"Headbanger" might now be interpreted as a pejorative term for unsophisticated, blue collar adherents of heavy metal music, but in the early 1980s it was a description fans applied to themselves, which referred to the forceful head bobbing that was as close as metal fans ever came to dancing. A number of metal songs of the era invoked headbanging, and for years MTV ran a heavy metal video program called Headbanger's Ball. Metal was music for culturally defiant social outcasts, and it was loud but often less angry than one might suppose.
The so-called "hair metal" bands of the early 1980s cultivated a "glitzy" look with teased hair, eyeliner, and spandex fashions that were somewhere between glam rock and camp. This is sometimes interpreted as a means of cultivating female fans, but such gender-bending was more common in heavy metal and hard rock than most recall; it can be traced back to the original punk band the New York Dolls, who performed in drag, as well as outfits like Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Twisted Sister. Mötley Crüe was the first successful hair band of the '80s. The group was formed in 1981 and went through several name changes before guitarist Mick Mars suggested the pirate-inspired Mottley Krue, The group liked the name but thought an alternate spelling would be more interesting; thus started the enduring fashion for umlauts in heavy metal band names.
Crüe's first album was released on the small, independent Lethur label, and surprised all concerned by selling 20,000 copies; the band had a following in Los Angeles, but they had no idea how large it had become. The album performed well enough that the group was offered a contract with Elektra records. Their first Elektra album, Shout at the Devil, entered the lower reaches of the charts, partly on the strength of their video for "Looks that Kill." The follow-up, Theatre of Pain, also charted, and produced their first Top 40 hit, a cover of Brownville Station's "Smokin' in the Boy's Room." The disc also yielded "Home Sweet Home," the first heavy metal power ballad. In short order power ballads became compulsory for any heavy metal band hoping for mainstream stardom.
Mötley Crüe's fame was in part due to unintended publicity. In 1984 Vince Neil was jailed after killing a man in a drunken driving incident; Tommy Lee married popular TV actress Heather Locklear; and all members had run-ins with the law over their drug and alcohol abuse. Bassist Nikki Sixx overdosed and was pronounced dead by paramedics, but was revived by a shot of adrenaline several minutes later. The rampant substance abuse covered up severe personality conflicts between the band members, and the group split up in 1990. They have periodically reunited to produce new albums, occasionally with alternate members.
|
 |
|
|
AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Slade, Kiss, Rolling Stones, Mott the Hoople
Must Haves:
 "Dr. Feelgood"
"Smokin' in the Boy's Room"
"Girls, Girls, Girls"
"Home Sweet Home"
"Wild Side"
Poison, Warrant, Skid Row, White Zombie
|
|
