Dokken frontman Don Dokken has exclusively revealed to eonmusic that the nerve damage he suffered during spinal surgery last November has permanently affected his ability to play guitar. "It's over," he told the site. He also spoke about Dokken's new 'old' album, The Lost Songs: 1978 - 1981, working with the Scorpions in 1982, and how Metallica "kicked our ass every day" on the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour.

On the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour: 

"Well, I would say it was the pinnacle of rock and roll in ’88 / ’89. It was the biggest tour ever put together up to that point. We were doing 100,000 people a day; that’s a lot of people! And it was five of the biggest bands in the world. So, it was exciting that I’d come from playing clubs on the Reeperbahn, and here I am in stadiums. It was pretty scary, and the only thing I didn’t like about that tour was that Metallica went on before us, and they kicked our ass every day (laughing)! They did; I can be honest about that. Playing after Metallica was a very, very hard thing to do. They were heavier, and even though we’d had more hits and we were on MTV and people saw us as being more famous at the time than Metallica, they kicked our butts."

On losing the ability to play guitar:

"I was just coming from the hospital right now where I do my therapy, and yeah, my right hand; I can’t play guitar anymore, it’s over. My right hand is paralysed. It's been seven months since the surgery, and they said 'Just be patient. Your hand will come back, you’ll get your feeling back.' But it’s been seven months, and my hand still doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work, and it’s the way it is. Sometimes bad things happen, you know? I’m not happy about it, but I played guitar for 50 years, so I guess I got some good time in."

Read the complete interview here.

It wasn’t always multi-platinum sales and stadium gigs for Dokken. There was a first-phase and there were early days, and it is those bold first steps to stardom which are celebrated comprehensively on Dokken’s The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 album, out on August 28 via Silver Lining Music.

Featuring spectacular sleeve art by renowned US artist Tokyo Hiro (Motörhead, Motley Crüe), The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 show the crackle and craft of a hungry young Don Dokken as he embarked upon a journey which started in Southern California and Northern Germany. It is a trek which is testimony to the sheer endeavour and perseverance Don Dokken showed in those few years between 1978 and 1981, starting from when he spent time at a guitar store called Drake’s Music, owned by Drake Levin in Manhattan Beach, California.

A fair selection of the treasure on The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 are from these early European days. “Felony” carries a thuggish fuzz-coated riff -think early Van Halen in really greasy embroidered denims- while “Day After Day” showed that Don could pen a radio-slaying ballad.

The writing and creation of The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 are further tribute to enduring early days of struggle in both Germany and LA, Don would return to LA for a spell after those brief European gigs, and he worked with Croucier on material, including perhaps the truest view of Dokken’s then-future “Hit And Run”, which incredibly did not end up on the eventual Breaking The Chains release. From the sunbaked SoCal hook of “Step Into The Light” to the furious, fledgling, late-Sunset Strip sound of “Back In The Streets,” The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 shows Don in his unfettered early days of balls-out attitude, qualities doubtless forged in the sheer nature of the adventures undertaken in writing, recording and deciding Europe was the place to keep cutting his teeth.

The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 not only shares that magic with the fans, it gives them the final, vital and undeniably missing (until now) early album in the Dokken collection.

The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 is available for pre-order here on CD, Vinyl, digital formats and special D2C bundles.

The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 tracklisting:

"Step Into The Light"
"We’re Going Wrong"
"Day After Day"
"Rainbows"
"Felony"
"No Answer"
"Back In The Streets"
"Hit And Run"
"Broken Heart"
"Liar"
"Prisoner"

"Step Into The Light" video:

Musicians who appear on The Lost Songs: 1978-1981:

Don Dokken - vocals, guitar
Jon Levin - guitar
BJ Zampa - drums
Juan Croucier - bass
Greg Leon - guitar
Gary Holland - drums
Mick Brown - drums
George Lynch -guitar
Rustee Allen - bass
Bill Lordan - drums
Greg Pecka - drums