The Bangles Music Videos
American pop rock band · 1981–1989, 1998–present
The Los Angeles band that came out of a garage-rock scene obsessed with the 1960s and ended up with two of the biggest singles of the 1980s. Susanna Hoffs and the sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson found each other through the classified ads in a weekly Los Angeles paper at the end of 1980, bonding over the Beatles, the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, and by late 1981 were putting out their own single on their own label. Hoffs handed a copy to the radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and asked him to play it; he did, and the crowds at their shows grew. They were called the Bangs then, and became the Bangles in 1982 after another band with a prior claim to the name threatened to sue.
They belonged to the Paisley Underground, all jangling guitars and close harmonies over garage rock, and their 1984 debut All Over the Place, led by Hero Takes a Fall, won over critics far more than buyers. Different Light changed that in 1986, carrying Manic Monday, written for them by Prince under the name Christopher, and Walk Like an Egyptian. Their cover of Paul Simon's Hazy Shade of Winter followed, then In Your Room and Eternal Flame from Everything. Five singles reached the American Top 10, the band made the cover of Rolling Stone and opened for Queen, then broke up in 1989 under the weight of a press narrative that treated four musicians as one singer and a backing band. They reformed in 1998 and are still working, with founding bassist Annette Zilinskas back since 2018.
Members
Susanna Hoffs · Vicki Peterson · Debbi Peterson · Michael Steele · Annette Zilinskas
At a glance
- Active: 1981–1989, 1998–present
- Formed in: Los Angeles, USA
- Albums: 5 studio
Official site · Billboard · MusicBrainz
