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You literally couldn't escape the sounds of these bands, who happened to reign supreme on the radio waves. If you’re looking for a list of 80s hair bands, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of the 80s hair bands that rocked the decade like no one else could. Grab your black concert t-shirt, your too-tight jeans (also black), throw in a bandana for good measure and get ready to rock. The heavy guitars and angst-filled lyrics of grunge bands like Nirvana were a stark contrast to the slick, over-the-top sound of glam metal. The origins of glam metal can be traced back to the late 1970s when bands such as Kiss and Aerosmith began incorporating elements of glam rock into their music.
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These bands were responsible for some of the biggest hits of the 80s, including “Edge Of A Broken Heart” by Vixen, “Live for The Whip” by Bitch, ” and “Back to The Bullet” by Saraya. Between the release of these two albums, their drummer, Rick Allen, lost one of his arms in a car accident. Allen still plays with the band, using a custom drum set with extra foot pedals.
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The band’s high-energy performances, with their catchy songs and hard-edged sound, helped them become one of the most successful hair bands of the 80s. In the 1980s, glam metal ( also called hair bands ) was one of the biggest genres in music. Hair bands like Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi were all topping the charts with their catchy hooks and heavy makeup.
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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. By 1989 the band had broken up due to differences between singer Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch. Still fronted by Don Dokken, the band released their 12th album, Broken Bones, in 2012. Following their 1988 self-titled debut with hits “Cryin” and “Edge of a Broken Heart,” which hit the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, the band’s second album, Rev It Up, also had two more singles chart.
You could say that W.A.S.P. helped play a pivotal role in expanding the boundaries of artist censorship. 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.
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There are few hair bands that have the reputation for excess that Mötley Crüe has. This band seemed to love living the fast lifestyle and all of its short-term thrills. By the early 1990s, grunge had taken over and glam metal was all but forgotten. Frontman Tom Keifer has continued on in his solo career with albums The Way Life Goes (2013) and Rise (2019) and will still belt out some Cinderella classics in concert. On July 14, 2021, former Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar, who performed on the band’s four albums, died at 58.
Cinderella, ‘Night Songs’ (
In the early 1980s, there was a wave of female-fronted hair metal bands that took the world by storm. So there are our picks for the most epic 80s hair bands, did your favorite make the list? Regardless any of the above bands are definitely worth a revisit as their music will forever be timeless classics. Def Leppard is another English hair band, formed in 1976 but not finding significant success until the 1983 release of Pyromania. Hysteria, released in 1987, cemented the band as one of the best 80s hair bands.
The band is known for its glam rock and punk influences and was one of the top hair bands in the “Hanoi Rocks movement” in the 1980s. The band’s early music blended hard rock and heavy metal with a theatrical, almost campy sensibility, and their live shows were always a spectacle. Despite several setbacks over the years, including the loss of drummer Rick Allen’s arm in a car accident, Def Leppard has continued to tour and record new music. The band’s original lineup consisted of Jani Lane (lead vocals), Erik Turner and Joey Allen (guitars), Jerry Dixon (bass), and Steven Sweet (drums). They released several successful albums throughout the decade, including Soldiers Under Command, To Hell with the Devil, and In God We Trust. The band’s original lineup consisted of Bret Michaels (lead vocals), C.C.
Poison

Over 10 years later, the group began to play together and release music again, continuing to this day. Whitesnake is probably best known for their song, Here I Go Again, which is a very popular power ballad. The group is headed by David Coverdale, who sang with Deep Purple for a portion of his career. Def Leppard was pure royalty, writing anthemic songs that almost anyone could easily remember and sing along with. Any discussion about 80s music cannot be complete without mentioning the group, Def Leppard.

The band released its debut album in 1983 and went on to produce a total of four albums during the 80s. They’ve released eight more albums since the 80s, but their popularity reached its biggest heights along with their hair. Hair metal vocalists rarely get the respect that traditional metal singers do, in part because of the glam looks and accessible songs. Scene, but don't necessarily fall under the hair metal banner because of the edginess of their earlier music.
If you want to hear them play your favorite 80s hits, that’s what you’ll hear during a live show. They went through several lineup changes before becoming known as Ratt in 1981. They sold 100,000 copies of their independently-released debut album in 1983 and constantly played in Los Angeles clubs to build a die-hard fan base. Even if their riffs slapped harder than Poison’s more pop-bent “Talk Dirty to Me,” everyone had a label in those days. Despite multiple lineup changes and inactivity in the 2000s, Faster Pussycat has continued to tour and record new music. Def Leppard’s most significant commercial success came in the 1980s when they released a string of hit albums such as Pyromania and Hysteria.
There were a number of songs from those albums that charted very high on the radio charts. The song, Rock Me, for example, remains to be a very popular song, even today. Despite forming at the end of the 1970s, Great White experienced their biggest success almost a decade later. Their albums, Once Bitten, and, …Twice Shy, were massive hits, eventually becoming certified Platinum. Songs like Dr. Feelgood, and, Shout At The Devil, are just a few of the songs that achieved mainstream success. People want to have a good time listening to music, and this band certainly loved to party.
With Bret Michaels as the lead frontman, it didn’t take too long for this hair band to make waves in the music industry. Formed in 1983, the band gained popularity with their number one hit single “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, which is included in their sophomore album “Open Up and Say… Ahh! Warrant started in 1984 but didn’t see mainstream success until 1988, when it signed with Columbia Records. Their debut album had four singles which got them spots opening for Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Cinderella on tour. Their second album came out in 1990 but still harnessed the signature sound of 80s hair bands. Considered one of the bands that formed the Los Angeles glam metal scene in the early 1980s, Ratt is another glam metal band that stands out.
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. They are best known for their hit song “The Final Countdown,” which was released in 1986 and reached number one in 25 countries.
It’s the sole reason why fans would wait 15 years for the band to release a lackluster (but hyped) album. While many big hair metal bands are now considered cheesy and dated, they remain iconic for their over-the-top style and catchy tunes. During the 1980s, many best-selling artists such as Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Whitney Houston excelled.