11 of the greatest hair metal bands you might have never heard of (Videos)
Posted by: Timothy Tibbetts on 09/09/2014 06:38 AM
[
Comments
]
The 80’s were a bit of a blur but I do remember that if you put on some bright clothes and teased your big hair and walked down the Sunset Strip you were practically signed on the spot. Mixed in with all these average bands were a lot of my all-time favorites. Due to the massive competition, egos, the end of the hair band era, too many ballads and sadly sometimes death, these bands fell just short for whatever reason.
Hanoi Rocks Another band that was around when the Sunset Strip was moving from punk to hair metal although with a start in 1979 some say they are the band others copied the glam idea from. In 1985 while on their first American tour their drummer “Razzle” was a passenger in a car driven by Vince Neil from Motley Crue, who was drunk at the time and was killed. The band broke up after that. Their lead singer, Michael Monroe had a few decent solo albums and he even reunited with guitarist Andy McCoy from 2001-2009. Their music is readily available for download but I assume that you won’t see another reunion again. I always liked their cover of CCR’s “Up Around The Bend.”
Helix Canada representing with this band originally formed for a battle of the bands contest. They toured with all the big names and actually did really well, but just not the big time. The hair image helped them from about 1983-1989. The many lineup changes and different variations of the band are too numerous here to list not to mention all the members other projects and careers. The former member list alone is over 20! They still play today, mostly in Canada and were also given a lot of extra attention from the Monsters Of Rock Cruise. If you watched MTV back in the day and don’t remember Helix, this should ring a bell:
Dirty Looks Did you love AC-DC with Bon Scott? That’s what this reminded of vocally but the music was more hair metal for sure. They were around from 1984 to 1996 yet many have never head of this excellent band. Sadly, the vocalist Henrik Ostergaard died in 2011 so there can never be another Dirty Looks. While they have a pile of great songs (Nobody rides For Free, Turn Of The Screw, Cool From The Wire, Get Off) I picked this song because you can hear the Bon Scott thing I mentioned. Just jump to 2:30 and you will see what I mean.
Cats In Boots Another band that was overlooked and just didn’t get a fair chance. Almost every song they have is great. They only had 1 main album, Kicked and Klawed, and the band broke up after that making the band’s shelf life only 2 years, although a new album was released in 1999 but by then the hair metal ship had long sailed. I literally have 4 of their songs on my playlist; 9 Lives, Her Monkey (below), Long, Long Way From Home and Shotgun Sally. See if you don’t agree these guys deserved more attention. Finding their music alone is difficult so I am glad I was collecting MP3’s 20 years ago.
Shotgun Messiah These guys came out of Sweden in the early 80’s and I thought they were pretty unique. Rumor was that ego trips got in the way before the band saw any commercial success. When I first saw their original video below, I thought there were 2 singers and it appears blondie wanted to hog the camera. The singer Zinny J. Zan really gets very little time but does have more time in other videos. Their early years, like most bands were excellent but then the singer left and it wasn’t the same for me heading towards a more Guns N roses style but “Heartbreak Blvd” was a hit with Tim Skold (blondie) taking over vocals. You might know Tim Skold from Marilyn Manson or KMFDM. The band is toast, but the music is still available and Zinny J. Zan has made appearances but put on a lot of weight and really just sounds terrible now.
Britny Fox These guys came out of Pennsylvania of all places and probably got what would be considered a late start in the mid 1980’s; something we now know gave them limited time. One of my favorite songs was Girl School although that’s a little harder to listen to in your 40’s now. Their other hit was more like a ballad (big surprise) called “Long Way To Love” but was more up-tempo than other ballads. The band featured a couple of members from Cinderella and that helped them get signed. Of course the problem there was that the singer sounded an awful lot like Tom Kiefer from Cinderella who is still active. Sort of that ACDC thing. A few years ago they attempted a reunion and looked pretty good with a more modern look but it failed. The chances of seeing them reunite again are slim to none.
Faster Pussycat Another great band that came so close to making it huge. Hair metal was the evolution of punk originally and there’s a couple bands who show this perfectly like Guns N Roses, LA Guns and of course, Faster Pussycat. Their most well-known songs were ballads like “House Of Pain” and a remake of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” The lead singer Taime Down is the most well-known and at one point had a bar on the strip called Cathouse. I’ve seen the Cathouse bar mentioned in quite a few autobiographies by some of the biggest musicians of the 80’s. I went on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise a few years ago and never got to see Faster Pussycat. Just my luck, I bump into Taime when I get on the ship and about 3 times after that and we ended up crossing paths embarking as well. I got to have coffee one morning and chat with him and truly enjoyed my time with him. They still play cruises and clubs today. The pic is from the cruise with my wife and i and Taime Down.
Killer Dwarfs Yes, they are little people from Canada and while the whole thing is done with a sense of humor, they are talented musicians. Back in the day when you see a video of little people with album titles like “Stand Tall” and “Big Deal” you have to listen. The band has been active again recently doing shows and cruises. The Killer Dwarfs were still going strong at the time I wrote this.
Asphalt Ballet There’s a really good chance you never heard of these guys and that's a shame. They leaned a little more towards metal with some blues influence and a bit of southern rock as well. That said, they had the huge hair. Sadly this great band was over before they started. With a 1991 release, the hair band era was coming to a close and the label wanted them to switch to grunge and the singer left with that being his only option. A second album was released with a new singer but they split up shortly after release. Another band where you would be lucky to even find their music online.
Dangerous Toys They came out of Texas and started up in 1987. The singer has that high pitch along the lines of Jackyl or ACDC but the lyrics didn’t hide anything. They tended to be over the top and almost comical. For a while there was a new band called Broken Teeth but due to the many 80’s bands out playing again (like cruises) they have been playing out more and more so seeing them live is again possible.
Steel Panther I saved these guys for last because the band isn’t technically from the 80’s. If you love 80’s music and Spinal Tap, this is one you must listen to or see. The members are all actually professionals with a history of playing known bands but this band is a spoof on 80’s metal. I have seen them live 3 or 4 times and will again in October. Every show is different and is part over the top hair metal and part comedy. Must see live!
Just to give you an idea of how many bands were signed back then, here’s a list of other bands to look up who also didn’t make it to the big time or my MP3 collection, most for good reason:
Nitro (I liked these guys)
XYZ
Electric Boys
Tora Tora
Sleeze Beez
Black ‘N Blue
Southgang
Hericane Alice
Warlock
Rough Cutt
Lizzy Borden
Leatherwolf
Fifth Angel
Steelheart
Vinnie Vincent Invasion
Lillian Axe
Giuffria
Silent Rage
TNT
Beau Nasty
Danger Danger
Junkyard
Wasp
Jetboy
Trixster
Hanoi Rocks Another band that was around when the Sunset Strip was moving from punk to hair metal although with a start in 1979 some say they are the band others copied the glam idea from. In 1985 while on their first American tour their drummer “Razzle” was a passenger in a car driven by Vince Neil from Motley Crue, who was drunk at the time and was killed. The band broke up after that. Their lead singer, Michael Monroe had a few decent solo albums and he even reunited with guitarist Andy McCoy from 2001-2009. Their music is readily available for download but I assume that you won’t see another reunion again. I always liked their cover of CCR’s “Up Around The Bend.”
Helix Canada representing with this band originally formed for a battle of the bands contest. They toured with all the big names and actually did really well, but just not the big time. The hair image helped them from about 1983-1989. The many lineup changes and different variations of the band are too numerous here to list not to mention all the members other projects and careers. The former member list alone is over 20! They still play today, mostly in Canada and were also given a lot of extra attention from the Monsters Of Rock Cruise. If you watched MTV back in the day and don’t remember Helix, this should ring a bell:
Dirty Looks Did you love AC-DC with Bon Scott? That’s what this reminded of vocally but the music was more hair metal for sure. They were around from 1984 to 1996 yet many have never head of this excellent band. Sadly, the vocalist Henrik Ostergaard died in 2011 so there can never be another Dirty Looks. While they have a pile of great songs (Nobody rides For Free, Turn Of The Screw, Cool From The Wire, Get Off) I picked this song because you can hear the Bon Scott thing I mentioned. Just jump to 2:30 and you will see what I mean.
Cats In Boots Another band that was overlooked and just didn’t get a fair chance. Almost every song they have is great. They only had 1 main album, Kicked and Klawed, and the band broke up after that making the band’s shelf life only 2 years, although a new album was released in 1999 but by then the hair metal ship had long sailed. I literally have 4 of their songs on my playlist; 9 Lives, Her Monkey (below), Long, Long Way From Home and Shotgun Sally. See if you don’t agree these guys deserved more attention. Finding their music alone is difficult so I am glad I was collecting MP3’s 20 years ago.
Shotgun Messiah These guys came out of Sweden in the early 80’s and I thought they were pretty unique. Rumor was that ego trips got in the way before the band saw any commercial success. When I first saw their original video below, I thought there were 2 singers and it appears blondie wanted to hog the camera. The singer Zinny J. Zan really gets very little time but does have more time in other videos. Their early years, like most bands were excellent but then the singer left and it wasn’t the same for me heading towards a more Guns N roses style but “Heartbreak Blvd” was a hit with Tim Skold (blondie) taking over vocals. You might know Tim Skold from Marilyn Manson or KMFDM. The band is toast, but the music is still available and Zinny J. Zan has made appearances but put on a lot of weight and really just sounds terrible now.
Britny Fox These guys came out of Pennsylvania of all places and probably got what would be considered a late start in the mid 1980’s; something we now know gave them limited time. One of my favorite songs was Girl School although that’s a little harder to listen to in your 40’s now. Their other hit was more like a ballad (big surprise) called “Long Way To Love” but was more up-tempo than other ballads. The band featured a couple of members from Cinderella and that helped them get signed. Of course the problem there was that the singer sounded an awful lot like Tom Kiefer from Cinderella who is still active. Sort of that ACDC thing. A few years ago they attempted a reunion and looked pretty good with a more modern look but it failed. The chances of seeing them reunite again are slim to none.
Faster Pussycat Another great band that came so close to making it huge. Hair metal was the evolution of punk originally and there’s a couple bands who show this perfectly like Guns N Roses, LA Guns and of course, Faster Pussycat. Their most well-known songs were ballads like “House Of Pain” and a remake of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” The lead singer Taime Down is the most well-known and at one point had a bar on the strip called Cathouse. I’ve seen the Cathouse bar mentioned in quite a few autobiographies by some of the biggest musicians of the 80’s. I went on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise a few years ago and never got to see Faster Pussycat. Just my luck, I bump into Taime when I get on the ship and about 3 times after that and we ended up crossing paths embarking as well. I got to have coffee one morning and chat with him and truly enjoyed my time with him. They still play cruises and clubs today. The pic is from the cruise with my wife and i and Taime Down. Killer Dwarfs Yes, they are little people from Canada and while the whole thing is done with a sense of humor, they are talented musicians. Back in the day when you see a video of little people with album titles like “Stand Tall” and “Big Deal” you have to listen. The band has been active again recently doing shows and cruises. The Killer Dwarfs were still going strong at the time I wrote this.
Asphalt Ballet There’s a really good chance you never heard of these guys and that's a shame. They leaned a little more towards metal with some blues influence and a bit of southern rock as well. That said, they had the huge hair. Sadly this great band was over before they started. With a 1991 release, the hair band era was coming to a close and the label wanted them to switch to grunge and the singer left with that being his only option. A second album was released with a new singer but they split up shortly after release. Another band where you would be lucky to even find their music online.
Dangerous Toys They came out of Texas and started up in 1987. The singer has that high pitch along the lines of Jackyl or ACDC but the lyrics didn’t hide anything. They tended to be over the top and almost comical. For a while there was a new band called Broken Teeth but due to the many 80’s bands out playing again (like cruises) they have been playing out more and more so seeing them live is again possible.
Steel Panther I saved these guys for last because the band isn’t technically from the 80’s. If you love 80’s music and Spinal Tap, this is one you must listen to or see. The members are all actually professionals with a history of playing known bands but this band is a spoof on 80’s metal. I have seen them live 3 or 4 times and will again in October. Every show is different and is part over the top hair metal and part comedy. Must see live!
Just to give you an idea of how many bands were signed back then, here’s a list of other bands to look up who also didn’t make it to the big time or my MP3 collection, most for good reason:
Comments
