The Bangles

The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles through much of the decade.

Background information
Also known as The Supersonic Bangs, The Bangs
Origin Los Angeles, California,
United States
Genres Rock, pop rock
Years active 1981–1989[1]
1999–present
Labels I.R.S., Columbia, Koch
Website The Bangles.com

History
[edit] Formation and early years (1981–1983)

When Susanna Hoffs joined sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson to form a band in Los Angeles in the waning days of December, 1980, the trio briefly christened itself The Colours, shortly renamed itself The Supersonic Bangs, but soon morphed its name to The Bangs. The band was part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s-influenced folk-rock and jangle pop with a more modern punk–ish/garage band undertone.[2] In 1981, the threesome recorded and released a single (Getting Out Of Hand b/w Call on Me) on DownKiddie Records (their own label). In 1982, the trio was signed to Faulty Products, a label formed by Miles Copeland.

The early Bangles line-up of Susanna Hoffs (vocals/guitars), Vicki Peterson (guitars/vocals), Debbi Peterson (vocals/drums) and Annette Zilinskas (vocals/bass) recorded an EP in 1982 and a single, The Real World, was released. A legal issue forced the band to change their name at the last minute so they dropped the "The" from their name and added the letters "les" to the end to become Bangles. Their first EP was retitled Bangles and was released. In 1983, Faulty Products issued a 12 inch "remix" single of "The Real World" to radio and media however another setback came as the label folded. I.R.S. Records picked up distribution and re-issued the EP. What could have been yet another setback for the band came when Zilinskas left the band to focus on her own project, Blood on the Saddle. She was replaced by Michael Steele, formerly of the all-girl band The Runaways.
[edit] Career peak (1984–1986)

The Bangles' full-length debut album on Columbia, All Over the Place (1984), captured their power-pop roots, featuring the singles "Hero Takes a Fall" and the Kimberley Rew-penned Beatlesque "Going Down To Liverpool" (originally recorded by Rew's band Katrina and the Waves). The record attracted good critical notices, and the video for "Liverpool" featured Leonard Nimoy, which helped to generate further publicity.

All this went some way to attracting the attention of Prince, who later wrote "Manic Monday" for the group.[3] "Manic Monday" went on to become a #2 hit in the US, the UK and Germany, outsold at the time only by another Prince composition, his own "Kiss". The band's second album Different Light (1986) was more polished than its predecessor and, with the help of the worldwide #1 hit "Walk Like an Egyptian", saw the band firmly in the mainstream as radio and MTV stalwarts.
[edit] The kingdom of Bangles

There was friction among band members after the media began singling out Hoffs as the lead singer of the group, due to Columbia Records practice of releasing mostly singles on which Hoffs sang lead vocal. In fact, the group's albums were fairly evenly divided among all of the band's members, all of whom wrote or co-wrote their songs.[4] In 1987, Hoffs starred in a film, The Allnighter, which was directed by her mother, Tamar Simon-Hoffs, and was critically panned. That, and the firing of their manager Miles Copeland, further exacerbated the dissent among the band members.[5] But they soon had another US #2 hit with a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" from the soundtrack of the film Less Than Zero, whereas on the other side of the Atlantic the melancholic "If She Knew What She Wants," written by Jules Shear, reached the U.S. Top 40 and the German Top 20.

1988's Everything was another multi-platinum smash and included their biggest-selling single, the soft ballad "Eternal Flame". Co-writer Billy Steinberg came up with the title after Susanna Hoffs told him about the band's visit to Graceland, Elvis Presley's former estate in Memphis, Tennessee. An "Eternal Flame" in memoriam to Presley is maintained on the site, but on the day the band visited, the flame had gone out and its clear-plastic enclosure was flooded. When they asked what was in the box, they were told, "That's the eternal flame." [6] The single became another worldwide hit.[7]

The working relationships within the band had broken down, however, and they split shortly after,[4] with Hoffs embarking on a solo career and Vicki Peterson touring as a member of the Go-Go's and the Continental Drifters.
[edit] Bangles go their separate ways

Hoffs released a solo album When You're a Boy, produced by former Bangles producer David Kahne. The album spawned a minor hit "My Side of the Bed", and a Cyndi Lauper penned "Unconditional Love", but it stalled, and Hoffs was dropped from Columbia during the recording of her second solo album.[8] The second solo album Susanna Hoffs, released in 1996, fared better critically,[9] but it too had disappointing sales. Hoffs married film director Jay Roach (Austin Powers and Meet the Parents), and their union led to the Bangles' reunion of 2000.[9] Vicki Peterson joined and contributed songs to the New Orleans band the Continental Drifters, which received rave reviews. Debbie Peterson had a short-lived career with Siobhan Maher under the name of Kindred Spirit, while Steele lived in semi-retirement in California.
[edit] Bangles join forces again

The Bangles re-formed to record a song for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, at the behest of the film's director (and Hoff's husband) Jay Roach.[10] The song chosen for the album was "Get The Girl"; it was released in 1999. The reunion continued with a tour in 2000. The group was also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.[11] In 2001–2002, they recorded a new album Doll Revolution. A cover version of "Eternal Flame" was a 2001 UK #1 for Atomic Kitten. Doll Revolution, featuring such songs as "Stealing Rosemary", "Ride the Ride", "Nickel Romeo", and the single "Something That You Said", was released in early 2003. The title track was written by Elvis Costello, who initially recorded it for his 2002 album When I Was Cruel. Doll Revolution was a solid comeback success in Germany after the Bangles had performed in Germany's biggest TV show Wetten dass, but failed to make any impact in other important markets such as the UK, the U.S. and Australia.

In July 2004, The Bangles were made Companions of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

In 2005, the Bangles announced the departure of Michael Steele. Steele was replaced by Abby Travis for live appearances. Travis is not an official member of the group.[12] On December 31, 2005, they reunited to perform "Hazy Shade of Winter" in front of Times Square and later performed "Eternal Flame" as part of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2006. Their third single, "Light My Way", is available as a download via iTunes. August 2007 saw the release of their first official live DVD, Return to Bangleonia - Live in Concert.

In 2008, the band toured with dates in Las Vegas, Louisiana, Austin, Glasgow, and Ojai. Summer 2008 sees the Bangles perform European Dates as well, e.g. in Germany, the Netherlands and at the popular Cornbury Festival in Oxfordshire, England on July 5 and 6.

The Bangles are headed back into the studio in spring of 2009 to begin work on a new album. [2] While a new album is in the works, Debbi Peterson indicated that the album is in the early stages of production during a May 2009 interview with Music Geek Media. [3]
[edit] In popular culture

Like many other modern music groups, the Bangles have contributed to many other artists' works and to compilations. They provided the song "I Got Nothing" for the soundtrack album for the 1985 film The Goonies, and made a cameo appearance in Cyndi Lauper's music video for "Goonies 'R' Good Enough". Lauper later enlisted them for backup vocals in her 1986 hit song "Change of Heart". In 1988, while recording his album Full Moon Fever, Tom Petty and his lead guitarist Mike Campbell called on the group to provide backing vocals for the song "Waiting for Tonight". The song never made it to the album, but instead made the compilations Playback and Anthology: Through the Years.[citation needed] In February 2001, the first-season Gilmore Girls episode "Concert Interruptus" involved a trip to see a Bangles concert, and featured cameos and music by the band.[13] They also covered the Beatles hit "Good Day Sunshine" for the 2006 album All Together Now: Beatles Stuff for Kids of All Ages.[14]

Several artists have referenced the Bangles in their own songs. The Saw Doctors include an irreverent tribute to them, "I'd Love to Kiss the Bangles", on their 2003 album Play It Again Sham!.[15] Alternative-country artist Robbie Fulks sings a wistful ode to "That Bangle Girl", a song identified as one of his "personal favorites", on his 2000 Very Best album.[16]
[edit] Band members

* Susanna Hoffs - vocals/guitars
* Vicki Peterson - vocals/guitars/bass guitar
* Debbi Peterson - vocals/drums/bass guitar
* Annette Zilinskas - vocals/bass guitar (1982–1983)
* Michael Steele - vocals/bass guitar/guitars (1983–2005)

[edit] Discography
Main article: The Bangles discography

* All Over the Place (1984)
* Different Light (1986)
* Everything (1988)
* Doll Revolution (2003)

[edit] References

1. ^ VH1 - 100 Greatest songs of the 80s
2. ^ The Bangles Collective Biography. Retrieved: September 15, 2006
3. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. ""Manic Monday: The Bangles: Song Review"". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:8bjxlffekcvo. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
4. ^ a b Muze UK Ltd, Biography of The Bangles Retrieved: September 15, 2006
5. ^ The Bangles Collective Biography. Retrieved: September 15, 2006
6. ^ Susanna Hoffs, "Commentary", the Bangles, Return to Bangleonia, DVD, 2007
7. ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 hits uit de Top 40, page 261, 9023009444
8. ^ nndb.com Biography Susanna Hoffs Retrieved: September 15, 2006
9. ^ a b BBC Biography The Bangles Retrieved: September 15, 2006
10. ^ [1] The Bangles: The Making of a Rock & Roll Legend Retrieved: March 7, 2008
11. ^ Vocal Hall of Fame The Bangles page. Retrieved: September 15, 2006
12. ^ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/bangles-shake- again/2005/11/03/1130823343333.html theage.com.au] "Bangles shake again" Retrieved: September 15, 2006
13. ^ ""Gilmore Girls: Concert Interruptus (2001)"". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0588131/. Retrieved 2007-11-25. Excerpts of the songs "Hero Takes a Fall" and "Eternal Flame" were featured in the concert that the Gilmore party attended.
14. ^ Berick, Michael. "All Together Now: Beatles Stuff for Kids of All Ages [B&N Exclusive]". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:azfoxqqrldje. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
15. ^ Sleger, Dave. ""Play it Again Sham!"". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dzfyxqeald6e. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
16. ^ Fink, Matt. ""The Very Best of Robbie Fulks"". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3vfoxqrkldde. Retrieved 2007-11-25. Although Fulks never says her name, the line "When the little one took the mike, I knew I'd fallen" suggests the particular "Bangle girl" he pines for is Susanna Hoffs, the shortest member of the group and frequent lead singer. Susanna Hoffs most recently lent her voice for the video "We Are The Ones" for Presidential Hopeful Barrack Obama. The band can be seen this summer in Europe for select dates for events such as Retrofest.

[edit] External links

* The Bangles official website
* Return Post: The Bangles official message board
* The Bangles Discography
* Allmusic.com Entry
* 'The Bangles' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page