The Bangles

The Bangles

The Bangles are an all-female American group from Los Angeles, formed in 1981. They begin as The Supersonic Bangs, then shorten the name to The Bangs before changing it to The Bangles after another band objects to the earlier name. The group is part of the independent early-1980s wave that follows The Go-Go's, and it is also linked to the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles.

Line-up

The Bangles form around Susanna Hoffs on guitar and vocals, Debbi Peterson on drums and vocals, Vicki Peterson on guitar and vocals, and Annette Zilinskas on bass and vocals. Zilinskas is later replaced by Michael Steele on bass and vocals. The group’s listed members also include Abby Travis.

Style and career

The band is associated with jangle pop, new wave, paisley underground, pop, pop rock and power pop. Their international breakthrough comes with the Prince-written single “Manic Monday”. After three successful albums, All Over The Place, Different Light and Everything, the band breaks up.

Later activity

After the split, Susanna Hoffs releases two solo albums in the 1990s, with a third remaining unreleased. Vicki Peterson joins the Continental Drifters. Debbi Peterson later works with Siobhan Maher in Kindred Spirit. Michael Steele lives in semi-retirement in California.

The Bangles reunite in 2000 and issue the album Doll Revolution on Koch Records in 2003. Their song “Eternal Flame” is later covered by Atomic Kitten and becomes a hit for them, which helps renew interest in the original recording. Sweetheart of the Sun, their first album of original material since Doll Revolution, is recorded in home studios used by Vicki Peterson and Susanna Hoffs, as well as Matthew Sweet’s Hollywood Hills home studio; Sweet produces the record. The band continues to play live sporadically and gives its first show since 2016 at Honda Center in Anaheim in January 2018, which is also the first performance with original bassist Annette Zilinskas since 1983.