The Bangles are a significant part of rock music culture and gained prominence on both MTV and radio during the 1980s. Originally calling themselves The Bangs, the American all-female trio started when guitarist Susanna Hoffs answered a musician’s classified ad and connected with sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson.

When a New Jersey-based band also named The Bangs threatened legal action, the women changed their name to The Bangles and signed with IRS Records. Critics paid attention in 1983 when the group made its TV debut on Dick American Bandstand.

Their big break came a year later when The Bangles signed on with CBS and released the LP All Over The Place. Prince wrote their 1986 hit “Manic Monday,” and the group had two more chart successes, with “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and “Eternal Flame,” before the band splintered in the late 80s.

There have been several reunions since then, including two this June. I had the pleasure of speaking with The Bangles after a stunning sold-out show at Slim’s in San Francisco.

The Bangles Interview

For clarity and continuity, some of the text has been edited from the original interview. If you prefer the extended version, click on the MP3 player above.

STEVE ROBY: Tonight, you played one of the first songs that was released as a single. Did you think you’d still be playing together after all these years?

Debbi Peterson: Didn’t the Rolling Stones say something like they weren’t going to play anymore after they turned 50?

Susanna Hoffs: They said that? They lied!

Vicki Peterson: I think that none of us back then believed it was possible to be this old. [laughs]

Debbi: Because when you’re 18 or 20, you think, “I’ll never be 50.” I believe we held unrealistic and almost magical beliefs about what the band would achieve. We thought it was going to happen, and God bless us, it did. But thinking this far ahead into the future... No, I think we were mostly focused on what we were doing at that moment.

Susanna: I’m around many 20-somethings now, and they don’t think that far ahead. They can’t picture being 30.

STEVE ROBY: How has the industry evolved over the years?

Vicki: Not at all. It’s precisely the same. [laughs]

Susanna: In some ways, it’s come full circle for us. I feel more connected to this indie approach we’re taking now, going back to the music we played when we were our own small record label in 1981. It feels really comfortable to me. During our Columbia Records years, there was the big corporate side of packaging artists, which always felt a little strange—like we were a product they were selling, and that’s an odd feeling… compared to just being a band, doing what we do… suddenly, there’s a committee of people having conversations about us… opinions… and what we should be doing.

STEVE ROBY: In a way, some things haven’t changed, or maybe they’ve just adapted. Vinyl remains popular and is making a comeback, especially with the addition of the digital download card.

Susanna: Absolutely.

Vicki: We did that [type of packaging] with Sweetheart of the Sun, and we had a vinyl version of it, which is our last release. We like to embrace all formats whenever possible.

STEVE ROBY: So, this is the last night on your “West Coast Tour,” right?

All: [laughter] We’re exhausted! Oh my God... I can’t keep going...

Susanna: There’s a little break, and we’re doing a Vegas show at Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel Resort on July 12. Then, there’s Chicago at City Winery on July 27. We have a full East Coast run in October, and hopefully, a show in L.A. as well.

STEVE ROBY: How is touring different now, compared to back then?

Susanna: We did the low-budget van tours and all kinds of touring, including the tour buses.

Debbi: I don’t think we ever got on the private jets.

Susanna: Even when we had a number one hit, we were opening for Mister, Mister when “Walk Like an Egyptian” was climbing the charts.

Vicki: We toured almost nonstop from ’82 or ’83 through 1989. The breaks we took were spent writing and recording. There wasn’t much downtime, which probably contributed to our decision to stop in October 1989.

STEVE ROBY: Are there any current all-female bands that you think are pretty cool?

Debbi: They’re out there, and we run into them all the time. There’s an amazing band called Raining Jane. They’re not bluegrass, but they use a lot of acoustic instruments—just incredible musicians... Haim.

Susanna: I love Haim, but they have a male keyboard player.

STEVE ROBY: What advice would you give to female bands trying to enter the industry today?

Susanna: Learn to say no when the pressure becomes intense. There will be times in your journey when you're asked to do something you're not comfortable with. Whether it’s adding another show on top of a long tour or feeling pushed too hard and too exhausted, you might start losing the enjoyment. That’s a good moment to say no and take a break. Communicate with the band.

Vicki: Communication is key.

Susanna: It’s hard to live your life by committee, and then deal with the additional factors of management, record labels, or outside forces that want to make you do things you’re not comfortable with.

STEVE ROBY: Just say no.

Susanna: You can still share the common goal of working really hard, but there are times when it’s helpful not to be afraid to say no to things.

STEVE ROBY: What do you miss from the Eighties?

Vicki: BAM magazine in print.

STEVE ROBY: Good answer, and we have a prize for you! (laughs)

Susanna: I miss the silliness that was kind of fun.

Debbi: There’s silliness in our lives.

Vicki: There’s a lot of silliness in my life, but I’m married to a Cowsill. *

Susanna: There’s this entire generation, like our kids, into Eighties music. There’s a sonic thread that runs through... drum machines... synth sounds.

Vicki: I wasn’t really into the Eighties-era bands, sonically. I don’t think The Bangles, apart from some of our production qualities, can be truly dated because we were largely influenced by the Sixties, and I believe that still shows in our records.

STEVE ROBY: Right. You guys did a Nazz song tonight - “Open My Eyes.”

Vicki: Exactly!

Susanna: But to me, when we were doing “I’m in Line,” which was like The Jam… there was some pretty good stuff like Elvis Costello, the Talking Heads, Blondie.

Vicki/Debbi: Late Seventies, early Eighties…

Susanna: Yes, but a lot of those songs you love came out in the Eighties.

Vicki: Yes, and I would agree with that, but what you call an “Eighties sound” isn’t The Bangles’ sound.

Susanna: But you’re wrong, actually, because people identify the Eighties as us.

Debbi: Because of “Walk Like An Egyptian.”

STEVE ROBY: OK… well, thanks very much.

Vicki: I’m sorry, we’re still arguing. [laughs]

All: [laughter]

STEVE ROBY: OK, let’s talk about the Nineties. [laughs]

All: I’m so into flannel. I loved the Nineties! I heart the Nineties.

Debbi: I like the now, man. [laughs]

STEVE ROBY: What did you like about the Nineties?

Vicki: It was another cycle of singer/songwriters, Americana, and reversing the overblown Eighties sound, and going back to a guy with an acoustic guitar… with torn jeans.

Susanna: But it didn’t have enough sense of humor.

Debbi: No, they were very serious… too into themselves.

Encore: Walk Like an Egyptian | Eternal Flame | How Is the Air Up There

Photo: Steve Roby

Backstage With The Bangles

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