Last week I saw an article about the 25 best heavy metal bands, which listed ones like Pantera and Judas Priest and even Jimi Hendrix, and it reminded me of my great teenage love for the hair bands of the 80's, many of whom I remember quite fondly. (I myself was a bit of an AquaNet girl, though my bangs never reached such staggering proportions of many of my high school classmates, and in hindsight I am extremely grateful for that).
I was glued to MTV back in the day, watching the most requested videos of the day for a glimpse of my favorite bands, which, I grant you, were probably not the most talented but certainly the most colorful. Who knew that men with long hair and wearing eyeliner could be so sexy?
Here are just a few of my favorites from that era of glitter, spandex, and ratted hair:
White Lion
Okay, I was more a fan of the lead singer, Mike Tramp (second from the left), than the rest of the band. I still love listening to "Wait" and "Tell Me". Catchy little ditties those were, and Mike sure was sweet eye candy. I always wondered how he turned out...
Sebastian Bach from Skidrow
Skinny, twisted, loud, Sebastian nevertheless had those lips that just drove me crazy whenever I watched him sing "I Remember You" or "18 and Life". Of course he always seemed a bit crazy, so that might have been part of the appeal. Anyway, after 2 decades, I don't think he aged quite so well. But that's okay, cuz the infatuation is way over.
Kip Winger from Winger
Yum. Kip Winger was more masculine than most of the guys from these bands, and sure, he wasn't singing classic rock, but I didn't care; I liked their music back then, especially "Hungry" and "Headed For a Heartbreak", and I liked how Kip looked while he sang it.
Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue
I know, I know, but I had to include one pyscho moment, didn't I? There's just something about Nikki Sixx - messed up as he is/was(?) - that totally appealed to my inner rock vixen. Sometimes (or a lot of the time), infatuation rarely makes sense, and I just find him hot. Not all the time, mind you, but the smudge eyeliner, permanent bed-head and multiple tattoos totally worked for me, even to this day. Hey, it's not like I want to marry the guy, and I probably wouldn't want to shag him either. Aging, drug-addicted rock star = who knows where he's been. But he's rather pretty, in a used-up, hard living kinda way.
Jon Bon Jovi (like he needs an intro)
But the reigning rock hottie of my formative years was none other than this man, JBJ. From seeing the band on "American Bandstand" in the beginning of their career to watching "You Give Love a Bad Name" (and countless other videos) endless times, Jon stood out big time. Gorgeous, charismatic, talented, he was an immense pleasure to watch, and dream about. More than my teenage heart broke when he married his high school sweetheart, but now that I'm older, I can appreciate the fact he's still with her after all these years.
Even now, more than 25 years later, he's still got that hot quality that makes him so damn appealing. It's cool at the same time as it is really annoying that men can age so well. But I'm not complaining too much as I still like to look.
What rock star(s) of your teenage years got your hormones raging?
Do they still have that effect on you today?
posted by Stacy~ at 6/25/2008 05:09:00 AM
I had a major thing for Kip Winger, too. I mean, look at him. So manly. I think I've channeled him for some of my heroes over the years.
byI have a sort of Nikki Sixx story for you. Or a Motley Crue story, rather. When I was in highschool (early 80's) the thing to do was cruise the Esplanade from Redondo to Hermosa where Vince Neil (I think it was him) owned a condo overlooking the ocean. His balcony looked over the Esplanade and they hung out there sometimes. I even knew one of the Domino's Pizza guys who delivered to them. Yeah - my brush with fame...
Jon Bonjovi. What is there to say that hasn't already been said. He's like a fine wine. Back in the day my friend and I had the perfect arrangement. She was all for Richie Sambora and I was all about Jon. Even still, when we met the guys if they wanted to switch that was okay, too. It was a total win/win situation.
I have to laugh Jennifer- I love me some Jon but my daughter is all about Richie. I can't begin to count how many times we have seen them in concert.
byWe will also be seeing Nikki and Tommy Lee at Crue Fest this year.again.
Sebastian Bach has aged well actually- remember him on Gilmore Girls? We saw him last year in concert and he is still an awesome muscian.
But give me Slash. He never sang, but never needed to. I just want to watch him play. And he still has the hair. How that hat stays on I can never figure out. We saw him last year in concert and I literally stood 6 feet from him for the entire show and that damn hat never moved once.
On the other hand when he came out for the encore, he was shirtless and I never looked at the hat once! It's amazing what clean living and exercise can do for a man. Nice abs!!
I still listen to a lot of that music and hit the reunion shows. I love it.
Personally, I was a big fan of Extreme. Not so much for looks, but more for "More Than Words" which was one of those songs when I was in high school that everyone slow danced to.
byI do have a latent love for Jon Bon Jovi, although that has much more to do with his music than his looks. That being said, I think his superman tattoo is one of the sexiest things I've ever seen.
No, my teenybopper crush was John Taylor, the bass player for Duran Duran. I was SO gonna marry him. I saw him not too long ago. Yeah. He looks like he was ridden hard and hung out wet.
Nikki Six is hot. I LOVEd Poison as a kid. Had a huge crush on Brett Michaels. I still think Bon Jovi is hot.
byHeck yeah, I was (and often, am still) a hair band girl.
byWinger, Poison, Slaughter, Motley Crue, Skid Row, White Lion, White Snake, and the list goes on.
My parents thought I was possessed because I would go from these groups to New Kids on the Block. They just couldn't get the connection. ;p
JBJ has still got it goin' on!!!
byOh, did you know that Nikki Sixx wrote a book about a year ago? Autobiography, I believe. It is all about his time in the band, his addictions, and how he came through it all to where he is now. I need to remember to see if my library has it.
I'm llaughing, cause right now, my 10 yo's fave song is I'll Remember You, so he goes around singing it at the top of his lungs nonstop. LOL. It's a crackup to hear him in the shower.
byI actually was not such a big fan f the hair bands in the 80s (except for the rockin' guitar solos - being married to a guitar rock star I have an obligation to love those LOL). However, Jon Bon Jovi wised up and got way better hair today. Holy cow. In person? Droolworthy. Just sayin.