Where Your Favorite 80s Bands Are Today

The Los Angeles based band was formed in 1981 – and featured bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and vocalist Vince Neil. The Crüe are known for big hits like "Dr. Feelgood", "Smokin’ in the Boys Room", "Home Sweet Home" and "Shout at the Devil." Drummer Tommy Lee was famous for some of his over the top stunts like a drum kit that spun upside down as well as his dating life.

The Crüe had a rough time in the ‘90s. They broke up, then reunited, then performed with a different drummer and lead singer. They reunited in 2004, and despite insisting they were retiring from touring in 2015, the band is slated to tour in 2022 with Def Leppard and Poison.

Formed in the 70s, the rock band was originally made up of brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, along with Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth as the frontman. The band had a lot of hits in the early 80s, like "Jump", "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher." In the era when MTV actually played music videos, they did a slew of pop covers like "California Girls", "Just a Gigolo" and "Pretty Woman" with fun videos. But in 1985 Roth left the band and Sammy Hagar took his place until 1996.

Don't ask a diehard Van Halen fan if they like Hagar or David Lee Roth better, unless you've got at least an hour to kill, but most of them will agree that they didn't love Gary Cherone (the former frontman of Extreme) who stepped in when Hagar left the band. And the tensions and drama didn't stop with the frontmen. Bassist Michael Anthony left the band and was replaced with Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen. The band continued to release new music and toured in 2015, but when Eddie Van Halen died in the fall of 2020, it seemed to indicate the official end of Van Halen.

This hard rock band formed in 1985, with Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. Their debut album "Appetite for Destruction" was a smash hit thanks to Slash's skills and Axl's unique voice. With hits "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child o'Mine", GNR continued to make hits with "G N' R Lies", and "Use Your Illusion I and II". If you are too young to remember, go watch the video for "November Rain" right now.

After a lot of creative differences happened in the late 90s--Slash left, Adler left and sued the band, and Stradlin quit, the long promised album "Chinese Democracy" kept getting postponed and concertgoers were unhappy with many last minute cancellations or shows that started hours late. It was a rough time, but the band most recently consisted of Axl Rose, Dizzy Reed, Slash, Druff McKagan, Frank Ferrer, and toured again in 2016-2017, and was due to tour in 2020, before the pandemic pushed their dates back.

Originally consisting of Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, Alex John Such and Richie Sambora these Jersey Boys blended rock and pop to create some very popular hits. Their debut single "Runaway" was a Top 40 hit, and their third album "Slippery When Wet" had a host of hits, including "You Give Love a Bad Name" and Livin' on a Prayer." They followed that with "New Jersey" which featured "I'll Be There for You" and "Bad Medicine." And both Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi released solo records in the early 90s.

While Sambora and Such left the band and were replaced by Phil X and Hugh McDonald, the band has been touring and making new music regularly since the 80s. They were due to tour in 2020, but they cancelled their concerts due to the pandemic.

Formed in the late 70s in the UK, the band hit it big stateside with their hit song "Bringin' On the Heartbreak," and then followed that up with the album "Pyromania." But it was their third album "Hysteria" that was jam-packed with hits like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Love Bites." Original band members were Pete Willis, Rick Savage, Joe Elliot and Tony Kenning. Though Kenning left before the band hit it big, and was replaced by young drummer Rick Allen, who lost one arm in a car accident in 1984 but quickly found a way to still rock with a custom drum kit and playing more with his feet. Also fairly early on Willis was replaced by Phil Collen and in 1991, guitarist Clark died of a drug overdose, and was replaced by Vivian Campbell.

Record sales started to slip in the early 90s, but the band continued to make music and tour, and the band has stuck together and had a residency in 2013 in Las Vegas. Def Leppard was due to tour in 2020, alongside Poison and Mötley Crüe, but the tour has been postponed until 2022 due to COVID.

The glam rock band was known for their big hair and their skintight outfits. The Pennsylvania band started out as lead singer Bret Michaels, along with Matt Smith, Bobby Dall and Rikki Rockett. Smith left before the show got their first record deal, and was replaced with guitarist C.C. DeVille. Their debut album featured songs like "Talk Dirty to Me" and "I Want Action" and their follow-up "Open Up and Say... Ahhh!" had the hit single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

The band hit some bumps -- DeVille left the band, Michaels was in a car accident and had to take a break while recording their sixth album. In the early 2000s they continued to make music, while Michaels put out a solo album and also starred on the VH1 reality show "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" and also on "Celebrity Apprentice." The group is set to tour with Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard in 2022.

In the late 80s, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor took some time off from the band, and were replaced by guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and Sterling Campbell. John Taylor left in the late 90s and the band continued to make music. They had a full reunion in 2000, but that was short lived as Andy Taylor left in 2006. The band is working on a new album that is due out this fall.

The Australian band formed by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young has been on the hard rock scene since the 70s. But after the death of their original lead singer Bon Scott from alcohol poising in 1980, the band transformed themselves with new singer Brian Johnson and released their epic album "Back in Black", which is one of the all-time bestselling albums and featured singles like "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Hells Bells."

The band continued their success in the 90s with songs like "Thunderstruck" and "Are You Ready." In 2014, Malcolm Young officially left the band due to illness and he died in 2017. Drummer Phil Rudd was replaced in 2015, after he plead guilty to drug charges and threatening to kill a former assistant. In 2016 Johnson briefly left the band due to hearing difficulties, and Axl Rose filled in as front man for the remainder of that tour. Last fall the band put out an album with members Johnson, Rudd and Cliff Williams alongside Angus and Stevie (Malcolm's nephew) Young, their first since the death of Malcolm.

This thrash metal band took hard rock to the next level with fast beats and aggressive instrumentals. Formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, Danish drummer Lars Ulrich found James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine by putting ads in a paper. They brought in bassist Ron McGovney for their first live performance in 1982, but quickly replaced him with Cliff Burton, and Mustaine was ousted as well because of drug and alcohol abuse (he later went on to form Megadeth) and was replaced by guitarist Kirk Hammett. All that was before they released their first hit record "Ride the Lightning" and their mega popular "Master of Puppets." While on tour in 1986, Burton was killed in a bus accident. Eventually they replaced him with Jason Newsted, who recorded "... And Justice for All," which earned them a Grammy nod, but no win,. but earned them mainstream success with the song "One."

The band has been through a LOT over the years since the 80s too. If you thought their start was chaotic, buckle up. In the 90s, the band decided to take on the peer-to-peer file sharing network Napster (which was huge at the time) and their lawsuit and Ulrich's statement about copyright infringement helped take down the huge company. After their battle, Newsted left the band, a documentary crew filmed "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," which chronicled the making of St. Anger and also Hetfield's stint in rehab. After the album they brought in Robert Trujillo as their new bassist. They've toured on and off since, with some issues with canceled concerts due to Hetfield's addiction, but during quarantine they recorded a concert that was aired at drive-in movies across North America.

This pop rock band were inspirational as this all-girl group played their own instruments. Pretty rare for the early 80s. Susanna Hoffs played guitar, Debbi Peterson was on drums, Vicki Peterson was on guitar and Michael Steele on bass and all of the singing duties were shared among the members. Originally called the Bangs, they changed their name due to a copyright issue. They had big hits with "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian" and their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade of Winter" appeared in the film "Less Than Zero."

They broke up in 1989, reportedly because Hoffs was getting dubbed the lead singer. The band reunited in 1998 for a song in the movie "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." They continued to perform, Michael Steele left the band in 2005 and has been replaced by two other bassists. Their last new music was part of a compilation album that was released in 2018.