Chart entered : 15 February 1986
Chart peak : 2
Number of hits : 12
These lot are the first all-girl band who played their own instruments to qualify.
Bangles were initially The Bangs. Lead guitarist Vicki Peterson and her younger sister Debbie who played drums had been playing in their parents' garage since the mid-70s and in December 1980 put an ad for a female guitarist in a local paper. It was answered by 21 year old Susanna Hoffs , daughter of Tamar Hoffs a minor Hollywood player. A rabid Beatles fan, Susanna was spurred to respond to the ad by Lennon's murder. After a jamming session at her house went well, The Bangs were born.
By the end of the year they had scraped enough money to put out a first single "Getting Out of Hand" on a local label . Written by Vicki , it's a warning to a two-timing boyfriend set to what sounds very like Ticket To Ride although the guitar break owes more to The Byrds. Their sixties influences were thus very clear right from the start but so were the group's trademark harmonies. With the single getting support from a local radio station their gigs became better attended and they acquired both a bass player in Annette Zilinskas and a manager Miles Copeland . He persuaded them to sign to his Faulty Products label, an off shoot of IRS which the girls had some reservations about as that was The Go-Gos' label.
Just as they were about to release an EP they received a threatening letter from a New Jersey band called The Bangs and had to change their name to Bangles. The five song EP came out under that name in June 1982 with the lead track "The Real World " also issued as a single. It's another Beatles-influenced jangly pop number although not as easily pinned to one song. Copeland was not blind to their obvious visual appeal and made sure they did a video with a short-haired Susanna in a monochrome dress, doing the McCartney head wobble and looking every inch the mod chick. Although she's got the best legs , it's notable that the camera rarely strays over to Zilinskas. She wasn't contributing anything to the songwriting or doing much singing and shortly afterwards left to join her boyfriend's band.
The group turned to the slightly older Michael Steele to fill the vacancy. Michael or Miki had been part of the original line up of The Runaways but left after an argument with manager / Svengali Kim Fowley before they'd recorded anything. A set of demos they recorded while she was still in the band was released in 1993 as "Born To Be Bad". Michael co-wrote the title track which was polished up and re-recorded as a glam metal anthem on their second album "Queens of Noise" in 1976. After leaving The Runaways she joined the powerpop band Elton Duck who were signed to Arista in 1980 but their debut album was shelved apparently due to recent commercial failures by similar bands. After that Michael had short stays in a number of L A bands before answering Bangles' call.
The band now signed to Columbia who released their debut album "All Over The Place" in May 1984. Still finding her feet, Michael only played bass on the album without doing any vocals. Apart from two covers the album was mainly written by Vicki with help from Susanna on four songs including the lead single "Hero Takes A Fall", a charming power pop tune about relishing a devious boyfriend's come-uppance. The second single "Going Down To Liverpool" a cover of a tune by Katrina and the Waves sung rather blankly by Debbie, is a real oddity, a jolly guitar jangle about living on the dole in Liverpool with sunny Californian harmonies. It seemed even more incongruous in the video which featured a bemused Leonard Nimoy ( a friend of Tamar Hoffs ). The song got them some press attention in the UK but didn't make the Top 75 until its re-release in 1986 when it reached number 56 . The album is a gem, a set of melodic , breezy guitar pop tunes most of which clock in at under three minutes with wonderful harmonies and wry lyrics , usually about boyfriend troubles. There's nothing startlingly original but it's certainly worth a listen. What also strikes you is that Vicki is a strong singer in her own right if less distinctive than Susanna. The album reached number 80 in the Billboard charts even though neither single charted.
"Manic Monday" was their breakthrough hit, reaching number 2 on both sides of the Atlantic . The band , Susanna in particular, had attracted the attention of Prince, always on the lookout for a pretty girl who wouldn't tower over him. He offered them the song which had originally been written for his prodigies Apollonia 6. Susanna didn't welcome his attentions but the band did accept the song.
You wouldn't think that Prince ( nor the members of Bangles for that matter ) would have much insight into the frustrations of the working woman but the song struck a chord . There's a definite melodic similarity to 1999 in the verses but the chorus seems to be deliberately evoking The Mamas and Papas' Monday Monday or maybe it's just the quality of the harmonies that's making the association.
Although it lifted the band to worldwide success "Manic Monday" was something of a poisoned chalice. For one thing it began the sequence of their covers being far more successful than their own songs , unwelcome to a band where every member contributed to the songwriting. For another , although it had the same producer , David Kahme as their debut album , the sound was very different with lots of synths ( the coda sounds like the intro to The Who's Love Reign O'er Me ) and a dainty piano filigree running through the verses. Although Debbie's drumming and Vicki's growling power chords actually power the song , they're quite low in the mix which didn't please the rocking sisters. This frustration that the records weren't reflecting their "real" sound would be a persistent source of tension between band and record company.
I certainly agree their debut is a great listen - it's follow up had it's moments but, as you allude to, suffers in this age from it's 80s production values at points. Third album is best avoided!
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