Dirty Looks | History of the Band

Dirty Looks’ 1988 album Cool from the Wire was packed with hard-hitting riffs, Max Norman’s killer production, and MTV-approved hooks—so why aren’t they talked about more today? Let’s fix that.

Mar 07, 2025

If you were glued to Headbanger’s Ball back in the day, there’s a good chance you caught Oh Ruby or Cool from the Wire flashing across your screen. You probably cranked up the volume, nodding along to the raw, bluesy power of Henrik Ostergaard’s vocals. But who were these guys again? And why didn’t they get as big as Ratt or Cinderella?

Let’s dive in.

Formation and Early Years

Dirty Looks wasn’t some polished, label-crafted act built for mass appeal. No, this was Henrik Ostergaard’s vision—a rough-and-tumble hard rock outfit forged in sweat and sheer determination. Born in Denmark but raised on American rock ‘n’ roll, Ostergaard landed in Erie, Pennsylvania, before making the pilgrimage to San Francisco’s exploding hard rock scene.

But it wasn’t smooth sailing. Every great band has a scrappy beginning, and Dirty Looks was no different. The lineup changed. The band moved back east. They hustled, self-releasing three albums: Dirty Looks (1984), I Want More (1986), and In Your Face (1987). Each one was a step closer to something bigger. And then, Atlantic Records came calling.

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Musical Style and Evolution

So what did they sound like? Imagine AC/DC with a little more grit and a rhythm section that locked in tight and never let go. Ostergaard’s whiskey-and-cigarettes rasp, full of swagger and just the right amount of menace.

Some critics called them derivative, pointing to the band's heavy AC/DC influence, from Ostergaard’s raspy vocal delivery to the driving, blues-based riffs that anchored their sound. But let’s be real—if you loved straight-ahead, no-BS rock, Dirty Looks gave you exactly what you wanted. And at a time when glossy production and big-haired ballads dominated, their raw, blues-driven attack felt like a shot of pure adrenaline.

Discography and Notable Albums

If you’re going to start anywhere, start here:

Cool from the Wire (1988)

This was it. The major-label debut. Atlantic Records. Big-name producer Max Norman (the guy behind Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz). The album that should have put Dirty Looks in the big leagues.

And for a moment, it almost did.

Tracks like Oh Ruby and It’s Not the Way You Rock found their way onto MTV and rock radio. The album charted on the Billboard 200 at #134. But timing is everything, and in a world shifting towards slicker, more polished rock, Cool from the Wire was a street fighter in a world of arena-ready anthems.

Turn of the Screw (1989)

The follow-up. The one that was supposed to push them over the edge. Except there was a problem.

Producer Beau Hill (Ratt, Warrant) was brought in. But something wasn’t clicking. The band wasn’t feeling it. So they made a bold move: scrap what wasn’t working, bring in John Jansen, and re-record the whole thing.

The result? Another gritty, riff-heavy album that kept the Dirty Looks fire burning. C’mon Frenchie and the title track kept the energy high. But the breakthrough still didn’t come.

You can guess what the reviews said. “They sound like AC/DC.” Some critics meant it as a compliment. Others used it as a dismissal. But ask the fans. Did they care? Not a chance.

If anything, the AC/DC comparisons were a selling point. This was meat-and-potatoes hard rock, no gimmicks, no frills. And when you dropped the needle on Cool from the Wire, you didn’t need a critic’s opinion. You just needed the volume knob cranked all the way up.

Influence and Legacy

So what happened after the ‘80s?

Like many bands that didn’t quite reach superstardom, Dirty Looks kept grinding. They released Five Easy Pieces in 1993, but the rock landscape was changing. Grunge was taking over, and bands like Dirty Looks were being pushed to the sidelines.

But Ostergaard wasn’t done. He launched a new project, Rumbledog, teaming up with Robbin Crosby of Ratt and Paul Monroe of XYZ. Guitarist Paul Lidel found a home in Dangerous Toys and later played with Broken Teeth. Bassist Brian Perry resurfaced in Prong and Bubble.

Then, in the 2000s, Dirty Looks made a comeback. Ostergaard resurrected the band, releasing a string of albums and hitting the road again. While they didn’t regain mainstream success, their dedicated fanbase remained loyal, embracing their return as a cult resurgence. Their live shows maintained the same raw energy, proving that even decades later, Dirty Looks could still deliver hard-hitting rock 'n' roll. But in 2011, tragedy struck. Ostergaard passed away at just 47.

Dirty Looks may not have been a household name, but they were a vital part of the hard rock underground. Their music still holds up—gritty, powerful, and unapologetically raw. If you haven’t revisited Cool from the Wire or Turn of the Screw in a while, now’s the time.