on duty even gave him permission one afternoon to have a girl in his cell for a romp!
Neil in fact served just over half of his jail sentence,in a minimum security facility washing cars.
According to his autobiography 'Tattoos & Tequila',the guards would bring in burgers and six-packs of beer for him at the weekends and the sergeant on duty even gave him permission one afternoon to have a girl in his cell for a romp!
The death of Razzle was felt by his family,friends and many fans around the world.He was loved by everyone.
He was planning to get married in 1985.His biological mother had been searching for him and was later to find out that her son was in fact dead.
Hanoi Rocks,who were on the brink of big things,limped on for just 6 months more,too grief stricken to continue on without Razzle,who truly was the heartbeat of the band.
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