All Ages Sunday: The Philadelphia Metal Scene in the 80’s.

Some of you east coasters might remember some of these bands/venues...

Quote :

When L.A.’s Sunset Strip exploded musically in the 80’s, a metal scene began to build on the other side of the States in the city of brotherly love.


Home to legendary venues like the Empire Rock Club, the Trocodero, Bonnie’s Roxx, and The Galaxy, Philadelphia and South Jersey bolstered a strong local metal conglomerate that gave bands the chance to strut their stuff almost every night.


Philadelphia first landed on the metal map for homegrown talent when Cinderella literally blew the doors off the Empire Rock Club one night in front of Jon Bon Jovi. They signed with Mercury/Polygram Records shortly after this legendary performance. Cinderella’s signing opened the doors for bands like Britny Fox and Heaven’s Edge as the Philadelphia scene began to take off.


Through the years nights in the Philadelphia area saw clubs and venues filled with a die-hard entourage of passionate and loyal fans waiting for the likes of The Dead End Kids, Tangier, Roughhouse, and Faith or Fear to be propelled to stardom.


When the big boys like Van Halen, Ozzy, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, and Ratt tore through Philadelphia, there was no other heavy metal scene like it. The Spectrum and Tower Theater were alive inside and out with everyone united together in music.


Before you could blink an eye the jean jackets, long hair, parking lot bashes, metal radio shows, and leather were gone. Flannel and corduroy filled the streets, metal nights ceased to exist, and what once ruled a city fell almost overnight.


What happened to the bands that ruled big hair and rock n roll in Philadelphia, and the identity they created not only for themselves, but for their city?


From the bands to the clubs to the fans; the passion, the stardom, and the lost identity – Rediscover a time that defined a generation with the people who made it ...

That sounded fantastic snd I wish I could have been around there for that. Unfortunately,I was (and still) on the opposite side of the state.

Unfortunately I only caught the tail end of this local phenomenom in the early 90's. I was just a hair too young in the mid-to-late 80's to fully appreciate it. Got a few older buddies that were right in the thick of it though.

In fact, I just found out that one of 'em, Joe, talked to the filmmaker about being interviewed for the movie but they couldn't get their schedules together. Joe, is in the Air Force and was leaving the country around the time this was being put together.