80s Big Hair Metal Bands List

Table Of Content

• British Hair Bands of the 80s
• Motley Crue, ‘Too Fast for Love’ (
• Whatever Happened To These Famous '80s Hair Bands?
• David Lee Roth, ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ (

Pretty Boy Floyd was a Hollywood band that achieved moderate success in the late 80s. Their debut album was their most substantial release in terms of critical review. Poison had a unique blend of ballads and hard rock that people seemed unable to get enough of. Part of the group’s success is, no doubt, due to singer Bret Michaels and guitarist C.C. Out of any of these bands, Poison ranks as one of the most popular, even to this day. The group released some of the biggest songs to ever grace the radio waves in the 1980s.

British Hair Bands of the 80s

Guns has been a crossbreeding powerhouse for ’80s Sunset Strip metal at its mightiest. Founded by guitarist Tracii Guns, the group merged with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin’s Hollywood Rose to become Guns N’ Roses—and then stay that way after Tracii left and took his original band name with him in 1985. With a few lineup shifts in between, the original four members—Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee—released their ninth and final album, Saints of Los Angeles, in 2008. The band continues to tour with new guitarist John 5, following Mick Mars’ departure from touring with the band in 2022.

Motley Crue, ‘Too Fast for Love’ (

After becoming one of the top hair bands in the late '80s, Poison sent 20,000 CDs to U.S. troops during the Gulf War, which Moondance Jam says earned a "thank you" from then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. DeVille and lead singer Bret Michaels got into a fight backstage, according to Tone Deaf. The guitarist was subsequently fired, but five years later, DeVille got his job back. Mötley Crüe was the quintessential glam rock hair band in the early '80s, but come 1987, it all came to an end. That year, Newsweek reports that founding bassist Nikki Sixx overdosed on heroin.

Take a trip back to the '80s with this Tucson hair metal cover band concert - Arizona Daily Star

Take a trip back to the '80s with this Tucson hair metal cover band concert.

Posted: Fri, 23 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Whatever Happened To These Famous '80s Hair Bands?

The list of the 30 best hair bands of the 80s is a testament to the impact that these bands had on the music scene. From the long hair to the spandex pants, the hair bands of the 80s left an indelible mark on the music industry and pop culture. The 80s was a decade defined by its music and fashion, and hair bands were a significant part of that era. Whitesnake is a British hair rock band formed in 1978 by David Coverdale, previously the lead vocalist for Deep Purple.

50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone

50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time.

Posted: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Van Halen >

The band’s original lineup consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Twisted Sister’s music and image helped define the hair metal era of the 1980s, and they were one of the most successful bands of that time. Metallica, Megadeth, and Iron Maiden all had the hair and started gaining popularity at the same time.

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And completely bare by the time they entered the ’90s with their more soulful Flesh & Blood, there was a point when Poison basked in the lights of hair metal. Popularized by bands such as Mötley Crüe, Ratt, and Poison, glam metal is noted for its glamour and theatricality, which can include elaborate costumes and makeup. Additionally, many of these bands broke up in the early 90s, right when grunge was starting to become popular. As a result, their music has been largely overshadowed by more recent genres. When most people think of hair metal, they think of American bands like Motley Crue and Poison. Some of the most well-known female hair bands include Vixen, Bitch, and Saraya.

Dokken would catapult to fame in the early 1980s, releasing a stream of hits that would sell millions of albums. Danger Danger was a fairly popular group during the late 80s and enjoyed frequent air time on MTV. It wouldn’t be a rare sight to see the group on the famed show, Headbanger’s Ball. You might not know it, but Lita played in the band The Runaways, where she held down lead guitar duties. This band was notable for being an all-female group, including Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. Their second album would eventually become Platinum-certified 5 different times.

If you’ve ever rocked a Joe Elliott mullet with no shame, you belong here. If you sang “I Remember You” from the top of your lungs in the shower, you belong here. If you love or hate Bret Michaels for having a VH1 show, you belong here too and you’re not alone. This is the place to find out everything you need to know about your favorite hair bands. You may even discover some hidden gems who were flying the hair metal flag high back in the day. So bust out your Aqua Net again and check out their big hair story, along with the albums and music videos we all know and love.

Unfortunately, the group never quite experienced the same success, despite being active throughout most of the 90s. When you think of KISS, you probably think more of the 1970s when the group was in full costume. The 1980s are kind of an obscure era for KISS, which was most notably because the band shed the makeup. This is another band that has occasionally ranked in lists as one of the greatest groups of all time. Modern guitar virtuoso Phil X has been filling in the guitar role since Sambora left in 2013.

But the allure of the '80s glam band hasn't dissipated over the years. In fact, it might be even larger thanks to huge worldwide stadium tours, festivals like Rock in Rio and Coachella, "Rock Band," and reality TV shows. Defying age and time, most of these bands continue to hit the recording booth and tour well into their 50s, 60s, and even 70s.

"Within one-to-three square miles on a Friday, Saturday night, there were probably 50 to 75 bands playing," recalled Stevie Rachelle, frontman for Tuff. "Whatever you saw on Headbangers Ball [a music show on MTV] or in Metal Edge [a glam metal magazine], there were hundreds of those bands in Hollywood." Between the ballads and distinct fashion, hair bands were like the 1980s version of 2000s emo music. Unless you’re a true fan of 80s hair bands, you might not be familiar with Enuff Z’Nuff.

10 of the Most Underrated Glam Metal Bands of the 80s

Table Of Content

• Poison, ‘Look What the Cat Dragged in’ (
• Vince McMahon Lists Final TKO Shares for Sale
• Rock City Angels
• Latest from Entertainment & Playlists
• Van Halen
• KISS >

Lynch and Dokken have had their fair share of tension over the years. George left in the late 80s, rejoining again in the mid-90s, only to be fired later. George Lynch is another one of the most well-known guitarists to emerge from the 1980s. He got his start in Dokken, making his name known around the world as one of the best. Well, Andy really got his start in the band Danger Danger, which helped catapult him into the mainstream spotlight. He’s one of the most celebrated guitarists to emerge from the 1980s.

Poison, ‘Look What the Cat Dragged in’ (

The name has become synonymous with 80s hair bands, but you’ll only hear them on select rock radio stations. That’s right, hair bands ruled the 1980s with flamboyant and over-the-top fashion. You literally couldn't escape the sounds of these bands, who happened to reign supreme on the radio waves. Are Guns N’ Roses the single greatest rock-and-roll band to appear on this list?

Vince McMahon Lists Final TKO Shares for Sale

Vixen brings '80s hair metal to Cameo Theater - The Tomahawk

Vixen brings '80s hair metal to Cameo Theater.

Posted: Thu, 15 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

She co-wrote “Can’t Catch Me” with Lemmy, co-wrote “Falling In and Out of Love” with Nikki Sixx, and co-sings “Close My Eyes Forever” with Ozzy Osbourne. That last one you already know, because that thing was a monster hit. Except that “Kiss Me Deadly,” the breakthrough Lita Ford hit from which those sentiments come, was a huge thing.

Rock City Angels

Decades later, Bret Michaels reigns as a reality TV star and a cleaned-up Poison continues to knock dead all comers live. Under the Blade (1982) and You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll (1983) positioned these local Long Island legends to conquer pop culture and, with 1984’s Stay Hungry, that’s just what Dee Snider and the boys did. After Slippery When Wet overtook every form of mass communication in 1986, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and their cohorts scaled unprecedented peaks of hair-metal mega-stardom. Ratt became one of the first purely Sunset-Strip-launched poodle-noodle powerhouses to kick keister on a worldwide scale immediately upon the 1984 arrival of their debut long-player, Out of the Cellar.

But as Rolling Stone recalls, it was better late than never, as they managed to go five times platinum with their debut. Skid Row went on to open for some of the biggest rock bands in the business, including Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith, and Van Halen, according to Concert Archives. Soon, though, grunge and punk music swooped in and stole their spotlight.

Still fronted by Lawless with a new lineup from its original, which consisted of guitarists Chris Holmes and Randy Piper, and drummer Tony Richards, W.A.S.P. released a 15th album, Golgotha, in 2015. Ratt formed in the mid-1970s long before their 1984 breakthrough album, Out of the Cellar. It was even accompanied by a music video, starring the late screen legend Milton Berle, who is featured dressed as a women and as his dapper self. Guitarist Robin Crosby died in 2002 from a heroin overdose after contracting AIDS. On the east coast, the hair was also high in bands like Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Kix, and Twisted Sister by the mid-’80s, marking them all “hair metal” at one point or another.

The Arena Rock Explosion- 8 Bands That Dominated Stadiums in the 1980s - American Songwriter

The Arena Rock Explosion- 8 Bands That Dominated Stadiums in the 1980s.

Posted: Wed, 30 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

During the tail-end of the 80s (and into the 90s), you could not escape the music of Warrant. It was almost as if you yourself had a warrant, and the music was coming to arrest you. In a way, every member of Mötley Crüe essentially became a celebrity in their own right. Any average person is likely familiar with at least one of the band members’ names. But really, when the band was in its prime, they were truly an unstoppable force. Axl Rose was a unique frontman, but the musical combination with Slash and Izzy Stradlin made everything even more potent.

KISS >

It was his playing that put the band on the map, setting the stage for the 1980s. In fact, both of these songs are regularly featured in a wide range of different commercial uses. Video games, films, and TV shows have all included these songs in their content. The band managed to hang on well into the 1990s, but the new era wasn’t exactly kind to them. In a way, the band had a slow death, gradually being removed from the public’s eye.

Quiet Riot >

Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson held guitar duties in Night Ranger, and both were stocked to the gills with skills. Both of these guitarists were frequently mentioned in many of the guitar magazines at the time. By then, headbangers bitched about BJ plenty, but there’s still no denying the pop-metal mastery inherent in those Bon Jovi’s smashes that made the whole thing possible in the first place. It’s a great glam tune, and, as evidenced by the rest of their work, Warrant were great, glamalicious tunesmiths.

The album’s unique blend of hard rock, funk, and glam metal helped set Bang Tango apart from its contemporaries. I’ve compiled a list of the best 80s hair bands, capturing the essence of an era defined by big hair, bold fashion, and even bolder music. Def Leppard is another band sometimes classified as '80s glam metal, even though they were already rocking Britain in the 70s (like Van Halen was in the U.S.). Nonetheless, even after their drummer Rick Allen lost an arm in an accident, they released the album Hysteria in 1987. Hair metal, or glam metal, was an integral part of the 1980s soundtrack. Mötley Crüe, Poison, Whitesnake — these bands dominated the airwaves just as MTV transformed the music landscape.

Unfortunately, the 1990s weren’t very kind to Winger and they eventually disbanded for years. Over 10 years later, the group began to play together and release music again, continuing to this day. In fact, the band seemed as if they were at war with parents, releasing music to purposely upset them.

In the early 1980s, bands such as Mötley Crüe and Ratt began taking things a step further, with louder and more aggressive sounds. Bands like Helix, April Wine, and Coney Hatch were popular throughout the country, and they often toured the United States and Europe. Our prime collection of modern rock from a year of great releases from New Order, Aztec Camera, T... From Alternative to Zydeco and ABC to ZZ Top, it's genre-defying, decades-spanning eclecticism. By the next century, a new generation of fans got acquainted with Ozzy Osbourne from his frequent MTV reality shows. The Osbournes first did a show called "The Osbournes" from 2002 to 2005.