The 10 best hair metal videos

Nitro. Why don't bands look like this anymore?
Nitro. Why don't bands look like this anymore?

The American music scene in the mid to late 1980s was dominated by LA rock.

Hairspray, leather and guys who wore more make-up than their legions of screaming groupies were the biggest thing in music since Led Zeppelin stormed US stages in the rather more bearded 1970s.

Before the sleaze and danger of Guns N´ Roses made some of these bands seem lightweight and Nirvana´s success killed off the entire genre as a commercial entity, big hair made even bigger bucks.

Get ready to party like it´s 1986 as MusicRadar salutes the ten best hair metal videos...

Mötley Crüe - Girls, Girls, Girls
If you haven´t read The Dirt, then you should have

Winger - Seventeen
Surely these lyrics are illegal in some American states?

Bullet Boys - Smooth Up In Ya
Yes, that really is the song title

White Lion - Wait
Lighters aloft for the intro…

Slaughter - Up All Night
A Sunset Strip mantra

Nitro - Freight Train
Winning the award for biggest hair and silliest guitar

Stryper - Soldiers Under Command
We can only imagine that the Christian rockers´ tourbus was cleaner than the Crüe´s

Ratt - Round And Round
Possibly not the best choice of dinner guests

Poison - Talk Dirty To Me
“Hit it CC!”

Warrant - Cherry Pie
Scarily, this came out as late as 1990

Have we missed any gems? Let us know…

By Chris Vinnicombe

The MusicRadar team

MusicRadar is the number 1 website for music makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, djs or producers...

GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high- quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts. TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars. STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music making that no other music website can.