10 Best Hard Rock Bands Of The 1980s
8. Motley Crue
Even though many of the great hard rock acts at the time were coming from Britain, another cultural movement was starting in the United States. With Los Angeles becoming a haven for glam rock, four misfits came together to help form what became known as hair metal.
Motley Crue's snotty form of hard rock was unlike anything that had come before. The band took the hard rock of bands like KISS and interjected them with a punk energy and pop hooks. The band became one of the first success stories of the Sunset Strip, with videos in regular rotation on MTV and scoring one of the first glam rock power ballads with "Home Sweet Home."
As the decade wore on, the band went from strength to strength which each record, from the macabre theatrics of Shout at the Devil to the biker punk tendencies of Girls Girls Girls. This culminated in the 1989 release Dr Feelgood, which showcased the band at the peak of their powers as they mixed punk aggression with monstrous riffs. As the 90's arrived, tensions began brewing and the band separated from singer Vince Neil, leaving a stellar track record of hard rock grandeur in their wake.