80s Hair Bands, Rock, Metal, Glam 1980s

Excerpt taken from The Official RATT website

Prior to selling more than 16 million albums worldwide and establishing itself as one of the most popular groups of the 1980s, Ratt perfected its trademark mix of guitar heroics, anthemic hooks and hedonistic attitude playing the clubs along Los Angeles' famed Sunset Strip. The band signed with Atlantic Records, releasing its debut in 1984. Out Of The Cellar sold more than three million copies and rocketed into Billboard's Top Ten on the strength of its first single, "Round And Round." Peaking at #12 on Billboard's Singles chart, the track was the first in a long line of hit songs and videos that made Ratt a fixture on the radio and MTV as well as a major live act playing to sold-out crowds across the nation.

Ratt's uninterrupted streak of platinum records continued a year later with Invasion Of Your Privacy, its second Top 10 album, followed by 1986's Dancing Undercover and 1988's Reach For The Sky. After scoring nine Top 40 Album Rock tracks and two Top 40 hits in the '80s, the band started a new decade with the 1990 release of Detonator, the band's fifth album and a certified-gold hit.

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Excerpts taken from The Official Winger Website

Winger forms in 1987.
Debut album, Winger, is released in 1988 on Atlantic Records, and soars far past the platinum mark in the U.S. and goes gold in Japan and Canada, establishing Winger as one of the hottest new bands on the scene.

Radio and MTV hits include "Madalaine", "Seventeen", "Headed For A Heartbreak" and "Hungry".

The companion home video, Winger: The Videos/Volume One, sails past the RIAA gold mark.

Winger tours for over a year with the likes of Bad Company, Scorpions, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, Poison, Skid Row and Tesla.

Band is nominated in 1990 for an American Music Award for Best New Heavy Metal Band.

Second Release
1990 release of In the Heart of the Young on Atlantic Records mines more RIAA platinum in the U.S. and gold in Japan.

Hit radio tracks and MTV videos include "Can't Get Enuff", "Miles Away" and "Easy Come Easy Go".

Winger tours the world for 13 months playing over 230 dates with Kiss, Scorpions, ZZ Top, Extreme and Slaughter.

Third Release
1993 - Winger releases the critically acclaimed Pull on Atlantic Records.

The track "Down Incognito" is a smash at radio.

Winger tours the U.S., Japan and Canada.
Post Metal Days (1993-2000)

After the band wraps up a tour of Japan in the Fall of 1993, the members each go their separate ways to pursue individual goals.

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The Official Poison Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Poison was formed in 1983 in Central Pennsylvania under the name "Paris". By 1984, the lineup consisted of lead vocalist Bret Michaels, guitarist Matt Smith, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett. Moving to Los Angeles on March 6, 1984, the band started playing the club circuit. The name "Poison" was picked by the band after a group of concerned parents protested to say that rock music was "poisoning" the lives of their children.

Smith, who was about to father a child and was concerned about the band's future, returned to Pennsylvania. The band began auditioning replacement guitarists when Smith left the group. After narrowing down the candidates to three - Slash, who would later join Guns N' Roses, Steve Silva from The Joe Perry Project, and C.C. DeVille - the band eventually agreed that DeVille's "fire" made him the best choice.

The band began to gain notoriety on the Sunset Strip for its theatrical live shows and striking "glam" image, which included large amounts of makeup, hairspray, and strange clothing. Without money for effects, they would fill the stage with old Harleys and car parts, blow up car fuses, and pour confetti onto themselves from boxes in the ceiling.

During this period, Poison's manager negotiated a deal under which the West Hollywood club The Troubadour would pay for shows by covering the band's monthly rent and "recreation" bill. Ultimately, the shows drew sufficient crowds to enable the band to make a profit from them. November 12, 1985 marked the biggest show Poison had ever played, selling out two nights at the world-famous Troubador, with lines around the block. The band went on to play larger venues selling more tickets than many national acts who played the same clubs.

Michaels, Dall, Rockett and DeVille signed to independent label Enigma Records in 1986 for approximately $US 30,000. Their debut album, Look What the Cat Dragged In was released on August 2nd that year. It spawned four singles, "Cry Tough", which never charted, followed by three hits, "Talk Dirty to Me", "I Want Action", and "I Won't Forget You". The album sold poorly at first, but eventually peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 in May 1987. It went on to sell 6 million copies worldwide. The record's production would later fuel a public feud between the band and producer Ric Browde, who stated that Poison was a "triumph of image over substance" and that DeVille was the only member of the band who had any musical talent.

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The Official Cinderella Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Cinderella is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. They were initially famous for being a glam metal and hard rock band, but then shifted over towards a more blues-rock oriented sound. By the mid-1990s, the band's popularity waned due to personal setbacks and public changes in musical tastes. The band has sold over 18 million albums to date worldwide.

Cinderella was formed in Philadelphia in 1982 by singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and guitarist Tom Keifer and bassist Eric Brittingham. The initial lineup also included guitarist Michael Smerick and drummer Tony Destra. In 1985, Smerick and Destra left to form Britny Fox, another Philadelphia-based glam metal band that later relocated to Los Angeles. Cinderella got their big break when Jon Bon Jovi saw them perform at the Empire Rock Club in Philadelphia and recommended that his A&R rep see them as well. In 1985, with a recording contract with Mercury/Polygram Records in the works, guitarist Jeff LaBar and drummer Jim Drnec joined the band.

During the recording of the band's debut album, Night Songs, studio session drummer Jody Cortez was brought in when producer Andy Johns found Drnec difficult to work with. While finishing the recording, Drnec was replaced by former London drummer Fred Coury, who joined in time to make the album's cover and play on upcoming tours. Night Songs was released on August 2, 1986 and eventually achieved triple platinum status, selling 50,000 copies per week at one point. The album reached #3 on the Billboard charts in February 1987.

Cinderella's first tour was in 1986 with fellow glam metal rockers Poison, opening for Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. Further tours into 1987 were spent playing to large arena audiences: five months opening for former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, and seven months with Bon Jovi, taking the opening slot for their Slippery When Wet tour. Later that year, the band went overseas, appearing in Japan, Scandinavia, and at the Monsters of Rock festivals in England and Germany.

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Official Motley Crue Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

The band was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx (who was, at the time, in a band called London) and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by guitarist Mick Mars and singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 80 million album copies worldwide.

The band has often been noted for their hard-living lifestyles; all members have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in jail, suffered long addictions to alcohol and drugs, had countless escapades with women, and are heavily tattooed. Their ninth studio album entitled Saints of Los Angeles was released on June 24, 2008, while a film adaptation of their best-selling band autobiography The Dirt, is due to be released sometime in 2009.

After playing the US Festival, and with the aid of the new medium of MTV, the band found rapid success in the United States. They were also known as much for their backstage groupie antics, outrageous clothing, extreme high-heeled boots, heavy make-up, and seemingly endless abuse of alcohol and drugs as for their recordings. Their mixture of heavy metal and glam rock stylings produced several best-selling albums during the 1980s, including Shout at the Devil (September 26, 1983), Theatre of Pain (June 21, 1985), and Girls, Girls, Girls (May 15, 1987), which showcased their love of motorcycles, whiskey and strip clubs, as well as telling tales of substance abuse, sexual escapades, and general decadence.

The band has also had their share of scrapes with the law and life. In 1984, Neil wrecked his car on his way back from the liquor store. He was in a head-on collision, and his passenger, Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, was killed. Neil, charged with a DUI and vehicular manslaughter, was sentenced to 30 days in jail (though he only spent 18 days). The band would later release box sets entitled "Music to Crash Your Car To".

In 1987, Sixx suffered a fatal heroin overdose. He was declared legally dead on the way to the hospital, but one medic refused to give up and gave Sixx two shots of adrenaline to the heart, bringing him back to life. His few minutes in death were the inspiration for the band's song "Kickstart My Heart," which peaked at #16 on the Mainstream U.S. chart, and was featured on their album Dr. Feelgood. Their decadent lifestyles almost shattered the band, until managers Thaler and McGhee pulled an intervention, and refused to allow the band to tour in Europe, fearing that "some [of them] would come back in bodybags". Shortly after, all the band members except for Mars underwent rehabilitation; Mars cleaned up on his own.

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Excerpts taken from Def Leppard Official Website

1980 - On March 14, the debut LP "ON THROUGH THE NIGHT", produced by Tom Allom, is released. Around the same time, the single "HELLO AMERICA" sees the light of day. On April 1, the band sign with Leber-Krebs management company. They are looked after by the American duo Peter Mensch and Cliff Burnstein (later to form their own company, Q-Prime).

In May, the band arrive for debut US tours to open for, respectively, Pat Travers, Judas Priest, Ted Nugent and AC/DC. In August, Def Leppard return to the UK to play at the Reading Festival. The crowd, convinced that the band have sold out to the Yankee Dollar and turned their backs on their home country, greet them with a rain of bottles and beer cans.

1981 - Recordings for the second album start in March, their first with producer and soon-to-be unofficial sixth Lep, Robert John "Mutt" Lange. "HIGH 'N' DRY" is released in July and a European tour follows, supporting Rainbow. In the US, the band support Ozzy Osbourne and Blackfoot. In November, the new US cable channel MTV discovers the video for "BRINGIN' ON THE HEARTBREAK" and plays it with heavy rotation; "HIGH 'N' DRY" is shot back up the charts.

1983 - In January, the "PYROMANIA" album and "PHOTOGRAPH" single are released to massive acclaim and sales. In the US, the LP sells 100,000 a week for most of the year and ends up selling over seven million copies in that country alone. Success in the rest of the world eludes them at this stage. In February and March they complete a UK headline tour and in the spring, the band support Billy Squier on tour in the US. In April, the first US headline tour is started.

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The Official Whitesnake Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Whitesnake are an English hard rock band, founded in 1977 by David Coverdale (formerly of Deep Purple). Some of the more notable musicians who have been members of the band include: Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden, Mel Galley, Cozy Powell, Aynsley Dunbar, Rudy Sarzo, John Sykes, Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Tommy Aldridge and Steve Vai.

The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, not only because three past members of the band were once in Deep Purple, but also because of their sound and influences. Later, the band took on a sound more in line with the melodic hard rock popular in the mid to late eighties.

Whitesnake (entitled 1987 in Europe and Serpens Albus in Japan) marked the band's first mainstream success in the U.S. Thanks to the guidance of A&R guru John Kalodner, the album sold over eight million copies in the U.S. and also pushed sales of Slide It In from its RIAA certified gold status to over two million copies. The album continued to sell throughout 1987 and 1988 and hit #2 in the U.S. The group were slammed as being Led Zeppelin clones at this time, with former Zep frontman Robert Plant referring to Coverdale as "David Coverversion" in interviews. Regardless, the band had never sounded heavier.

The album's biggest hits were the power ballad, "Is This Love" and the #1 hit single, "Here I Go Again" (a re-recording of a song on Saints & Sinners in 1982). Other hit singles from the album were "Still of the Night" (#79) and "Give Me All Your Love" (#48 in 1988).

The album's exposure was boosted by heavy airplay of its videos on MTV, which featured actress Tawny Kitaen, whom Coverdale later married. None of the band members who played on the album appeared in these videos, as Coverdale had fired all of the band members (John Sykes, Neil Murray and Aynsley Dunbar) prior to the album's release, except Adrian Vandenberg, who had been hired to complete the album after the others were dismissed. Vandenberg's only work on the album was the solo on "Here I Go Again" though he became a full time member of the band shortly afterwards.

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Official Van Halen Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Van Halen is a hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007 Van Halen has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. During the 1980's they also had more Billboard Hot 100 hits than any other hard rock, heavy metal band of the decade. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is the 19th best selling band/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the USA and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the USA.

In addition to being recognized for success, the band is known for the drama surrounding the exits of former members. The (multiple) exits of singers David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar were surrounded in controversy and mass press coverage with various contrasting press statements between them and the band. More recently, founding bassist Michael Anthony was kicked out of the band for controversial reasons. Following their 2004 concert tour the band was on a hiatus from the public until September 2006, when new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen's place was confirmed and Roth-reunion rumours began to re-surface coinciding with the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on March 12, 2007. After years of speculation, Van Halen began a tour with Roth in late 2007 across North America, which has been extended into 2008. An album is proposed to follow. Along with this, a live tour DVD was announced at their May 13, 2008 concert at the Izod Center that would contain recordings from several performances on their current tour.

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Official Twisted Sister Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from New York City. Their work fuses the shock tactics of Alice Cooper, the rebellious mood of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the extravagant image of glam rock bands such as New York Dolls and Kiss, notably the makeup. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands. The band is generally categorized as glam metal for their earlier work, although the band does not consider themselves to be so.

Although the band was formed by guitarist Jay Jay French in December 1972, all of their songs were written by Dee Snider from 1976 onward. Snider remarked to Johnny Carson that the proposed name for the band was "This" but was rejected for fear of fans saying "this sucks". He describes Twisted Sister as "Slade meets Sex Pistols". Twisted Sister's most well-known hits include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both popularized by regular airplay on MTV in the 1980s. Many of the band's songs explore themes of parent vs. child conflicts and criticisms of the educational system.

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The New GNR Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since their formation. The band has released five studio albums, two EPs and one live album during their career. After more than a decade in production, the band released their long-awaited new album Chinese Democracy on November 23, 2008. Now released, the album is the first original recording from Guns N' Roses since the 1991 releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.

Guns N' Roses has sold an estimated 100 million albums worldwide, including over 42 million in the United States. The band's 1987 major label debut album, entitled Appetite for Destruction, has sold in excess of 28 million copies and reached number one on the United States Billboard 200. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child o' Mine" which reached number one. 1991's Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States alone.

Formation (1985-1987)
The group was formed in early 1985 by Hollywood Rose members Axl Rose (vocals) and Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar), and L.A. Guns members Tracii Guns, Ole Beich (bass) and Rob Gardner (drums). The band created its name by combining the names of the two original groups. A short time later, before Guns N' Roses even played any gigs, guitarist Tracii Guns quit to reform L.A. Guns. Slash replaced Guns, and Duff McKagan replaced Ole Beich (who only played one show.) Slash had played for Rose and Stradlin during a short stint in Hollywood Rose. The new line-up came together quickly, but after deciding to go on a "tour" from Sacramento, California to Duff's home town of Seattle, drummer Rob Gardner quit and was replaced by Slash's close friend Steven Adler. The band, which continued to be called Guns N' Roses even after the departure of Tracii Guns, established its first stable line up on this so-called "Hell Tour". In an interview, Slash stated, "That [trip to Seattle] is really what cemented the band" and established its chemistry.

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Excerpts taken from The Official Metallica Website

It's the sort of story that scriptwriters would get laughed out of conference rooms for entering. The sort of story that illustrates perfect synchronicity between hunger, passion and time. The sort of story that only happens every 30-odd years. And the sort of story that would approximately 500 pages to do it true justice.

Metallica. A household name. The 7th biggest selling act in American history.

Who'd have thought it when, on October 28th, 1981, drummer Lars Ulrich made guitar player/singer James Hetfield an offer he couldn't refuse: "I've got a track saved for my band on Brian Slagel's new Metal Blade label."

The truth is, Lars didn't have a band at that time, but he did that day when James joined him. The two recorded their first track on a cheap recorder with James performing singing duties, rhythm guitar duties and bass guitar duties. Lars dutifully pounded the drums, helped with musical arrangements and acted as manager. Hetfield's friend and housemate Ron McGovney was eventually talked into taking up bass and Dave Mustaine took lead guitar duties.

The band adopted the moniker Metallica after a suggestion from Bay Area friend Ron Quintana, and they quickly began gigging in the Los Angeles area opening for bands like Saxon. Eventually recording a fully-fledged demo called No Life Til Leather, Metallica quickly saw the tape whistle around the metal tape-trading underground and become a hot commodity, with San Francisco and New York particularly receptive.

Metallica performed 2 shows in San Francisco and found the crowds friendlier and more honest than LA's "there to be seen" mob. They also caught up-and-coming band Trauma, and most importantly their bass player, Cliff Burton. Cliff refused to move to Southern California: it was enough to convince Metallica to relocate to the Bay Area, and Cliff subsequently joined Metallica.

In New York, a copy of No Life Til Leather made its way to Jon Zazula's record shop, the aptly named Metal Heaven. Zazula quickly recruited Metallica to come out east to play some shows and record an album. The band made it to New York in a stolen U-Haul. Dave Mustaine, at that point the band's guitarist, was proving to be more problematic than even these loose young chaps could handle. Thus a few weeks after arrival, Mustaine was sent packing, roadie Mark Whitakker suggesting Kirk Hammett from Bay Area thrashers Exodus. Two phone calls and one flight later, on April 1, 1983 Kirk Hammett joined Metallica.

Metallica's first album, Kill 'Em All, was released in late 1983 and some ferocious touring which saw the band's reputation soar both in the US and Europe. In 1984 they went to work with producer Flemming Rassmussen in Copenhagen at Sweet Silence Studios on their second album. 'Ride The Lightning' proved that Metallica were not some thrash-in-the-pan one trick pony, the writing and sound illustrating a growth, maturity and intensity which saw them immediately targeted by major management in QPrime, and a major label in Elektra. Both deals were done by the fall of '84 and their reputation continued to grow worldwide.

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Excerpts taken from the Official Megadeth Website

1982 -
Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield form Metallica.
Dave Mustaine leaves Panic and joins Metallica.
Ron McGovney is hired as Metallica's bassist.
March, Metallica's first gig at Radio City in Anaheim.
March, Metallica opens for Saxon on their "Denim and Leather" tour.
April, Brad Parker (a.k.a. Damian Phillips) is hired as Metallica's second guitarist. He leaves band after one gig, Metallica's only day as a five-piece band.
May, James Hetfield takes up rhythm guitar in addition to vocals.
June, "Hit the Lights" is included on Metal Massacre compilation.
Rare demo album No Life 'til Leather is released.
December, Cliff Burton leaves Trauma to replace Ron McGovney.

1983 -
March, Cliff Burton's first gig with Metallica.
April, Dave Mustaine is fired from Metallica, Kirk Hammet leaves Exodus to replace him.
April, Mustaine forms new band Fallen Angels
Summer, Dave meets bassist David Ellefson, forms Megadeth with guitarist Greg Handevidt and drummer Dijon Carruthers.
Metallica's first album, Kill 'Em All, is released.
December 31st, Mustaine becomes Megadeth's singer.

1984 -
Megadeth record 3-song demo with drummer Lee Raush.
Kerry King assists Megadeth at live shows and then returns to Slayer.
Lee Rausch is replaced by Gar Samuelson.
November, Megadeth is signed to Combat records.
December, Chris Poland is hired as the new guitarist
December, Megadeth plays its first New York shows with Slayer.

1985 -
May, Megadeth releases Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
Summer, Megadeth tours the U.S. and Canada with Exciter, Mike Albert takes over for Chris Poland.
October, Chris Poland rejoins band.
October, Megadeth begins recording new album, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? for Combat Records.
December, Megadeth plays New Year's Eve show in San Francisco with Metallica, Exodus and Metal Church.

1986 -
Capitol Records signs Megadeth, gets rights to Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? from Combat.
Megadeth opens for King Diamond and Motorhead in the U.S.
September, Cliff Burton dies in bus accident.
November, Megadeth releases Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?.
Megadeth shoots first video, "Peace Sells"

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Official Dokken Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Juan Croucier left Dokken in 1983 to join the band Ratt and was replaced by Jeff Pilson. 1984 became Dokken's breakout year in the US with the release of the album Tooth and Nail on September 13. The album contained several hit songs including "Just Got Lucky", "Alone Again", and "Into The Fire". The album sold over one million copies in the US alone and peaked at #49, while selling an estimated three million copies worldwide. On November 9, 1985, the band's third album Under Lock and Key was released. It also sold over one million copies with the singles "In My Dreams" (#24), "The Hunter" (#25) and "It's Not Love". During this time in the 1980s, Dokken opened for such bands as Judas Priest, ACDC, Aerosmith, and Dio among others. In 1986, Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a documentary about concert goers before a Dokken and Judas Priest concert, was filmed and released.

Following a successful tour with Scorpions, Dokken returned to the studio in December of 1986 to record "Dream Warriors", a song for the movie A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The track brought the band to the attention of many UK hard rock fans. The song was released as a single (Dream Warriors / Back for the Attack) on February 10, 1987. After this release, the band took nearly half a year off before returning to the studio to record the album Back for the Attack. The album was released on November 27, 1987. It spawned the singles "Burning Like a Flame" (#20), "Heaven Sent" and "Kiss of Death" to become the band's most successful release, reaching #13 on U.S. charts. It also included a remixed version of the single "Dream Warriors" (#22), and the accompanying music video, which featured band members interacting with the film's characters, became popular on MTV. Back for the Attack became Dokken's third record to reach platinum status. Sculptor Steve Fiorilla's customized writhing skeleton guitar was the highlight of another Dokken video.

After releasing Back for the Attack, the band toured as part of the 'Monsters of Rock' festival in the summer of 1988, along with Van Halen, Scorpions, Metallica, and Kingdom Come. Recordings from their tour in Japan led to the release of the live album Beast from the East on November 16, 1988, which went Gold in the United States and charted at #33.

While the band falsely became associated with bands like Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot and Cinderella their traditional style set them apart and gained them much notoriety outside of the "hair" metal style.[6] Though some have erred that Dokken produced an image that contained minor "glam", imagery, the band displayed through its music, due largely to the style of guitarist George Lynch, was traditionally heavy with technical expertise, and the band showed little to no "glam" image compared to actual glam metal bands such as Poison and Warrant, focusing more on the musical aspect rather than just a look.

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Excerpts taken from the Official Slaughter Website

In 1990 Slaughter hit radio, MTV and the U.S. touring circuit like a tornado- coming seemingly out of nowhere to roll through everything in its path and turn it upside down. Touring the world with bands that they loved, Kiss, Ozzy, and others meant the good times were just a song away , and their first hit single, "Up All Night" certainly fit into that mold, their second chart-topper, "Fly To The Angels" was more representative of the spirituality and awareness that goes into most of the band's music and lyrics. But never were Slaughter more accurately represented that live onstage in front of their legions of devoted fans over the last ten years.

During this time filmed what became a platinum home video "From the Beginning" depicting the bands rather different and humorous lifestyle. To showcase the live prowess the band had garnered during their first tour, the band released "Stick It Live" a five song EP collection which entered the billboard charts and went gold as quickly as it was released. This was certainly a shock to the non-believers in the world.

Slaughter was contacted by Orion pictures and Record Producer Jimmy Iovine to write and record what would become the theme song for "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" and later made a video featuring clips from the film as well. This CD was also Gold.

The band went on to record the "WildLife", it's second record after a consistent schedule of touring behind the multi-platinum debut, "Stick It To Ya." During this time the band was awarded the prestigious American Music Award in 1991. The "WildLife" CD entered the billboard charts the first week of release in the top ten at # 8 and was shortly their after certified platinum. The band also filmed what became a second gold home video documenting the making of the "WildLife" CD. The band embarked on a tour that would take them through their first challenging obstacle to overcome.

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Excerpts taken from the Official Alice Cooper Website

Meet Alice Cooper
Without Alice Cooper, there might never have been the NY Dolls, KISS, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue, Slipknot or Rob Zombie ... maybe not even David Bowie, or at least not Ziggy Stardust. The iconic hard rocker, who literally invented the concept of the rock concert as theater, returns to what he does best on Along Came a Spider (SPV Records), the 25th studio album of a long and illustrious career which began in 1969 with the release of Pretties for You on Frank Zappa's Straight label.

From his first solo album, 1975's Welcome to My Nightmare through releases such as 1994's The Last Temptation and 2000's Brutal Planet, concept albums have been a specialty of Alice's, and this time he spins the story of a serial killer who imagines himself as the most predatory of all insects, trapping his prey, killing them, then enveloping his eight victims in silk, taking a leg from each of them. A web of intrigue, wrapped around some serious hard rock.

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Official AC/DC Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

AC/DC are an Australian hard rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band members are considered pioneers of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as "Rock n' roll".

AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. Membership remained stable until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977. In 1979, the band recorded their highly successful album Highway to Hell. Lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group briefly considered disbanding, but soon ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was selected as Scott's replacement. Later that year, the band released their best-selling album, Back in Black.

The band's next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was also highly successful and was their first album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC declined in popularity soon after drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 and replaced by future Dio drummer Simon Wright. Poor record sales continued until the release of The Razors Edge in 1990, the only studio album to feature Wright's replacement Chris Slade. Phil Rudd returned in 1994 (after Slade was asked to leave in favor of him) and contributed to the band's 1995 album Ballbreaker. Stiff Upper Lip was released in 2000 and was well-received by critics. The band's most recent album Black Ice was released on 20 October 2008.

AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 71 million albums in the United States. Back in Black has sold an estimated 42 million units worldwide and 22 million in the United States alone, where it is the fifth highest-selling album. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band Of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, the band was ranked number 72 in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

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Excerpts taken from the Scorpions Official Website

In 1984 the SCORPIONS became the first German hard rock band to play three successive gigs in front of 60,000 fans at New York's Madison Square Garden. The SCORPIONS had finally scaled the Mount Olympus of rock. With three albums featuring simultaneously in the US charts: Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout, (1982) and Love at First Sting (1984), the SCORPIONS spent two years on the road playing as headliner or co-headliner at all the big rock festivals that sprang up around the world after Woodstock. The SCORPIONS toured the globe, with a fleet of articulated lorries, Nightliner buses, helicopters, private jets and the inevitable limos. Hanover's heavy metal band played all the main rock venues in North, Central and South America and Europe. In Asia, they played in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan. This was the golden age of heavy rock. With gigantic stage and light shows and dramatic firework effects, the SCORPIONS unleashed a pyrotechnic display of sound and light. Their relentless energy sent the fans wild.

To US audiences, the SCORPIONS, with their polished, hard-edged "melodic rock" and Klaus Meine's dramatic power singing with its dizzying top notes, came to epitomise the best in heavy rock. Groups like Bon Jovi, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, later to become mega bands, were support acts on the SCORPIONS' worldwide tours, learning what it meant for a band to hold its own in the rock arena in front of an audience of millions.

Love at First Sting became one of the most successful albums in rock history. It includes the SCORPIONS' most electrifying numbers Rock You Like a Hurricane, Bad Boys Running Wild, and the masterpiece Still Loving You. The critics struggled for superlatives. Rolling Stone called the SCOPRIONS "the heroes of heavy metal". The SCORPIONS were admitted to the exclusive club of the world's 30 greatest rock groups. Their ballad Still Loving You became an international rock anthem. In France alone, the single sold 1.7 million copies. The song unleashed a wave of hysteria among French fans not seen since the Beatles and became the SCORPIONS' musical trademark around the globe.

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Official Bon Jovi Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Bon Jovi is an American hard rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, the group originally achieved large-scale success in the 1980s. Over the past 25 years, Bon Jovi has sold over 120 million albums worldwide, including 36 million in the United States alone.

Bon Jovi formed in 1983 with lead singer Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Such, and drummer Tico Torres. Other than the departure of Alec John Such in 1994 (which pared the lineup down to a quartet), the lineup has remained the same for the past 25 years. After two moderately successful albums in 1984 and 1985, the band scored big with Slippery When Wet (1986) and New Jersey (1988), which sold a combined 19 million copies in the U.S. alone, charted eight Top Ten hits (including four number one hits), and launched the band into global super stardom. After non-stop touring, the band went on hiatus after the New Jersey Tour in 1990, during which time Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora both released successful solo albums. In 1992, the band returned with the double platinum Keep the Faith and has since created a string of platinum albums throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

In 2006, the band won a Grammy for best Country Collaboration for "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland and also became the first rock band to reach #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart with the same song. The band has also received multiple Grammy nominations for music from the albums Crush, Bounce, and Lost Highway.

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Excerpts taken from the Official KISS Website

May 20, 1980 - Drummer Peter Criss leaves KISS shortly after the release of Unmasked. Criss appears illustrated on the cover and also made an appearance in the music video for the song Shandi, but didn't contribute in the recording of the album.

June, 1980 - New York drummer Eric Carr joins KISS and is christened The Fox. Carr makes his KISS debut on stage at a one-off show at New York's Palladium Theatre. The band departs for a subsequent tour of Europe and Australia, where KISSmania explodes in the Land-down-under.

November 11, 1981 - A KISS concept album, Music From the Elder, the first with drummer Eric Carr, fails to go gold and only reaches 75 on Billboard's Album chart.

October 25, 1982 - KISS release Creatures of the Night. Guitarist Ace Frehley decides to leave the band to pursue a solo career. Frehley is replaced by Vinnie Vincent in time for the KISS 10th Anniversary Tour. Vincent is given the character of an Egyptian ankh.

June 18, 1983 - KISS performs for 137,000 fans at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This and two other stadium shows in Brazil would be the last time KISS would perform in their signature makeup until the KISS Reunion Tour in 1996.

On September 18, 1983 - KISS shock the music world by appearing without their signature makeup for the first time live on an MTV prime-time TV special and debut video for the title track, Lick It Up.

September 23, 1983 - KISS release Lick It Up, the first KISS album released sans makeup.

September 17, 1984 - Animalize, is released and becomes a multi-platinum success. Heaven's on Fire and Thrills in the Night became huge MTV hits and the band continued to be a solid concert draw.

October 1984 - Lead guitarist Bruce Kulick joins KISS during the Animalize tour. Throughout the 1980's, KISS continues to release best-selling albums; September 1985's Asylum, September 1987's Crazy Nights and the November 1988 compilation Smashes, Thrashes & Hits.

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Excerpts taken from the Official Ozzy Osbourne Website

THE EIGHTIES:
Ozzy releases his first solo record Blizzard Of Ozz in 1980. The record quickly goes 4x Platinum.

Ozzy releases seven records throughout the decade. Each one sells well over two million copies.

Ozzy has sold over 50 million CD's as a solo artist worldwide.

Ozzy performs at the US Festival in 1983 in front of 250,000 fans.

Ozzy performs at Live Aid in 1985, the legendary benefit concert for world hunger.

Ozzy performs at the Moscow Peace Festival in 1989. This was the first major rock concert in the Soviet Republic by Western artists.

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Official Iron Maiden Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band led by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris. Since forming in 1975 they have released 14 studio albums, nine live albums, four EPs and eight compilations.

As a pioneer of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Iron Maiden rose to fame in the early 1980s, and after several lineup changes, they went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums. These include the US platinum-selling landmark The Number of the Beast in 1982 and the follow up Piece of Mind in 1983. Iron Maiden released their newest studio effort in 2006 entitled A Matter of Life and Death peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold in the UK.

As one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands of all time, Iron Maiden have sold more than 70 million albums worldwide, including five US platinum albums. The band won the Ivor Novello Awards for international achievement in 2002, and were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles County, California during their tour in the United States in 2005. Their influences include Thin Lizzy, UFO, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash.

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Official Judas Priest Website

Excerpts taken from Wikipedia

Following the release of Killing Machine, and the live release from the supporting tour, entitled Unleashed in the East. It was the first of many Judas Priest albums to go Platinum. At the time, there was some criticism of the bands' use of studio-enhancements and overdubbing in what was marketed as a live album. Nonetheless, many early Priest classics are recorded here, such as "Victim of Changes", "Tyrant", "Genocide", and "The Ripper".

After Les Binks quit, in part because of the band's direction, the band replaced him with Dave Holland, formerly from the band Trapeze. With this line-up, Judas Priest recorded six studio and one live album which garnered different degrees of critical and financial success. Overall, the band has sold in excess of 30 million albums globally.

In 1980, the band released British Steel. The songs were shorter and had more mainstream radio hooks, but retained the heavy metal feel. Tracks such as "United", "Breaking the Law", and "Living After Midnight" were frequently played on the radio. The next release, 1981's Point of Entry, followed the same formula, but critics generally panned it. However, the tour in support was successful, with new songs such as "Solar Angels" and "Heading Out to the Highway".

The 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance featured the song "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", which garnered strong US radio airplay. Songs such as "Electric Eye" and "Riding on the Wind" also appeared off this album, and proved to be popular live tracks. "(Take These) Chains" (by Bob Halligan, Jr.) was released as a single and received heavy airplay. This album went two times Platinum.

Defenders of the Faith was released in 1984. Even though it was more progressive than their earlier efforts, some critics dubbed it as "Screaming for Vengeance II", due to its musical likeness to the previous album.

On July 13th, 1985, Judas Priest was - apart from Black Sabbath - the only metal band to perform at the Live Aid event. The band played at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Their setlist was "Living After Midnight", "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)" and "(You've Got) Another Thing Comin'".

Turbo was released in 1986, during the glam metal era. To keep up with the times, Priest adopted a more colourful look and gave their music a more poppy feel by adding synthesisers. The album also went Platinum and had a successful tour in support, but some critics argued the album was a sellout. A live album recorded on the tour, titled Priest... Live!, was released the next year, offering fans live tracks from the 1980s era. The video documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot was created by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn in 1986. It documents the heavy metal fans waiting on May 31, 1986 for a Judas Priest concert (with special guests Dokken) at the Capital Centre (later renamed US Airways Arena) in Landover, Maryland.

In 1988, Ram It Down was released, featuring several reworked songs left over from Turbo, in addition to new songs. A reviewer has called Ram It Down a "stylistic confusion" of "cornball metal" that resulted from the band's "...attempt to rid themselves of the high tech synthesiser approach...and return to the traditional metal of their fading glory days." The reviewer argued the album showed "...how far behind they were lagging...the thrashers they helped influence" in earlier years. As well, in the late 1980s, longtime drummer Dave Holland left the band.

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