ABBA

Tony studied under Carol Kaye and formed Tony & the Tigers with his brother in the 1960s. They made some appearances on Hullabaloo, one time with their dad serving as host, and Steve Allen’s show, and Swingin’ Time. (Hunt and Tony appear on the 2001 video, Hullabaloo: A 1960s Music Flashback: Volumes 5-8.) Tony & the Tigers didn’t have any major hits, but “Turn it on Girl” generated some interest in Detroit, Michigan.

They hooked up with Todd Rundgren in 1970 and co-formed Runt, which released a self-titled debut album and followed it up with Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren in 1971. Tony can also be heard on Todd’s ambitious 1972 album, Something/Anything?.

In the mid-‘70s, Hunt and Tony recorded a few albums with Iggy Pop, including Kill City, Lust for Life, Sister Midnight, and TV Eye Live 1977. (Sister Midnight was not released until 1999.)

He wed Anulka Dziubinska in Los Angeles, California, on 20^th August 1978. In 1979, Tony’s car crashed and he wound up in an eight-month coma. After recovering, he re-emerged with a new band and a new woman. He and Taryn Power (Tyrone Power’s daughter) and they had a pair of kids, Anthony Tyrone and Valentina.

His new band, Chequered Past, comprised Michael Des Barres, Clem Burke, Nigel Harrison, and Steve Jones. They released one eponymous album but it did not meet with great success and shortly thereafter, they disbanded.

In 1988, he joined Tin Machine, a group that boasted the talents of his brother Hunt, David Bowie, and Reeves Gabrels. They released three albums, all self-titled: Tin Machine, Tin Machine II, and Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby.

In the ‘90s, Tony produced and recorded and was briefly in a band called The Cheap Dates, which featured Harry Dean Stanton. In 2008, some of the Sales Brothers’ ‘70s recordings surfaced on the CD, Hired Guns.

For more information about all things Tony (and Hunt), check out the 2009 e-book, Quintessentially Soul Brothers: The Sales Brothers in Their Own Words.

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