Former Vinnie Vincent Invasion vocalist Robert Fleischman, who sang on the self-titled debut album from 1986, recently guested on the 80's Glam Metalcast. He talks in depth about his time working with Vinnie Vincent, and gets into other projects he’s worked on and what he’s up to today.

If it surprises him that people still love the Vinnie Vincent Invasion debut after all these years

Robert: "No, I think the album is a cult classic, like a monster movie. When I listen to it now, I'm like 'Gee I could sing high back then!' That album is so bombastic...there's nothing like it. To this day, people still celebrate it on it's anniversary and all that. People can't get enough of it. It has some great energy. Not only is Vinnie a monster guitar player, but he is a great writer. That's what attracted to me to work with him. The solos he did fit the character of what was going on. The whole thing was out in left field, but it worked." 

On why his bandmates were all glam metal-looking and he wasn’t

Robert: "The photo shoot looked like I was posing with three inflatable dolls.... three inflatable drag queens! We were doing the session and the stylist was like 'Let's cut his hair' to me. At the time my hair was all the same length to my shoulders. Then all of a sudden I hear the zipping going on...and they gave me the fucking poodle haircut! I was just livid. I was never really in the band. I just did the vocals, that was my intention. Vinnie just thought he could get his way with me in a sense. Then they did the Milli Vanilli thing were Mark Slaughter is lip syncing to my voice in the 'Boyz Are Gonna Rock' video." 

His thoughts on his replacement, Mark Slaughter 

Robert: "For some time, I never gave Mark Slaughter much thought and I slagged him a bit in the press. Then a couple of years ago, I listened to an interview with him. He sounded like a really nice guy. He has a great work ethic, he plays guitar, and he’s still singing. He was offered a situation where he had to replace me. He had a opportunity when he joined VVI ....good for him. I've seen him many times and he's always been nice to me. We even talked about writing a song together. We are friends. I have no ill feelings toward him. I understand the whole thing, what he did... it was great. It put him on the fucking map. I have never heard the All Systems Go album. I never really heard any Journey albums after I left either. I think Vinnie believes Mark Slaughter was forced on him by the label, by Dana Strum, and all the powers that be. I think Mark fit the bill better than I did. I'm just too straight for all that. I grew up listening to The Beatles, The Stones, and The Kinks. I'm an old Mog. Putting on spandex pants is not my forte." 

On the failed third Vinnie Vincent album in 1990

Robert: "He confronted me again. I hate to use the word begged me, but it was sorta like that. At the time there wasn't much going on, so I thought I'd give it a swing. We were doing the record and he was getting really excited about it. So he wanted to talk to some different record companies. He started talking to other companies and they went back and told Enigma. It just all fell apart. They were paying for him to do this record and he goes out behind their backs to get another deal. It was insane. It's an insane move.....you don't do that. The whole thing got shelved and he ran off with the masters. I think those were going to be on that box set that he didn't deliver on."  

On Vinnie’s Return in 2018

Robert: "It was like seeing your dead brother sitting next to you. It was just strange. Ultimately, I got pushed up on stage in Atlanta and we did 'Back On The Streets'. He was happy, I was happy...it was emotional. It was a slice of history. It was the only time he and I ever played in public. He wanted me to do that thing in Nashville, and I kinda agreed to it. As usual and as always.....Vinnie's management proved to be bad news. The unfortunate thing is Vinnie picks these people to work for him. He hands them the wheel of his life. They grab it and they usually crash the car. They pop out of it and Vinnie's left with the wreckage and his reputation is smeared all over in public. A lot of it isn't him, it's people who take advantage of him. It's sad, but I can't do anything about it." 

On if he would ever work with Vinnie again

Robert: "I don't know what to say on that one. There would be so many dots that would have to be connected for that to happen. Even if they were connected, how long would they stay connected? I'm thinking of asking him though to play some guitar on my new project of electronic music with heavy guitars."