Hair spray and spandex did mix for a time...

[Thunderfoot]

In regard to the two bands listed - I chose Skid Row! Much grittier and had a hard edge.

But as to which hair band reigned supreme, neither of these two were around long enough to qualify. If you really want to know, strap in junior, someone in the business is about to school ya!

As far as hair bands (SPECIFICALLY not just heavy metal but those that were on the spandex circuit) there are a pleathora from which to choose during the time frame of 1983 - 1992. I have seen many responses and I must admit that Motley Crew fit that mold when they first arrived on the scene, but by the late 80s they started to move into the realm of "legitimate" Heavy Metal. Though Queensryche has been mentioned, they fell into the progressive metal categoryThe Warning, Operation: Mindcrime and Empirewere all concept albums and were too deep for the hair, whores and Heinken crowd... And Iron Maiden they were true Heavy Metal pioneers (the spandex was not a hair statement, just what everyone was wearing at the time (I even had a pair of black spandex pants))
So we are specifically looking at bands that exploited the LA sound and the Hollywood look.

I would narrow our group to Poison, Warrant, Skid Row, Slaughter, Vixen (you go girls), Faster Pussycat, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Twisted Sister, The New York Dolls, Van Halen (yep they were pioneers), Y&T (yep, they were too), Mr Big, Extreme and the like (There are about four thousand more bands I could name but you get the drift)

As far as pure hair The New York Dolls were a hold over from the glam days and along with Twisted Sister are probably the MOST repsonsible for the look - the odd part is the LA look was created in the New York club scene - both bands were NYC based.
The hair sound was one of tight vocal harmonies and distorted guitars - Van Halen, Whitesnake and Y&T were the progenators of that sound - hands down. And if you don't believe VH belongs in this category, go back and watch any of the videos from the 1984 album... They may have started as a rock band, but under the guiding hand of KISS bassman Gene Simmons (another group that probably belongs on this list) they soon became as much showmen as musicians (Diver Down and Women and Children First are probably the best examples)

Y&T though gets my ultimate hair band vote. Though they aren't as well known as the rest, for those of us who were paying attention, they scored the sound and the look well before any of the rest. This Long Beach (later Hollywood) based quartet cut their teeth in the late 70s opening for groups like Sweet, STYX and KISS and formed thier own distinctive sound in spite of it. At the begining of the 80s rock anthems like Lipstick and Leather and Summertime Girls set the standard for all other bands to follow. They could roll out the metal and even scored another major hair hit Don't Be Afraid (Of The Dark) just as the 80s drew to a close. Unlike all of the other bands in the era, they stayed true to themselves and to their sound throughout the duration. They are IMO the hands down absolute winners of the Hair Band Hall of Fame MVPs.

"This has been Behind the Hairspray, I'm Thunderfoot, we'll see you next time..."
PS in case you were wondering how I came by the name Thunderfoot - maybe you have a clue now. *budda-budda budda-budda BOOM-BOOM*

 

[Aryoche]

Mindcrime is good... LIVECrime is far better. Some of their earlier cuts are
decent , Like "The Lady Wore Black", "The Killing Words", and "I Dream in Infrared" come to mind.

Empire is a very very good album. Operation: Mindcrime is (IMNSHO) an acceptable album, impressive yes, but not something I actually like to listen to a lot. Nothing else ranks, I don't think.

--Seule

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I would narrow our group to Poison, Warrant, Skid Row, Slaughter, Vixen (you go girls), Faster Pussycat, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Twisted Sister, The New York Dolls, Van Halen (yep they were pioneers), Y&T (yep, they were too), Mr Big, Extreme and the like (There are about four thousand more bands I could name but you get the drift)

As far as pure hair The New York Dolls were a hold over from the glam days and along with Twisted Sister are probably the MOST repsonsible for the look - the odd part is the LA look was created in the New York club scene - both bands were NYC based.

I've got to disagree with you big time about the New York Dolls. Sure, the image may have come from them, but their music was proto-punk more than anything else. They formed in 1971, were managed by Malcom McLaren before he ever dreamed up the Sex Pistols, and were pretty much over when Johnny Thunders left the band in 1975. They continued on with various members until 1977, when they split for good, still a year or two years before anything resembling hair metal would show up in the clubs. By the mid-80s, at the height of hair metal, David Johansen was performing his Buster Poindexter act, far removed from the metal scene.

 

[Tinner]

and for all you Sebastian Bach fans, don't forget to catch him in his recurring role on Gilmore Girls.

Priceless.

That would be the reason for my vote for Skid Row as well.

Truthfully, I was listening to anything MTV wasn't playing back then.
Lots of Stormtroopers of Death, Agent Orange, Black Flag, Anagram. Anythign that didn't have a video basically.
We had some great small independant record stores in my area, so I was able to find a lot of non-mainstream stuff. I miss that. I'm so sick of ohearing the same three songs over and over for three months at a time.
Man, Funk Dat!

One other comment about Sebastian Bach, didn't I see a VH1 episode of Where are they Now, or I Love the 80's where he mentioned what a nerd he was growing up?
I seem to recall him making some cheesey sci-fi home video or something
That qualifies as roleplaying in my book.

Skid Row it is!

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Y&T....aren't as well known as the rest,

I love me some Y&T. *wanders off to listen to the Black Tiger LP*

 

[Ranger REG]

Two words: Def Leppard.

 

[frankthedm]

Hair bands needed more igniting.

 

[Thunderfoot]

I've got to disagree with you big time about the New York Dolls. Sure, the image may have come from them, but their music was proto-punk more than anything else. They formed in 1971, were managed by Malcom McLaren before he ever dreamed up the Sex Pistols, and were pretty much over when Johnny Thunders left the band in 1975. They continued on with various members until 1977, when they split for good, still a year or two years before anything resembling hair metal would show up in the clubs. By the mid-80s, at the height of hair metal, David Johansen was performing his Buster Poindexter act, far removed from the metal scene.

True to an extent, but...
Even though they were WAY out of date, many believe them to be ahead of their time. Whe music was obviously closer to punk than the glam rock they were normally lumped in with, (hard, gritty and simplistic), the lyrical senitiments of their music spoke more to pop culture than punk anarchists. How about we name them the grandfathers (or possibly godfathers) of "hair metal" and split the difference?

After re-reading this post for editing I'm struck by the fact that I am taking this WAAAYYYY too seriously.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Warrant, baby!

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

True to an extent, but...
Even though they were WAY out of date, many believe them to be ahead of their time. Whe music was obviously closer to punk than the glam rock they were normally lumped in with, (hard, gritty and simplistic), the lyrical senitiments of their music spoke more to pop culture than punk anarchists. How about we name them the grandfathers (or possibly godfathers) of "hair metal" and split the difference?

After re-reading this post for editing I'm struck by the fact that I am taking this WAAAYYYY too seriously.

Sure, I'll go with godfathers of hair metal. And you are far from the only one taking it too seriously. I mean, come on, I actually went and looked up the dates of the New York Dolls...