Cherry Red [Release date : 23.05.25]

The Eighties in the USA: some rock bands rode the Glam Metal wave, propelled by MTV’s insatiable appetite for the genre’s hypnotic theatrics (and, let’s face it, some really great songs). They discarded the glitter and the stack heels, but otherwise borrowed heavily from the image of 1970’s UK Glam Rock.

Others, the propagators, were at the leading edge, in the vanguard, making the moves, setting the standards.

Across its 58 tracks, 58 bands, this 3 CD anthology encompasses both, and more.

Bon Jovi, Kiss, Dokken, Cheap Trick, Poison, Cinderella, Skid Row and a few others created an enviable track record, frequently troubling the Billboard charts. The music was formulaic perhaps, hook heavy, brightly lit, but few bands could match style with substance any better than them. They are all here.

Rock Radio and MTV were alive with bands with fast developing songwriting skills, matched to producers who could craft a musical end product in the studio. Ratt, The Bullet Boys, Bang Tango, Warrant, LA Guns, Enuff Z’Nuff, Lynch Mob and Winger all climbed the greasy pole to fame and fortune and hung on tight. Multiple headlined tours played in sold out stadiums.

Then there were the bands who should have been bigger, but didn’t quite conform to the accepted narrative, like Saigon Kick, Little Caesar, Lillian Axe, Billy Squier, White Lion, Tesla.

Saigon Kick’s 1991 debut album clamped a huge defibrillator onto the moribund arena rock of the previous decade, and jump started the genre. It is whatever is the opposite of flamboyance – stark and original, often bizarrely catchy. ‘What You Say’ is taken from that debut.

When interviewed, Lillian Axe’s Steve Blaze : “I write about the basic spiritual essences of life and our existence. If something moves me, chances are it will move others, and I write about it.”
‘Picture Perfect’, from the band’s debut is here.

Grittier, edgier, bluesier, Tesla’s sound replicated the energetic vitality of the Glam Metal genre, while deviating from the blueprint. And while they avoided real success, it gained them many fans, with them to this day.
‘Little Suzi’ (written by Glasgow’s Jim Diamond), taken from 1987’s Mechanical Resonance is here.

White Lion’s ‘Wait’ is also here. Our review said “it is the Pride album’s breakout track. It comes about half way through, a fine example of expert sequencing, allowing the preceding tracks to build climactically toward this point. And by the time we reach it, we know we’re really onto something big.”

These songs and albums demonstrated that Glam Metal went way deeper than the greasepaint. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 15 June 2025.

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Power Plays w/c 30 June 2025

THE DAMN TRUTH – Addicted (indie)
MANNIFESTO – Human Kind (indie)
STRIPPING THE PISTOL – Sunshine In The Rain (TLG/Zoid)
SEVEN BLOOD No Breakout (indie)
VAN ROYALE Gold (indie)
MORNINGSTAR Free (indie)
THE VIOLENT HOUR The Violent Hour (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 30 June 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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