Your favorite 80's Hair / Glam Band is?

[Pooh Girl 71]

Motley Crue....forever!

Firehouse came from Richmond. They used to be known as White Heat. I was friends with them back when they were playing the local clubs. They are much better live and that sappy song does them no justice

 

[kcork1026]

Bon Jovi

 

[FergieTCat]

I had/have no interest in Heavy Metal, but I did briefly meet Sebastian Bach. Very hot, and I sincerely doubted my taste in music ever since.

 

[wvrevy]

I was never a fan of Poison, Warrant, Danger Danger, Ratt, and a dozen other "hair bands." I've always enjoyed Bon Jovi. The sad thing is that some of the best of the "hair bands" got lost in the shuffle and no one ever heard about them. Badlands, Tangier, Nevada Beach, Dirty Looks, there are a lot more.

Actually, I was a HUGE fan of Badlands. Always liked Ozzy, so when Jake left and Badlands formed, I started following them. I completely wore out at least one tape of theirs.

As for "obscure" bands...I always liked Lillian Axe. Just a different sound than most anything out there. (DW just saw what I was writing about, and she said I should mention Babylon AD, Blue Murder, Every Mother's Nightmare, and Pretty Boy Floyd...ok, she has weird taste...I mean, she did marry me after all ) Keep in mind...my CD collection ranges from Pantera to show tunes, so I listened to a little of everything, even back then.

 

[wvrevy]

I had/have no interest in Heavy Metal, but I did briefly meet Sebastian Bach. Very hot, and I sincerely doubted my taste in music ever since.

Sebastian even did a little Broadway a couple years back. I can't remember where the show was playing, but he played the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar, and I'm thinking in at least one other show.

Oh...and I have a bootleg video of Paul Stanley (from Kiss) playing the lead in Phantom of the Opera. It's not great, but it's not terrible, particularly for a rock singer.

 

[ducklite]

Actually, I was a HUGE fan of Badlands. Always liked Ozzy, so when Jake left and Badlands formed, I started following them. I completely wore out at least one tape of theirs.

Well, there's one other person who knows who they were.

As for "obscure" bands...I always liked Lillian Axe. Just a different sound than most anything out there. (DW just saw what I was writing about, and she said I should mention Babylon AD, Blue Murder, Every Mother's Nightmare, and Pretty Boy Floyd...ok, she has weird taste...I mean, she did marry me after all ) Keep in mind...my CD collection ranges from Pantera to show tunes, so I listened to a little of everything, even back then.

Loved Babylon AD and Blue Murder! Saigon Kick was another great band--the Beiler brothers started a record label and have done OK as an indie--that's who Sting's son's band is on--as well as Smile Empty Soul, Skindred, Nonpoint, and half a dozen others.

There was also a band called Junkyard out of LA with a similar sound to Faster Pussycat. Oh--another one--Dangerous Toys!

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Sebastian even did a little Broadway a couple years back. I can't remember where the show was playing, but he played the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar, and I'm thinking in at least one other show.

Oh...and I have a bootleg video of Paul Stanley (from Kiss) playing the lead in Phantom of the Opera. It's not great, but it's not terrible, particularly for a rock singer.

Bas was in Jeckyl & Hyde.

Anne

 

[suzimar57]

van halen, bon jovi, guns n roses...

 

[Beth]

Oh my gosh... I love ALL these bands...

I loved Winger. I took my boyfriend to one of his concerts, and turned to him at some point during the show and said, "Did you know he was a BALLET dancer?!?"

...He has NEVER let me live that down... he brings it up all the time!

I loved Cinderella... I wore "Night Songs" and "Long Cold Winter" out!

I also really liked Bullet Boys - saw the in Tampa. And I really liked Kingdom Come - though (apparently) everybody else hates them. I know they were a total Zeppelin ripoff, but I still liked them...

I loved Ratt. We had to dissect rats in science lab... and my lab-partner and I named our's "Stephen." We were sick... I know.

Tesla, Honeymoon Suite, Slaughter (LOVED them!), Motley Crue (THEN, not so much "now,") Van Halen (1984!), NIGHT RANGER!!!!...

Anybody remember a one-disc wonder that was called something like "Pyschadelic Groove Machine," or something like that?... The disc cover was multi-colored... I really liked them, but I can't remember what they were called...

Oh... those were the days.... I graduated HS in 1988, so a lot of these may have crossed over into the early 1990's. I loved Damn Yankees - because of the great compilation - but I think they were past the 80's...

Thanks for the memories...

 

[boomhauer]

Not that they should be lumped in with most of those bands, but Bon Jovi.

 

[wvrevy]

Loved Babylon AD and Blue Murder! Saigon Kick was another great band--the Beiler brothers started a record label and have done OK as an indie--that's who Sting's son's band is on--as well as Smile Empty Soul, Skindred, Nonpoint, and half a dozen others.

There was also a band called Junkyard out of LA with a similar sound to Faster Pussycat. Oh--another one--Dangerous Toys!

You should get together with DW and her best friend. They were both into a lot of those obscure hair bands.

I really liked Saigon Kick's first album, but didn't care much for their second one.

I vaguely remember Junkyard, but I LOVED Dangerous Toys. Saw them in concert with someone (I'm drawing a blank) in Charleston, and they were awesome.

Bas was in Jeckyl & Hyde.

Anne

Thanks! That was driving me nuts last night.

Hmmm...Does Kix count as "obscure" ? I pretty much wore out a tape of theirs as well.

 

[goofyforlife]

Hmmm...Does Kix count as "obscure" ? I pretty much wore out a tape of theirs as well.

I wouldn't call KIX obscure...

I wasn't sure they were so hair though....

Some of the band members are from the Rockville, MD area. One of my old co-workers knows one of the guys from the neighborhood.

I hear alot of KIX on Sirius lately.

Saw them a couple times live in Philly... (Back in the day...)

 

[ducklite]

You should get together with DW and her best friend. They were both into a lot of those obscure hair bands.

I really liked Saigon Kick's first album, but didn't care much for their second one.

I vaguely remember Junkyard, but I LOVED Dangerous Toys. Saw them in concert with someone (I'm drawing a blank) in Charleston, and they were awesome.

Not sure how anyone could NOT like Blue Murder. John Sykes who basically wrote 80% of Whitesnakes Whitesnake CD (and did all the lead guitar work) wrote all their material for Blue Murder. The band was entirely made up of accomplished performers in their own right. I think adding Carmine was a bad move, he's arrogant and a control freak. Did you know Ray Gillen was an original member of the band, but left before they recorded the first CD?

After Saigon Kick and Extreme both broke up, Jason Bieler (who took up vocals on the second album--that's probably why you didn't like the second release) and Pete Dembrowski along with Pat Badger formed Super Transatlantic and released Shuttlecock on Universal. As Pat said to me a few years later when we were talking about it "Yeah Anne, I think you were one of the 14 people that bought a copy of that disaster." If you like that "funky metal" sound that Saigon Kick and Extreme did so well on their first releases, you'd like it. Otherwise, pass.

You probably saw Dangerous Toys with either Junkyard or Faster Pussycat. Those were the two biggest tours that band did--the rest was just oddball club shows. I helped them out on and off in the fall of 1989. My friend Donnie was their tour manager (and IIR their only crew!) and they often were playing shows in whatever town I was in on my nights off on the Extreme and Sepultura tours I worked October through December, so I'd go help him out with merch or backline.

Hmmm...Does Kix count as "obscure" ? I pretty much wore out a tape of theirs as well.

Not obscure in the Norteast and Mid-Atlantic, somewhat more obscure elsewhere until they released the single "Don't Close Your Eyes" and landed the Aerosmith tour. Unfortunately for Kix, their live show always was better suited for a more intimate club setting--like Hammerjacks--than the big arena stage. For a band that put out six CD's (IIR, might have been one more or less) they never really quite "made it."

Anne

 

[WeirdEyes]

Am I the only person on her who doesn't consider Def Leppard and Bon Jovi a hair band? To me, "hair bands" are not that talented and all sounded the same.

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

Am I the only person on her who doesn't consider Def Leppard and Bon Jovi a hair band? To me, "hair bands" are not that talented and all sounded the same.

Given the sheer volume of hair they had, I would have to say I definitely think Bon Jovi STARTED as a hair band. Then, when they got sick of each other and started doing solo projects, movies, etc., it looked like Bon Jovi MIGHT possibly go the way of the other hair bands.

Here's the difference ... I agree that Bon Jovi is more talented and has a unique sound. So, once they grew up a little & got their crap together, they were able to become a "real" band.

Am guessing the transformation began about the time they 1) cut their hair and 2) stopped wearing spandex!

 

[FergieTCat]

Sebastian even did a little Broadway a couple years back. I can't remember where the show was playing, but he played the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar, and I'm thinking in at least one other show.

Oh...and I have a bootleg video of Paul Stanley (from Kiss) playing the lead in Phantom of the Opera. It's not great, but it's not terrible, particularly for a rock singer.

I think Sebastian Bach was in "Jekyll and Hyde". I did meet him (ever so briefly) at a Broadway Cares event.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Given the sheer volume of hair they had, I would have to say I definitely think Bon Jovi STARTED as a hair band. Then, when they got sick of each other and started doing solo projects, movies, etc., it looked like Bon Jovi MIGHT possibly go the way of the other hair bands.

Here's the difference ... I agree that Bon Jovi is more talented and has a unique sound. So, once they grew up a little & got their crap together, they were able to become a "real" band.

Am guessing the transformation began about the time they 1) cut their hair and 2) stopped wearing spandex!

I guess that could be said about a lot of the "hair bands" then. LOL Several of them have staying power so they were/are talented. I just never considered bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and a few others hair bands. When you say, "hair band," I think of people like Faster Pussycat.

 

[ducklite]

Am I the only person on her who doesn't consider Def Leppard and Bon Jovi a hair band? To me, "hair bands" are not that talented and all sounded the same.

I think of hair bands as any band in the hard rock/"glam metal" genre of that era (1984-1992-ish). Of all of the bands in that era, Aerosmith, Kiss, and Van Halen don't belong in that categorization even though they do fit the general criteria. Tesla (arguably), McAuley-Schenker, and the Scorpions should also be excluded. Metallica, Megadeath, and Anthrax should never be put into any of the above categories--or Scotty Ian and Dave Mustaine will come tear up your house--Lars will send his drum tech, as he's too busy bringing Napster to it's knees to be bothered.

But pretty much every other band regardless of the talent level (and they varied from superb to pitiful) from that era belongs lumped into the category of "hair band" IMHO. It's a term that describes "the" sound of an era, just like "grunge" described the sounds popular from 1990 through 1994-ish. As with "hair bands," "grunge bands" ranged from techinically superb (Alice in Chains) to mediocre at best (Hole) and had everything inbetween as far as talent.

I'd also like to point out that the "hair band" label didn't mean they all sounded alike. Hair bands ran the gamut of ultra-blusey (Tangier, Tesla) to funky (Extreme, Saigon Kick) to gritty (G&R, Junkyard) to ultra-polished (Bon Jovi, Winger).

Anne

 

[CarolinaBlue]

Actually, I was a HUGE fan of Badlands. Always liked Ozzy, so when Jake left and Badlands formed, I started following them. I completely wore out at least one tape of theirs.

I loved Badlands! I was a HUGE Jake E. Lee fan back then.



I have to say, I am the world's biggest Def Leppard fan and have never considered them to be a hair/glam band, not even in the 80's. And I always have to laugh when people refer to them as heavy metal, too.

 

[ducklite]

Given the sheer volume of hair they had, I would have to say I definitely think Bon Jovi STARTED as a hair band. Then, when they got sick of each other and started doing solo projects, movies, etc., it looked like Bon Jovi MIGHT possibly go the way of the other hair bands.

Here's the difference ... I agree that Bon Jovi is more talented and has a unique sound. So, once they grew up a little & got their crap together, they were able to become a "real" band.

Am guessing the transformation began about the time they 1) cut their hair and 2) stopped wearing spandex!

Bon Jovi were smart.

They WERE a hair band, there's no denying that. When grunge took over they took a hiatus and lay low for a few years until the dust of the crumbling enpire of hair band-om cleared. By that time their fans had matured. Bon Jovi matured with them. They got rid of the spandex and fringe, and cut their hair.

They released a new CD in late 1992--by then grunge was coming to an end. That CD has a fresh, updated, more mature feel to it that their core audience--who by now had moved to a different place in life--could identify with. Very few bands have been able to grow with their audience like Bon Jovi. IMHO, Aerosmith is the only other "hard rock" band who has done so successfully. (I'm not looking at the Beatles, Genesis, etc. for this, as I'm talking about bands specifically in the hard rock realm.)

Anne