The Big Four of Hollywood/Sleaze/Glam

Boris2008 wrote:

I wondered if I could come up with anything other than sarcasm for this thread.

I can (If I stretch things a bit and go just for the sleaze angle and not the Hollywood part)

Guns & Roses
Hanoi Rocks
New York Dolls
Madam X

Aside from the fact that it could never be a complete Dolls, I think that is one of the best proposed lineups I've ever seen.

But when we're thinking about the Big 4 of thrash metal, I don't know that there are 4 bands from the sleaze/glam scene that fit like they do. The big 4 are ARGUABLY some of the innovators of a lot of what became huge (dudes, I know people played fast and thrashy before these guys, but these bands all had something different going). On top of being at the forefront, they were also some of the best, if not the best the genre had to offer and still has to offer. The first 3-4 (or more for some) by the Big 4 thrash bands are benchmarks of the genre. And they were all also very successful.

So within sleaze/glam, I don't think there are many that would fall into all those points. Motley Crue would. Being there from the early 80s. But that would leave GNR out.

If were putting together the best bands, well GNR is in. That'd leave Poison out. But they were probably one of, if not the(?) most successful of the lot.

And I saw Love/Hate mentioned as a contender. They were good, but they were just dudes jumping in on it later on. I mean, I'm sure they were together for some years before their debut in 1990...but you know.

So if we are going the early dudes, I'd do something like:
-Motley Crue
-Ratt
-WASP
-Twisted Sister

If we are going most successful/biggest lineup:
-GNR
-Poison
-Motley Crue
-Skid Row (feels weird to have Bon Jovi here, so)

And, well, if it were my favorites:
-GNR
-Pretty Boy Floyd
-Faster Pussycay
-Alice Cooper playing deep cuts from his 86 to 91 years

I don't know. Good question. I don't think it's as easy as the Big 4 of thrash.

Pantera.

For the overseas version of the tour it could be:
Whitesnake
Def Leppard
Europe
Scorpions

Or Hanoi Rocks, though I think they were LA based if that disqualifies them.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

So my lineup would be:

Distorted Wonderland
Charm City Devils
Hardcore Superstar
The Last Vegas
GnR

Interesting line-up. That Distorted Wonderland doesn't sound too bad. Sounds more "metal" than I thought they'd be.

Distorted Wonderland was the backup band for Hardcore Superstar and they decided they'd be better off doing it on their own.  Sadly, it looks like they will only release that one album.  I haven't seen any signs of a second one.

If this tour is going to take place in the future, Motley Crue would be out since they all signed a contract to dissolve the group after their last tour this year...but since it's a fantasy....

Again, it is all hypothetical - but if it ended up including Bon Jovi then it would lose my interest.


About this thread:

I was hoping to be reminded of some bands from this era or inspired by this era that others might feel strongly about.

SO - for that matter - I've just been re-acquainted with Heartbreak Blvd by SHOTGUN MESSIAH. I remember the song but never knew the band.

I do remember Tora, Tora / Dangerous Toys / Pretty Boy Floyd from their exposure on Headbangers Ball. Them, along with others like XYZ, Trixter, Enuff Z Nuff never caught on with me for whatever reason - BUT - it seemed like they were on HB Ball every week..!

I don't know about Distorted Wonderland, Charm City Devils, Hardcore Superstar, or The Last Vegas but I'll be checking them out over the next few days. Along with Crashdiet, Gemini Five, Reckless Love, Dynazty.

GrandNational wrote:

If this tour is going to take place in the future, Motley Crue would be out since they all signed a contract to dissolve the group after their last tour this year...but since it's a fantasy....

A contract is just a piece of paper.

Let's just say they sign another contract that says they have to do one more tour as a band.

I'm gonna echo what Zombie said, he has a solid point.

If we're doing a direct comparison to the big 4 of thrash--which I'm somewhat apprehensive of in the first place--than overall success and popularity could be a factor along with innovation. Everyone loves to argue (guilty here) that bands like Exodus, Hirax, Overkill, and even Testament belong in the big 4, but the criteria for that formation was initial-to-prolonged notability. Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth exploded onto the scene with developing major recognition and exposure.

That said, with Hollywood glam/sleaze/pop/I-mean-really-which-one-is-it, wouldn't those bands with the most commercial appeal be chosen? If that's the case...

Ratt
Motley Crue
GnR
Poison. As much as I hate them, you know they'd be enrolled.

My personal choice, going along with this criterion, would eliminate Poison and put Dokken in there.

Sticking to the Hollywood glam/sleaze metal theme...

Quiet Riot
Stryper
Faster P*ssycat
Ratt

If we're talking about 80s bands, how about:

Asphalt Ballet
Bang Tango
Warrant
LA Guns

Nomadic Drifter wrote:

Again, it is all hypothetical - but if it ended up including Bon Jovi then it would lose my interest.  

Even if they only played their 80's songs?

Obviously they are a huge draw no matter what, but maybe that would weed out some of the pop fans that don't belong in such a concert.

in no specific order:
- guns n roses
- motley crue
- ratt
- cinderella

would wasp qualify as glam? I tend to see them as more of a shock/heavy metal band.

I think that the categories can be confusing. I left out W.A.S.P because they were not glam, I left out Van Halen for the same reason, but no-one could deny that they were a huge part of that Hollywood/Sunset Strip thing

Boris2008 wrote:

I think that the categories can be confusing. I left out W.A.S.P because they were not glam, I left out Van Halen for the same reason, but no-one could deny that they were a huge part of that Hollywood/Sunset Strip thing

Van Halen is the group all these bands ripped off in one way or another anyway.

Agree that just about every band mentioned owe something to Van Halen. Huge influence in all departments for any band formed from 1978 and on.

Lari wrote:

Nomadic Drifter wrote:

Again, it is all hypothetical - but if it ended up including Bon Jovi then it would lose my interest.  

Even if they only played their 80's songs?

Obviously they are a huge draw no matter what, but maybe that would weed out some of the pop fans that don't belong in such a concert.

Agree that Bon Jovi would be a huge draw. My opinion is that they do well enough on their own. In the same way that Def Leppard (at least Joe Elliott) say that they were never really a metal band; I can imagine Bon Jovi taking the POV that they aren't part of any genre either.

I always saw def leppard as a glam metal band.

They were never too NWOBHM in my opinion.

Gilbert wrote:

I always saw def leppard as a glam metal band.

They were never too NWOBHM in my opinion.

I guess with Def Leppard you could say they certainly progressed to some sort of Glam. But if you start at the beginning their sound is pure NWOBHM.

S.D. wrote:

Boris2008 wrote:

I think that the categories can be confusing. I left out W.A.S.P because they were not glam, I left out Van Halen for the same reason, but no-one could deny that they were a huge part of that Hollywood/Sunset Strip thing

Van Halen is the group all these bands ripped off in one way or another anyway.  

Hear, hear.

Nomadic Drifter wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

I always saw def leppard as a glam metal band.

They were never too NWOBHM in my opinion.

I guess with Def Leppard you could say they certainly progressed to some sort of Glam.  But if you start at the beginning their sound is pure NWOBHM.  

maybe I should check their beginings then...

James B. wrote:

Nomadic Drifter wrote:

I thought I phrased it fairly openly by saying:

"....three other bands that complement that era of rock/metal which evolved from the Hollywood - Sunset strip..."

I'm not saying they had to have been there, just that they were influenced by the era.

Context is everything,   I suppose ?

The thread title is "Big 4 of Hollywood sleaze/glam"
Then "three other bands that "evolved" from the Hollywood Sunset Strip.

You gave it a geographic connotation in the thread title and then strengthened that position with specific reference to coming from an actual location.  Nothing regarding style or influence.

So one can wonder why I said what I said ?

Wrong. The thread title is The Big Four of Hollywood/Sleaze/Glam (not the slash after Hollywood), which in context of what followed in the thread ("...three other bands that complement that era of rock/metal which evolved from the Hollywood - Sunset strip"), is pretty clear. The slash after Hollywood, which you conveniently left out, makes a big difference.

Context is everything.

Eyesore wrote:

Wrong. The thread title is The Big Four of Hollywood/Sleaze/Glam (not the slash after Hollywood), which in context of what followed in the thread ("...three other bands that complement that era of rock/metal which evolved from the Hollywood - Sunset strip"), is pretty clear. The slash after Hollywood, which you conveniently left out, makes a big difference.

Context is everything.

Depends on if the slash was used or wasn't used as a retronym. I'm not even gonna go into the first word is a noun and the following ones are adjectives. I could see the Hollywood being used as a descriptive form with the glam and sleaze. But put that with "evolving" from Hollywood and Sunset Strip and it places emphasis on a specific locale and not merely a style. Nice try on twisting something to suit your argument. I imagine that I'm not the only one who thought the gest of the question was bands from Hollywood. Looking forward to how you spin your reply.

Stryper
Ratt
Cinderella
Motley Crue

Honorable Mentions:Tesla, Whitesnake, Kix, London

Hanoi Rocks
Dokken
Ratt
Twisted Sister

James B. wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Wrong. The thread title is The Big Four of Hollywood/Sleaze/Glam (not the slash after Hollywood), which in context of what followed in the thread ("...three other bands that complement that era of rock/metal which evolved from the Hollywood - Sunset strip"), is pretty clear. The slash after Hollywood, which you conveniently left out, makes a big difference.

Context is everything.

Depends on if the slash was used or wasn't used as a  retronym.  I'm not even gonna go into the first word is a noun and the following ones are adjectives.  I could see the Hollywood being used as a descriptive form with the glam and sleaze.  But put that with "evolving" from Hollywood and Sunset Strip and it places emphasis on a specific locale and not merely a style.  Nice try on twisting something to suit your argument.  I imagine that I'm not the only one who thought the gest of the question was bands from Hollywood. Looking forward to how you spin your reply.

I don't need to spin anything. How about this: "...three other bands that complement that era of rock/metal which evolved from the Hollywood - Sunset strip" follows The Big Four of Hollywood/Sleaze/Glam as a descriptive element, therefore it supersedes the thread title. We can argue all day about the title, but the description of what he is looking for is crystal clear.

I win. Suck it, loser.