The Police, Duran Duran, U2, Elvis Costello, Blondie.
REM, the Smiths, the Cure, Crowded House.
Cyndi Lauper, the Pretenders, Tom Petty, Prince.
I loved the diversity of pop at the time - the top 40 could easily include Steve Winwood and Tina Turner and Musical Youth and Cameo and the Clash and Devo and the Commodores and David Bowie... all at once! On the SAME STATION.
That would not happen today. Everything is so siloed. Rock is over HERE, rap is over THERE, and techno and metal and house music and pop are all in their various spheres.
If you turned on the radio in 1983 you might hear Lionel Richie right next to Def Leppard, then Pat Benatar.
Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, XTC, Fine Young Cannibals, Madonna, Human League.
It was a great time for music, and I am glad I was there for it.
Good stuff. A lot of this was what I listened to. I really enjoyed Crowded House’s first two albums for a soft Beatlesque sound.
I would add Billy Idol and the 1984 debut album of The Icicle Works.
He's in a weird zone where it's not that he's underrated, exactly, but his name doesn't come up in the kinds of conversations that it should. He's kind of different from all those other guys, so he's overlooked from time to time.
I'm not satisfied. I think we should debate this issue extensively. I mean, is he or is he not underrated? Who is doing the rating and by what authority? His mother thinks he's great so there's that.
Nobody ever brings up my favorite guitarist Steve Howe, but he was voted Guitar Player's Best Overall Guitarist five years in a row, and was the first rock guitarist to be inducted in to the Guitar Hall Of Fame.
Yes i guess in the general public he’s not a household name for excellent guitar players. Kind of like Prince. Alot of people loved his music but not many knew his guitar skills, virtuoso level. But both are top tier guitarists for people that really know music.
I think of ZZ Top as a 70s band. I think of Van Halen the same way, largely because that's when I first learned of them. Dire Straits falls into that category as well.
Only two VH albums were released in the 70s, in 78 and 79. They really blew up in early 80s with “1984” being their peak.
Everything after OU812 in 88 with Hagar was pretty much unlistenable.
I heard "Dance The Night Away" on a top 40 station when I was in junior high and that permanently etched them in my mind as a 70s band. Actually, they had been on a sales decline until Diver Down did very well. 1984 made David Lee Roth's ego bigger than the solar system.
Their biggest hit was probably 'Backwater' from the mid-'90s.
https://youtu.be/oFD88EyZ80E
Nirvana covered 3 of their songs on their MTV Unplugged In New York set:
Plateau:
https://youtu.be/Sj8UbmdV7bk
Oh Me:
https://youtu.be/T5LtSKKr7oY
Lake Of Fire:
https://youtu.be/d4LdUQzCPPM
Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.
Yes, it does. In '87, Huey released this; Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square". A song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself.
Not "Rock" you say. Go to YouTube and check out Talk Talk (Live At Montreux 1986) and then tell me "Its My Life" and "Living In Another World" doesn't rock. Go ahead. Ill wait.
Squeeze, The Police, R.E.M., The Cure, INXS, Love & Rockets for me.
Forgot to mention The Cult, Psychedelic Furs, and Tears for Fears. They’re awesome as well and still do great live shows.
Do you specifically want music that sounds "80s"-y, or just anyone who had significant output in that decade?
Here's a list of artists/groups that fit in the latter category (some also falling in the former)
Talking Heads, Oingo Boingo, Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers), Dire Straits, REM, Devo, The Cure, Depeche Mode, They Might be Giants (first 3 albums)
You're probably looking for hair metal to be honest. Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Great White (first 3 albums), no makeup Kiss, and maybe Tesla
Gotcha. Then probably none of the bands I've mentioned, except maybe Dire Straits or Tom Petty (though I would not classify either as hard rock). The rest are a mix of new wave/alt rock/post punk bands, with a couple of them being quite removed from the traditional rock sound format. I'm not a big fan of the harder rock bands of the 80s, like Metallica or AC/DC (though I respect them for what they are), and as such probably wouldn't be able to give good recs.
Echo and the Bunnymen and The Replacements
Echo is post-punk not Classic Rock but they were certainly influenced by it. One of the great live bands also.
The Replacements were just great fun, but their concerts are hit or miss. Hardcore drinkers.
Oh, also R.E.M. and Prince.......even U2 was good throughout the 80's.
XTC, The Jam, The Monochrome Set, The Green Pajamas, REM, The Wonder Stuff, Squeeze, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, The Undertones, The Replacements, Japan, The Smithereens, Prefab Sprout
Cars, Talking Heads, Pretenders, Cheap Trick, The Police, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, ZZ Top, The Ramones, B-52’s, The Clash, Dire Straits, The Pixies, …just to start with.
The Outfield. The Cure. Echo and the Bunnymen. Simple Minds. The Railway Children. The Pixies. The Cult. INXS. The Smiths. Foreigner. Fleetwood Mac. The Travelling Wilburys.
Edit: changed it to a more classic rock list
The 80’s to me was the Classic Rock band’s cutting an MTV video so they could cash in. Aerosmith, VH, Kiss, Scorpions, even Alice Cooper. ; they all wanted air time. They all had a “pop” song. That’s the direction David Lee Roth wanted to go, and read that’s where Eddie was drawing the line. Even the Van Haggar years were poppy though.
The Alarm. Most people saw them as a U2 knockoff, but they toured together in the early 80's. Really anything from Declaration to Eye of the Hurricane.
On the alternative side:: Pixies, Talking Heads, REM, Cure etc.
On the more Rock side: VH, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, GnR (late 80s), Metalica, plus countless hair metal bands that were really not great musicians. There were alot of people riding coattails of metal bands.
The Police and Clash were great too.
There weren’t too many 80s bands that moved me enough to buy their music, listen to and party to, lots, buy? The Cult for one, Stevie Ray Vaughan is another. I gotta think awhile for more.
Over 200 comments and one I have yet to see mentioned:
The Stray Cats!
"Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town" are their two biggest hits. Really strong rockabilly sound.
The Psychedelic Furs, Metallica, The Smiths, Def Leppard, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ozzy Osbourne, Ratt, Accept, Prince and the Revolution, Depeche Mode, the Pretenders, the Talking Heads.
AC/DC, Aldo Nova, Boston, Bruce Hornsby, Foreigner, Herbie Hancock Rockit on the Future Shock album, J. Giles Band, The Tubes (The completion backwards principle), Triumph, Toto, VH (Fair Warning), Wall of Voo Doo.
If you got famous in the 80s it’s not classic rock. It’s 80s rock, hair metal or post punk/new wave I suppose. Still a ton of great rock from the era. My recommendation would be The Pixies. Start with Surfa Rosa. It’s definitely no classic rock but it is definitely something.
Medium Medium. Gang of Four. Siouxsie and the Banshees. Modern English. Hûsker Dü. Romeo Void. The The. The Church. The Blow Monkeys. English Beat. Timbuk 3. The Specials. Big Audio Dynamite.
Probably not "Classic Rock" but Sodom or Megadeth probably. Lot of 80s HC Bands too like Charged GBH,Big Black,Naked Raygun,Gang Green,Agnostic Front,GISM,The Proletariat,FUs,etc.
Talking Heads
The Psychedelic Furs
Yes
Love those guys
Forever Now is an incredible album.
The Police, Duran Duran, U2, Elvis Costello, Blondie. REM, the Smiths, the Cure, Crowded House. Cyndi Lauper, the Pretenders, Tom Petty, Prince. I loved the diversity of pop at the time - the top 40 could easily include Steve Winwood and Tina Turner and Musical Youth and Cameo and the Clash and Devo and the Commodores and David Bowie... all at once! On the SAME STATION. That would not happen today. Everything is so siloed. Rock is over HERE, rap is over THERE, and techno and metal and house music and pop are all in their various spheres. If you turned on the radio in 1983 you might hear Lionel Richie right next to Def Leppard, then Pat Benatar. Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, XTC, Fine Young Cannibals, Madonna, Human League. It was a great time for music, and I am glad I was there for it.
Before the internet was a great fucking time to be alive
Good stuff. A lot of this was what I listened to. I really enjoyed Crowded House’s first two albums for a soft Beatlesque sound. I would add Billy Idol and the 1984 debut album of The Icicle Works.
Dire Straits
This sub loves their Steely Dan and adore Straits!
I want my MTV!
Mark Knopfler is a gem and one of the finest yet underrated guitarists.
He’s really not underrated. He’s pretty much in the upper tier of guitar players alive today.
Its fun to be a smartass
I usually don’t hear his name come up in the discussions, but he deservedly should be placed in that echelon
He's in a weird zone where it's not that he's underrated, exactly, but his name doesn't come up in the kinds of conversations that it should. He's kind of different from all those other guys, so he's overlooked from time to time.
I'm not satisfied. I think we should debate this issue extensively. I mean, is he or is he not underrated? Who is doing the rating and by what authority? His mother thinks he's great so there's that.
Oft overlooked nails it!
Nobody ever brings up my favorite guitarist Steve Howe, but he was voted Guitar Player's Best Overall Guitarist five years in a row, and was the first rock guitarist to be inducted in to the Guitar Hall Of Fame.
Yes i guess in the general public he’s not a household name for excellent guitar players. Kind of like Prince. Alot of people loved his music but not many knew his guitar skills, virtuoso level. But both are top tier guitarists for people that really know music.
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My peter loves him as well... hes all tossed off about him
That’s the period I don’t like.
ZZ Top and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had great success with the early MTV. The Cars too.
But Zz top was way better before they go to MTV
Much more bluesy pre-Warner Brothers.
I think of ZZ Top as a 70s band. I think of Van Halen the same way, largely because that's when I first learned of them. Dire Straits falls into that category as well.
Dire Straits’ first 2 albums came out in the 70s, but it wasn’t until the mid 80s that they became a household name.
Only two VH albums were released in the 70s, in 78 and 79. They really blew up in early 80s with “1984” being their peak. Everything after OU812 in 88 with Hagar was pretty much unlistenable.
I heard "Dance The Night Away" on a top 40 station when I was in junior high and that permanently etched them in my mind as a 70s band. Actually, they had been on a sales decline until Diver Down did very well. 1984 made David Lee Roth's ego bigger than the solar system.
The Cult, Tesla
The Cult are playing my hometown and I'm literally the only one excited.
When lil devil comes on the playlist 🪨
Living in a shack in a one horse town. Tryin to get to heaven 'fore the sun goes down.
LIZARD IN A BOTTLE, YEAH
I’d be so stoked the see The Cult! I’d join you if I could! ❤️🤘
Awesome! I saw them in '87 in Santa Cruz!
Both these bands are so good live even after all these years
The Replacements.
And might I add to this fine choice Husker Du and the Meat Puppets!
Do not know the Meat Puppets at all! I will fix this.
Their biggest hit was probably 'Backwater' from the mid-'90s. https://youtu.be/oFD88EyZ80E Nirvana covered 3 of their songs on their MTV Unplugged In New York set: Plateau: https://youtu.be/Sj8UbmdV7bk Oh Me: https://youtu.be/T5LtSKKr7oY Lake Of Fire: https://youtu.be/d4LdUQzCPPM
Thanks for sharing! How did I miss them on 120 minutes?!
Then you should .. Meat The Puppets.
If you have listened to Nirvana’s unplugged you kinda do.
How can the Replacements be the best band of the 80s, when nobody has heard of them.” Tom Petty
Van Halen, Dokken, Whitesnake, Scorpions, Huey Lewis and the News, Guns N Roses, U2, The Police, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Great White
Huey Lewis always put me in a good mood. Lived in the Bay Area at that time. Great memories.
Huey Lewis and the News is the finest band to ever bless this earth.
Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.
Why doesn't this have more upvotes? I don't think people know what you did there...
Most people wouldn't know if they were hit in the face with an axe...
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Legally Huey isn't allowed to talk about it. But I hope he tore them a new one In court.
Likewise , such a blatant rip off.
Great stuff
Okay
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Thumbs up on Pat and I'll add some 80s groups with rockin' ladies - The Pretenders, The B-52s, The Bangles, The Pixies, The Blackhearts
Her husband (assume still married) Neil Giraldo is a kick ass guitarist , as you already know.
Boston is another good one, they peaked in the 70’s as well but “Third Stage” is a great ‘86 album
And Ratt. Warren DeMartini yah
I would absolutely recommend van halen, but these are all great suggestions
I second this list! Well chosen!
Huey Lewis kinda sticks out on that list?
Yes, it does. In '87, Huey released this; Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square". A song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself.
Dude tried to sneak U2 in there
Prince & The Revolution, INXS, Metallica, Misfits
Inxs are such a great band Hear that Sound is one of my all time Favorite
Inxs are such a great band Hear that Sound is one of my all time Favorite
-The Cure -New Order -Talk Talk
The the
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Not "Rock" you say. Go to YouTube and check out Talk Talk (Live At Montreux 1986) and then tell me "Its My Life" and "Living In Another World" doesn't rock. Go ahead. Ill wait.
New Order isn’t classic rock, but Joy Division is.
Neither is Classic Rock.......Joy Division is post-punk.
Classic rock is a catch-all and not genre. Anything from 70s to mid 90s now fits into it, but rock must be the common denominator.
Hall and Oates if that counts as a band
Yea it counts
Motley Crue, Anthrax, Def Leppard we’re my tops then. I love so many others now. The Police, U2, Tesla, so many more.
Depeche Mode?
Not so much rock, IMO, but I do love some Depeche Mode! I was listening to them yesterday.
Anthrax is an incredible band.
[The Pretenders](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wjKGJ9RFo78&pp=ygUNdGhlIHdhaXQgbGl2ZQ%3D%3D)
That first album was one of the great debut albums all-time, though it was in '79.
Thought I could sneak them in as “became famous” in the 80’s… 😆
It was released December 27,1979, although some of the singles were released earlier.
The Smiths, New Order
Pixies dropped Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa, and Doolittle in just a few years at the end of the decade.
Absolutely!
Squeeze, The Police, R.E.M., The Cure, INXS, Love & Rockets for me. Forgot to mention The Cult, Psychedelic Furs, and Tears for Fears. They’re awesome as well and still do great live shows.
This is the correct answer. I would add the English Beat and AH-HA
Plus 1
The Clash Talking Heads
Stone temple pilots are 80s?
Do you specifically want music that sounds "80s"-y, or just anyone who had significant output in that decade? Here's a list of artists/groups that fit in the latter category (some also falling in the former) Talking Heads, Oingo Boingo, Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers), Dire Straits, REM, Devo, The Cure, Depeche Mode, They Might be Giants (first 3 albums)
Going for more of a hard rock sound
You're probably looking for hair metal to be honest. Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Great White (first 3 albums), no makeup Kiss, and maybe Tesla
Gotcha. Then probably none of the bands I've mentioned, except maybe Dire Straits or Tom Petty (though I would not classify either as hard rock). The rest are a mix of new wave/alt rock/post punk bands, with a couple of them being quite removed from the traditional rock sound format. I'm not a big fan of the harder rock bands of the 80s, like Metallica or AC/DC (though I respect them for what they are), and as such probably wouldn't be able to give good recs.
I’ll check out 1984 by Van halen
Scorpions, The Cars, Aldo Nova, Kiss, Queen
Def Leppard is my favorite from that era
Level 42, Peter Gabriel, Toy Matinee…
Peter Gabriel is an artist not a band, but awesome none the less
Echo and the Bunnymen and The Replacements Echo is post-punk not Classic Rock but they were certainly influenced by it. One of the great live bands also. The Replacements were just great fun, but their concerts are hit or miss. Hardcore drinkers. Oh, also R.E.M. and Prince.......even U2 was good throughout the 80's.
XTC, The Jam, The Monochrome Set, The Green Pajamas, REM, The Wonder Stuff, Squeeze, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, The Undertones, The Replacements, Japan, The Smithereens, Prefab Sprout
Zebra started as a Led Zeppelin cover band in New Orleans. Obviously they're not as talented as Zeppelin but they have a handful of great jams.
Tell me what you waaaaaannnnt!
So did Twisted Sister.
The Fixx.
U2
REM
Night Ranger (IDC what anyone thinks), ZZ Top, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, The Cars, Chicago, AC/DC, Twisted Sister.
Metallica, SRV, Ozzy, Extreme, Rush, Def Leppard, GNR, Journey, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Huey Lewis.
Dokken White Lion Iron Maiden Bon Jovi Great White Guns N Roses TNT King Diamond Stryper Cinderella
Talking Heads/Elvis Costello
My top two, definitely
Stop making sense
Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Poison, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Skid Row, Lita Ford, Duran Duran.
Prince
Cars, Talking Heads, Pretenders, Cheap Trick, The Police, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, ZZ Top, The Ramones, B-52’s, The Clash, Dire Straits, The Pixies, …just to start with.
Talking Heads
The Outfield. The Cure. Echo and the Bunnymen. Simple Minds. The Railway Children. The Pixies. The Cult. INXS. The Smiths. Foreigner. Fleetwood Mac. The Travelling Wilburys. Edit: changed it to a more classic rock list
Up vote for Echo & The Bunnymen and the Railway Children.
I <3 THE OUTFIELD
Josie's on a vacation far away!
Wham!
Grateful Dead
Nobody's mentioned Iron Maiden? (Unless I missed it, that is.)
They Might Be Giants
My sister was into Pat Benetar.
Great set of pipes on her.
[10,000 Maniacs](https://www.google.com/search?q=youtube+10000+scorpio+rising&client=safari&channel=ipad_bm&ei=QUqsZPPPL_Go5NoP3eq3qAk&oq=youtube+10000+scorpio+rising&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAMyBQgAEKIEMgUIABCiBDoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoHCAAQDRCABDoICAAQCBAeEA06CAgAEIoFEIYDOg0IIRCgARDDBBAKEIsDOggIABCiBBCLA0oECEEYAFC9E1iaH2C8ImgBcAF4AIAB8gGIAeAGkgEFMy4xLjKYAQCgAQG4AQLAAQHIAQM&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:31c87471,vid:5uMdyKh_krc)
I didn’t expect to get this many comments on this post lmao, thank you guys
Sisters of Mercy!
Iron Maiden, AC/DC (early 80s), Van Halen.
The 80’s to me was the Classic Rock band’s cutting an MTV video so they could cash in. Aerosmith, VH, Kiss, Scorpions, even Alice Cooper. ; they all wanted air time. They all had a “pop” song. That’s the direction David Lee Roth wanted to go, and read that’s where Eddie was drawing the line. Even the Van Haggar years were poppy though.
Tears for Fears
Def Leppard Guns N' Roses Skid Row Cinderella
Def Leppard Cinderella
INXS
Luna
Pink Floyd 80s stuff is fantastic and same with Grateful Dead
The mighty Van Halen!
The first albums for Law and Order and Badlands
The Proclaimers. I played out their album far too much. (To the Americans, I'm Scottish and they got here in the late 1980s.)
The Smithereens!!
The Alarm. Most people saw them as a U2 knockoff, but they toured together in the early 80's. Really anything from Declaration to Eye of the Hurricane.
Yeah, the Alarm were a great band
New Order
Dokken, Tesla, extreme, ratt, kix, styx
Talking Heads/Police
I love a lot of bands who had great popularity in the 80s but Ratts debut album is just so great
On the alternative side:: Pixies, Talking Heads, REM, Cure etc. On the more Rock side: VH, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, GnR (late 80s), Metalica, plus countless hair metal bands that were really not great musicians. There were alot of people riding coattails of metal bands. The Police and Clash were great too.
Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Prince
Im just getting into Killing Joke. Its a post punk band with all the trimmings.
There weren’t too many 80s bands that moved me enough to buy their music, listen to and party to, lots, buy? The Cult for one, Stevie Ray Vaughan is another. I gotta think awhile for more.
Van Halen, Cruë, Poison, Def Leppard, Journey, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister Just to name a few!
The Waterboys
.38 Special
April Wine
Def Leppard
Mellencamp
Over 200 comments and one I have yet to see mentioned: The Stray Cats! "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town" are their two biggest hits. Really strong rockabilly sound.
Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, U2, The Cure, REM, Hall and Oates, Def Leppard.
The Psychedelic Furs, Metallica, The Smiths, Def Leppard, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ozzy Osbourne, Ratt, Accept, Prince and the Revolution, Depeche Mode, the Pretenders, the Talking Heads.
AC/DC, Aldo Nova, Boston, Bruce Hornsby, Foreigner, Herbie Hancock Rockit on the Future Shock album, J. Giles Band, The Tubes (The completion backwards principle), Triumph, Toto, VH (Fair Warning), Wall of Voo Doo.
Seger and the silver bullet band
Queensryche , Triumph for starters
Cinderella, Kix, Motley Crue, Dokken, Jeff Healey
INXS is criminally underrated.
Dokken. Def Lepard up to High N Dry
U2
Not sure why you're getting downvoted or why U2 gets so much hate, The Joshua Tree is a masterpiece.
And the albums before that are also rock solid
Van Halen
Tears for Fears
The B-52s
It doesn’t even have to be classic rock at this point just throw some metal stuff in here too
The Police absolutely. Their music is still the most relevant, very timeless. Doesn’t get boring.
My absolute favourite is INXS. I am still listening to them to this day,
Def leppard
The Smiths
The Replacements, R.E.M.
Mötley fucking Crüe
B52s, Violet Femmes, Pixies.
Janes Addiction - late 80's, one of the founding bands of the 'alternative rock nation', also created the Lollapalooza music festival.
Rush!
If you got famous in the 80s it’s not classic rock. It’s 80s rock, hair metal or post punk/new wave I suppose. Still a ton of great rock from the era. My recommendation would be The Pixies. Start with Surfa Rosa. It’s definitely no classic rock but it is definitely something.
Van Halen, The Police, Hall & Oates, The Eurythmics, Prince & The Revolution
If you are looking for classic alternative, REM, Superchunk, Pixies, and Sonic Youth are good to check out.
XTC’s music has enough breadth and depth to put the other bands to shame with the possible exception of Tears for Fears.
Medium Medium. Gang of Four. Siouxsie and the Banshees. Modern English. Hûsker Dü. Romeo Void. The The. The Church. The Blow Monkeys. English Beat. Timbuk 3. The Specials. Big Audio Dynamite.
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Scratch Acid
Probably not "Classic Rock" but Sodom or Megadeth probably. Lot of 80s HC Bands too like Charged GBH,Big Black,Naked Raygun,Gang Green,Agnostic Front,GISM,The Proletariat,FUs,etc.
1. Guns N’ Roses, 2. Metallica, 3. Bon Jovi, 4. Journey, 5. Huey Lewis And The News
Wipers