The Bangles are timeless. The all-female band, armed with an ability to make lasting pop tunes that today still glisten and gleam with their inextinguishable spirit, ruled the 1980s and continue to perk ears today.
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From the very beginning, the group established themselves as hitmakers with a glossy sound rife with catchy hooks and infectious energy, a style that makes it easy to believe that it all started with a “bangs.”
It Began with a “Bangs”
The Los Angeles-founded group that would become the Bangles formed in 1981 when sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson, a guitarist and drummer respectively, responded to an ad that guitarist Susanna Hoffs had placed in a local rag, The Recycler.
The ad contained all of Hoffs’ musical inspirations, mainly ’60s mainstays like The Byrds, The Beau Brummels, and the cult favorite Love. “The thing is, in 1980, people weren’t that interested in bands from the 60s, especially the more obscure ones,” she explained in a conversation with Medium. “You had to work hard to find that stuff. These were the days before the Internet! It was like a treasure hunt, listening to oldies radio and digging through vinyl.”
When Hoffs met the Peterson sisters, she was immediately struck by their similar musical tastes from a bygone era, but it was when they played together that sparks flew. “The first night we met and played together sealed the deal,” Hoffs recalled to the outlet. “It was really, really fast. Almost terrifyingly fast. That’s the birth of the band, from my vantage point.”
The trio came onto the scene shortly after under the name the Bangs with a short-lived bassist Annette Zilinskas in tow. They quickly asserted themselves in LA’s Paisley Underground, a scene that appropriated ’60s psychedelia into the steady flood of ’80s pop.
From Garage Rockers to Signed Stars
To Medium, Hoffs described “slugging it out on the club scene” during the early days of the band, days that were also spent rehearsing in the guitarist’s parents’ garage. It wasn’t long, however, before they were signed artists.
By the time Columbia Records came calling, they had changed their name to the Bangles as an East Coast band had already snagged the Bangs moniker. Zilinskas had also departed for another band, making way for former Runaway bassist Michael Steele to enter into the fold just as the group signed with Columbia to record their 1984 major label debut, All Over the Place.
For the next few years, hit after hit would follow. Enduring classics like “Manic Monday,” “Hazy Shade Of Winter,” “Walk Like An Egyptian,” “Eternal Flame,” and so many more would secure the Bangles’ place at the top.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
