MICKEY, KEVIN, AND THE STARSHIP

In the 1980s, Kevin DuBrow was the voice that powered a pair of iconic albums to platinum status.

“Mental Health” (1983) was the first hard rock/metal record to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts and went on to sell more than six million copies. “Condition Critical,” which was released the next year, was not nearly as successful, but still sold more than three million copies.

From that point on, Quiet Riot never enjoyed anywhere near that level of commercial success again.

Dubrow, however, did appear on another album that went platinum.

In 1985, Mickey Thomas and his band, Starship, were recording tracks at the Music Grinder in Los Angeles. The singer struck up a friendship with Dubrow and the pair spent many nights throwing back drinks on the Sunset Strip.

“Kevin and I met at The Rainbow,” Thomas said after a performance in Lexington, Kentucky in 2017. “So, we just started hanging out and drinking together. I just said, ‘Hey man. Why don’t you come on down to the studio and sing something with us?’ So, he said OK.”

Dubrow ended up playing a very small part on one track that appeared on the Starship album “Knee Deep In The Hoopla.”

The four-second long somewhat muted screaming "YEAHHHHHHH" at the beginning of the song “Rock Myself To Sleep” — a less-than-memorable April Wine cover with Grace Slick on lead vocals — is DuBrow.

“He came down to the studio. We drank some tequila and that was it,” Thomas said.

Dubrow is credited on the album’s liner notes as an additional vocalist on the song.

Still, even the most dire-hard fan might not be aware of this small contribution.

“Knee Deep In The Hoopla” reached No. 7 on the Billboard charts and featured a pair of No. 1 singles that became quintessential 1980s anthems — “We Built This City” and “Sara.” The album would sell more than one million copies.

Dubrow never appeared on another Starship song. He would eventually, though, reunite with Quiet Riot after being fired from the band he formed, but died of a drug overdose in 2007.

While Dubrow is gone, Thomas, 74, remains the voice of Starship.

The band has no remaining members from the “Knee Deep In The Hoopla” era, except of course for Thomas, but still tours around the world playing a collection of songs from across the band’s entire catalogue, including the Jefferson Airplane era.

The setlist regularly includes “Fouled Around and Fell in Love,” a song Thomas sang with the Elvin Bishop Band in 1975, “Jane,” “Find Your Way Back,” “White Rabbit,” “Somebody To Love,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and “Layin’ It On The Line,” but not “Rock Myself To Sleep.”

The current line-up of the band features vocalist Cian Coey, guitarist John Roth (Winger, Survivor and Giant), bassist Jeff Adams, (Survivor and Joe Lynn Turner), drummer Darrell Verdusco and keyboardist Phil Bennett, who has been on stage with many artists, including Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Dubrow.

Quiet Riot continues to tour as well, even with only one original member — bassist Rudy Sarzo.

The band recently opened for Stephen Pearcy at the Kentucky State Fair and is on the line-up for the The Mountain Music Festival, which is set for Aug. 24 in Gatlinburg, Tenn.