The Bangles were one of the new generation of independent all-women bands that followed The Go-Go's in the early 1980s.

History

Formation and early years (1981-1983)

The band was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981 as The Supersonic Bangs, later shortened to The Bangs. The band was part of the so-called Paisley Underground scene in LA, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s influenced folk-rock and jangle-pop with a more modern punk-ish/garage band undertone.
They were forced to change their name to The Bangles when a band from New Jersey, also named The Bangs, threatened to sue.[1]
The initial Bangles line-up of Susanna Hoffs (vocals/guitars), Vicki Peterson (guitars/vocals), Debbi Peterson (drums/vocals) and Annette Zilinskas (bass/vocals) recorded at least one single as the Bangs, then made their recorded debut as the Bangles with a self titled EP, which was released on their manager Miles Copeland's Faulty Products label in 1982. Zilinskas subsequently left the band, and was replaced on bass by Michael Steele.

Career peak (1984-1989)

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 "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.[2]
"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 accompanying 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.
There was friction among band members after the media began singling out Hoffs as the lead singer of the group.[3] 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.[4] But they soon had another US #2 hit with a cover of Simon and 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" reached the german Top 20.
1988's Everything was another multi-platinum smash and included their biggest selling single in the soft ballad "Eternal Flame" which was inspired by Elvis Presley's eternal flames and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which co-writer Billy Steinberg attended. The single became another worldwide No.1 hit. [5]
The working relationships within the band had broken down, however, and they split shortly after,[3] with Hoffs embarking on a solo career and Vicki Peterson touring as a member of the Go-Go's and the Continental Drifters.

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.[6] The second solo album Susanna Hoffs, released in 1996, fared better critically,[7] 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.[7] 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.

Bangles join forces again

In 2000, the Bangles re-formed to tour. The group was also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.[8] 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 other important markets like the UK, the U.S., and Australia.
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.[9] 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 holiday 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.

Trivia

• In 1985, The Bangles contributed 1 song for The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: "I Got Nothing"; and also made a small-cameo (appearance) in the Cyndi Lauper's music-video, "Goonies 'R' Good Enough", playing/appearing as Pirates aboard "Rowdy" Roddy Pipper's Pirate boat.

• The Bangles are the subject of an irreverent tribute song by The Saw Doctors entitled "I'd Love to Kiss the Bangles".

• Susanna Hoffs is the subject of Robbie Fulks' "That Bangles Girl", and Freddy Blohm's "The Corner of Her Eye."

• Appeared on a season one episode of Gilmore Girls entitled "Concert Interruptus" and performed parts of "Hero Takes a Fall" and "Eternal Flame".

• Known as the main test media content for Discretix OMA DRM implementation.

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

• In 2006,The Bangles recorded "Good Day Sunshine" for the kids compilation "All Together Now".

• In 1988 Vicki Petterson and former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent wrote a song together, called "Make A Play For Her Now" for the Bangles' Everything album.