In the early 1980’s there was explosion of bands hitting the L.A. music scene which quickly earned the nick name “Hair Bands” due to the big hair and Glam style stage wear that was donned by the artists. Here are my picks for top 5 hair bands of the eighties.
Top Hair Band #5
My vote for the fifth top hair band is Ratt. Ratt was big in the early part of the eighties and had a real strong showing with their self titled EP and their first album titled “Out of the Cellar”. Unfortunately Ratt could never repeat their early success with subsequent album releases.
Top Hair Band #4
My vote the fourth top hair band is the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Vinnie Vincent Invasion was started by former Kiss lead guitarist Vinnie Vincent (Vincent Cusano). Their first album featured Vinnie Vincent’s blistering guitar riffs and a very high pitched lead vocalist. The studio vocalist was later replaced by Mark Slaughter. They went on to record another record with Mark Slaughter on Vocals which featured a song entitled “Love Kills” written for the Movie Nightmare on Elm street 4. That would be the bands only two releases. Mark Slaughter later left the band and formed his own group Slaughter.
Top Hair Band #3
My vote for the third top hair band is Faster Pussycat. I remember seeing Faster Pussycat open up for Alice Cooper in New Haven Connecticut and they just blew the crowd away. They were one opening act who got the attention of all those present. They were in fact applauded instead of booed off the stage like most other opening acts. Their first self titled album really captured the essence of what “Hair Metal” was all about.
Top Hair Band #2
My vote for the second top hair band is Dokken. Although Dokken did not start out as a hair band, their management talked them into going in that direction because of the success of other bands that were dressing with big hair and crazy costumes. My favorite album by Dokken has always been “Tooth and Nail”, but they did have commercial success with their album “Under Lock and Key”
Top Hair Band #1
My vote for the top hair band of the eighties is Motley Crue. Which of course should be obvious to anyone who grew up in that era. I discovered Motley Crue in the summer of 1983 when I was at a yard sale of a guy who worked for a local radio station. He had thousands of albums out on his lawn. I was looking through them trying to find all the rock albums. I came across an album that had four guys on the back with the spiked hair, studs and leather. It was Motley Crue’s first album ” Too Fast For Love” . That album quickly became my favorite album. At the time nobody had heard of Motley Crue, but that was about to change when they released their second album “Shout at the Devil”. The rest is history, Motley Crue went on to become the biggest band of the eighties and the king of all the hair bands.
Resources: 25 Best Hair Metal Bands by Rob O’Conner
