Phil Collins's frontman talents lay dormant for many years when he was the drummer for prog-rockers Genesis, taking a back seat to Peter Gabriel. When Gabriel quit in 1975, Collins stepped out from behind the drums and made Genesis a hit-making machi…

With his distinctive vocals and award winning songwriting skills, Canadian musician Bryan Adams name remains one of the most recognized of our time.

Led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart struck a crucial blow for feminisim in the male-dominated world of '70s rock. They could switch from powerful, Zeppelin-like grandeur to gorgeous acoustic ballads in the blink of an eye and turned out a stre…

In the early 1980s, aspiring New Jersey musician John Bongiovi assembled a rock band, secured a record deal, and changed his name to Jon Bon Jovi. By 1986, Bon Jovi's brand of melodic hard rock was a runaway hit, with the band's third album, SLIPPERY…

At the dawn of the 1980s, Duran Duran was part of Britain's "futurist" or "new romantic" scene, which merged glam-rock attitude with disco beats and synthesizers to form an intensely fashion-conscious variant on new wave. With their good looks and po…

Madonna is arguably the most popular female pop singer in American musical history. Although she began her career in the late 1970s as a dancer and as drummer for new wave group the Breakfast Club, Madonna has touched upon many different styles throu…

U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's debut album as Tears For Fears appeared smack dab in the middle of the '80s UK synth-pop invasion, but it was no mere pop trifle. THE HURTING is full of sophisticated production and accomplished songwriting, using the …

A former Laker Girl cheerleader and expert dancer, Paula Abdul was one of the most popular Top 40 acts of the late 1980s and early '90s thanks to a string of sugary, R&B-tinged dance-pop hits. Abdul kept a low profile for much of the '90s but emerged…

b. Belinda Kerzcheski, 17 August 1958, Hollywood, California, USA. When the Go-Go's broke up in 1985, Carlisle remained with the I.R.S. Records label and pursued a solo career. After the excesses of her former band, Carlisle underwent a period of phy…

Inspired by great 1960s West Coast bands like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, the Bangles brought a jangly Rickenbacker folk-rock flavor to '80s rock. The L.A.-based band had its own top-notch songwriters in Susanna Hoffs and Debbi Peterson, but m…

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into th…

Like many groups that achieved mainstream success in the 1980s, Australia's INXS was kinetically inspired by the British punk scene. Led by charismatic singer Michael Hutchence and the musically gifted Farriss brothers, INXS began as a new-wave rock …

This heavy metal band was formed in Pennsylvania, USA, in the spring of 1983 by Bret Michaels (b. Bret Sychak, 15 March 1962, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA; vocals) and Rikki Rockett (b. Alan Ream, 8 August 1959, Pennsylvania, USA; drums). They were …

Before Def Leppard, heavy metal was associated with leather, studs, and motorcycles. After a pair of mega-platinum albums in the '80s, Leppard proved that pop hooks, hard rock, and good looks could equal massive success, hatching a slew of imitators …

In the spotlight since the age of four, Michael Jackson rose to fame as the lead vocalist for the Jackson Five. In the late 1970s, Jackson embarked on a solo career as a young adult with the Quincy Jones-produced OFF THE WALL. With one hit album unde…

b. 16 September 1963, Chicago, Illinois, USA. This singer-songwriter began his career at the age of five, singing on US advertising jingles written by his father. This became his professional vocation until he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a ses…

George Michael rose to worldwide superstardom as part of the cheery dance pop duo Wham! in the 1980s, before going solo after three hit albums. Michael enjoyed even more success on his own, updating older dance styles (soul, '70s disco, etc.) and eve…

A hard-rocking, no-holds-barred American group fronted by the wiry Steven Tyler, Aerosmith plays heavy riffs with a blues underpinning. After huge hits and sold-out tours in the 1970s, the band sank into oblivion for the first half of the '80s. They …

Cyndi Lauper started her recording career in 1980 as the singer for retro-'50s group Blue Angel. In 1983, her first solo album SHE'S SO UNUSUAL made the big-voiced New Yorker a superstar. Her impressive pipes and colorful image should have shot her i…