Sunday, March 31, 2024

30 Best 80s Hair Bands

1980's hair metal bands

With singer Jizzy Pearl crucifying himself on the Hollywood sign as a crazed publicity stunt, nothing was too dangerous for one of the best L.A. Four primal junkie screamers who liked to juggle punk, funk, metal, and psychedelia, they weren’t fit for a world dominated by Guns N’Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. These freaks did craft a one masterpiece, the thrilling Blackout In The Red Room, which featured tunes aimed squarely at both street gangs and groupies.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1983, Cinderella added some needed blues rock to the glam metal scene. Initially forming in 1978 in Los Angeles, Dokken released four albums, from their 1981 debut, Breaking the Chains, through Back For Attack in 1987, before splitting up. Earlier ’80s hits “Burning Like a Flame,” “In My Dreams” and “Alone Again” fit the glam metal stream. The band’s 1988 live album, Beast from the East, also picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. Finally, hair metal bands often featured members who were more interested in their own image than in making good music. This can lead to sloppy performances and an overall lack of quality control.

Skid Row

10 Rock + Metal Bands People Used to Hate But Totally Love Now - Loudwire

10 Rock + Metal Bands People Used to Hate But Totally Love Now.

Posted: Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Big (long) hair, mullets, and tight pants were all the rage in the 1980s thanks to the big hair metal bands. These groups brought glam metal music to the mainstream and helped make it one of the most popular genres of the decade. Well, mothertruckers, if you’ve ever spent time trying to make your rock guitar sound like a motorcycle along with Mick Mars, you belong here.

Mötley Crüe

Yet, in an inversion of how there would have been no punk without the Dolls, without ’80s Sunset Strip glam metal, there would have been no Guns N’ Roses. The cover art of Look What the Cat Dragged In arguably stands (and winks and pouts and blows kisses) as the single most definitive photo-based image of the entire ’80s glam metal movement. Whatever the four letters of the acronym-named W.A.S.P. may actually stand for, the band themselves always stood loud and lewdly for ’80s glam metal at its most unbridled and berserk. Alas, axe-slinger Carlos Cavazo proved to be a perfect fit among vocalist Kevin DuBrow, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Frankie Banali. However hot glam had been boiling just below the mainstream, Metal Health proved to be the explosion that took it over the top. L.A. Guns actually managed to peak with Hollywood Vampires in the cultural deep end of ’91, the year a different form of hard rock so famously broke.

L.A. Guns, ‘Cocked and Loaded’ (

There are many contenders for the title of most popular hair band of the 80s, but the crown undoubtedly belongs to Bon Jovi. These bands were responsible for some of the biggest hits of the 80s, including “Edge Of A Broken Heart” by Vixen, “Live for The Whip” by Bitch, ” and “Back to The Bullet” by Saraya. Ozzy announced yet again that he'd stop touring in 2018 with "No More Tours Tour II," but that turned out to be a fake as well, with Ozzy saying he'll do gigs but not world tours, according to Blabbermouth. At age 71, Ozzy released yet another solo album, "Ordinary Man," and Louder reports that his wife Sharon thinks he has more albums in the works.

David Lee Roth, ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ (

Despite all the money and means injected by Geffen, Roxy Blue’s debut Want Some? LP bombed in the charts despite fierce ambition, fantastic hooks, and a little help from Jani Lane. Take in the Warrant and Poison-ous choruses, but also the old school Van Halen tricks and some true classic-rock, with a nod to authentic southern roots. In a 1999 interview for VH1's "Behind the Music," Crosby talked about his addiction and HIV. "What has drug addiction done for me?" he asked, according to Hair Band Heaven. "It's cost me my career, my fortune, basically my sex life when I found out I was HIV positive." Crosby died in 2002 of a heroin overdose at 42 years old.

Hair Bands List (1980’s & Early 1990’s)

There are few hair bands that have the reputation for excess that Mötley Crüe has. This band seemed to love living the fast lifestyle and all of its short-term thrills. If you aren’t familiar with hair bands, you’ve probably at least heard of the band Skid Row.

In fact, before the group officially formed, they had a band with members of various members of Guns N’ Roses. Did you know that he actually started a band before his stint with Ozzy? Believe it or not, he was partly responsible for the creation of the iconic hair band, Quiet Riot. Whether it was a ballad or full-on rock, Guns N’ Roses always had something to say. Plus, it helps to have one of the best modern guitarists in your lineup to elevate things.

1980's hair metal bands

You could say that W.A.S.P. helped play a pivotal role in expanding the boundaries of artist censorship. Imagine playing in a band and gaining record label attention, only for the label to request that you leave. Then, imagine being replaced and seeing that very band achieve mainstream success. The band finally settled with Bruce Kulick, who is actually a very accomplished guitarist.

1980's hair metal bands

Still fronted by Don Dokken, the band released their 12th album, Broken Bones, in 2012. In 1992 before taking a long hiatus and returning with The Power and the Glory Hole, featuring singer Taime Downe as the only original member. If hair metal was defined by aesthetic (hair and makeup) and a bounty of wailing vocals and bombastic riffs, even some of the heavier and more prolific rockers fell into the category at one point throughout the high-haired decade. Some say that grunge music, which emerged in the early 1990s, was to blame. After some legal battles over who controls the band, Blabbermouth reports that founding lead singer Stephen Pearcy announced in 2018 that he'd continue Ratt with bassist Juan Croucier.

Twisted Sister’s hit output didn’t prove to be prolific, but their landmarks still positively define commercial metal at that time and place. Pile atop that Mr. Snider’s heroic stand for free expression against the PMRC, and Twisted Sister’s place way high in the hair metal pantheon can never be sanely questioned. Much irony surrounds “Cherry Pie,” the career-defining signature sex anthem by Warrant. The song incandescently crystallizes absolutely every element of 1980s hair metal excess with unrepentant glory (even way above and beyond Warrant’s other genre-defying smashes, “Down Boys” and “Heaven”), yet it didn’t hit until 1990. Following their 1988 self-titled debut with hits “Cryin” and “Edge of a Broken Heart,” which hit the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, the band’s second album, Rev It Up, also had two more singles chart. Even if their riffs slapped harder than Poison’s more pop-bent “Talk Dirty to Me,” everyone had a label in those days.

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