THE BANGLES

By the time the Bangles formed in 1981, sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson had already been playing in bands throughout high school. Susanna Hoffs joined the Petersons and they began to play out in the L.A. club scene, but really didn’t find their groove until, a few lineup changes later, ex-Runaways bassist Michael (formerly Micki) Steele joined.

The Bangles’ first LP, All Over the Place, was released in 1984 and made a little noise. The singles "Hero Takes a Fall" and "Going Down To Liverpool" received  lots of play on college radio and the group was liked so much by Cyndi Lauper that she invited them to open for her on 1984’s Fun Tour. The touring and greater exposure to the music industry provided the band with the inspiration to write enough material for their second album, Different Light.

1986’s Different Light was a great success for the band, selling over 5 million copies and spawning four Top Forty hits, with “Manic Monday" (written by Prince) going to #2 and "Walk Like an Egyptian",  going all the way to #1. The other two singles, “If She Knew What She Wants” and “Walking Down Your Street” were also big sellers from the album.

The Bangles’ hit streak continued into 1987 with their contribution to the soundtrack of the film Less Than Zero. The Rick Rubin produced cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s "A Hazy Shade of Winter", which they called "Hazy Shade of Winter", was a longer, harder-edged rock song, which they’ve stated sounds like they do live. "Hazy Shade of Winter" rocketed all the way up to #2 in the winter of ’87.

As the Bangles’ record company (Columbia) began singling out Susanna Hoffs as the lead singer of the group, a rift took shape and the media and fans started believing that she was the actual lead singer, although all of the band members sang lead equally on the album tracks. Internal strife as it was, it could not altogether cease the band’s continuing success; but the end was near.

Everything was the Bangles’ next album in 1988, and it proved to be another multi-platinum hit and it included their biggest-selling single, "Eternal Flame". Just weeks after topping the charts, the Bangles’ broke up.  But take heart, the band (minus Steele) has reformed and still tours often.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.-Psalm 40:2