60 Fun Facts About 80s Rock

What was the first clip MTV aired when it launched on August 1, 1981?

The Buggles' song had only reached No. 40 in the US, but it topped sixteen charts around the world.

Which AC/DC singer died in 1980, seven months after Highway to Hell?

Back in Black's all-black cover was designed as a sign of mourning for him.

Where did AC/DC record Back in Black over seven weeks in 1980?

The producer of Highway to Hell returned to oversee it; the mixing was done at Electric Lady in New York.

Ozzy Osbourne famously bit the head off a bat on stage in January 1982 in which city?

He thought it was rubber; by his own account it bit back and he needed rabies shots.

Which guitarist on Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz died in a 1982 plane crash?

He fused classical guitar with metal, helping create what became known as neoclassical metal.

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm after a car crash on New Year's Eve of which year?

He returned to the kit with a custom electronic setup, and the Hysteria title refers partly to the media frenzy around his accident.

Which producer made Def Leppard's Pyromania and Hysteria, as well as AC/DC's Back in Black?

Pyromania was the first glam metal album to hit the Billboard top ten, held off No. 1 by Thriller.

Which was Van Halen's only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100?

The 1984 album it came from was stuck at No. 2 behind Thriller, on which Eddie Van Halen played the 'Beat It' solo.

Who replaced David Lee Roth as Van Halen's singer in 1985?

The former Montrose frontman gave them four straight No. 1 albums, starting with 5150 in 1986.

Which 1984 hit by the 'Red Rocker' protested the national speed limit?

It reached only No. 26 on the Hot 100 but got heavy rock-radio play and became his signature song.

Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction holds what US sales record?

It initially flopped, then went 18× platinum after 'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Paradise City' and a third single took hold.

Which was Guns N' Roses' only US No. 1 single?

It topped the Hot 100 in 1988 but only reached No. 24 in the UK on first release.

Axl Rose and Slash's band formed in LA in 1985 from Hollywood Rose and which other group?

The classic lineup of Rose, Slash, Stradlin, McKagan and Adler signed with Geffen in 1986.

Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet spent how many weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200?

Billboard named it the top-selling album of 1987, and it has since been certified 18× platinum.

Which two Bon Jovi singles from Slippery When Wet reached No. 1 on the Hot 100?

The follow-up New Jersey produced five top-10 singles, including two more No. 1s.

In which New Jersey town was Bon Jovi formed in 1983?

Longtime guitarist and co-writer Richie Sambora left the band in 2013.

Journey recorded 'Don't Stop Believin'' in how many takes at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley?

Its chorus does not arrive until the song is nearly over, and by 2024 it was the top-selling digital track in US history.

How is the title of Journey's 1981 album Escape stylised on its cover?

It topped the Billboard 200 and gave the band four Hot 100 hits, with 'Open Arms' peaking highest at No. 2.

Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. produced how many top-ten singles in the US?

'Dancing in the Dark', 'I'm on Fire' and 'Glory Days' were among them, and the album was the world's best seller of 1985.

Which Springsteen album was his first to top the Billboard 200?

The 1980 double album mixed party songs and ballads; Nebraska, a solo acoustic record, followed in 1982.

Which U2 album, recorded in two Irish houses in 1986, includes 'With or Without You'?

The band wanted a 'cinematic' record evoking the open spaces of America; the Edge played a prototype Infinite Guitar on the single.

U2 formed as teenagers at which Dublin school?

They had limited musical proficiency at first but signed to Island Records within four years.

The Police's only US No. 1 single, from their final album Synchronicity, was which song?

It won two Grammys and by 2010 was estimated to bring in a quarter to a third of its writer's publishing income.

Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms was the first album to do what?

It spent nine weeks at No. 1 in the US and 34 in Australia, and 'Money for Nothing' won Video of the Year at the 1986 VMAs.

Which singer joined Dire Straits for 'Money for Nothing' at Live Aid, a month after its release?

He also sang the song's falsetto refrain on the record.

Live Aid on 13 July 1985 was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium and which US venue?

An estimated 1.9 billion people in 150 nations watched, nearly 40 percent of the world's population.

How long was Queen's Live Aid set, later voted the best rock gig of all time?

It started at 6:41 pm and was recreated as the climax of the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody.

Survivor wrote 'Eye of the Tiger' for Rocky III after which band refused Stallone a song?

Stallone had wanted 'Another One Bites the Dust'; Survivor matched the riff's chord changes to the punches in the boxing scenes.

Joan Jett's 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' spent how many weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1982?

The Arrows' original was written as a response to the Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll'; Jett's old band the Runaways had passed on it.

Which Grammy-nominated Rush instrumental is named after a Toronto airport code?

'Tom Sawyer' and 'Limelight' were the album's singles.

Which rap group's 1986 collaboration with Aerosmith on 'Walk This Way' revived the band's career?

Aerosmith followed it with the multi-platinum Permanent Vacation in 1987.

Which 1986 Beastie Boys album was the first rap record to top the Billboard 200?

They had started as a hardcore punk band and toured with Madonna in 1985.

Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton died in a tour-bus accident in 1986 while promoting which album?

The European leg was cancelled and the band went home to audition a replacement, eventually Jason Newsted.

Metallica are considered one of the 'big four' of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Anthrax and which band?

Megadeth was founded by Dave Mustaine after Metallica fired him in 1983.

Iron Maiden's 1982 album The Number of the Beast was their first with which singer?

It was their first UK No. 1 album, and 'The Beast' became a nickname for the band.

Which three musicians testified against the PMRC at the 1985 Senate 'porn rock' hearing?

Zappa called the proposal 'an ill-conceived piece of nonsense'; the result was the Parental Advisory sticker.

Prince's Purple Rain spent how many consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200?

'Darling Nikki' from the album helped provoke the PMRC and the Parental Advisory sticker.

Which was the only Pink Floyd single to reach No. 1 in both the UK and the US?

The Wall tour of 1980-81 featured a wall built across the stage; the album became a film in 1982.

The Rolling Stones' 1981 album Tattoo You, home of 'Start Me Up', was assembled largely from what?

Feuding and touring made new sessions impossible, so producers combed the vaults for fragments dating back almost a decade.

Which Yes song became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, in 1983?

It ranked No. 8 on the 1984 US year-end chart.

Talking Heads' 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense was directed by whom?

The band raised the $1.2 million budget themselves; it was added to the National Film Registry in 2021.

ZZ Top's 1983 breakthrough album Eliminator took its title from a term used in which sport?

Manager Bill Ham pushed the name after suggesting the band feature Billy Gibbons's customised 1933 Ford coupe, which then starred in the 'Gimme All Your Lovin'' and 'Sharp Dressed Man' videos.

The Traveling Wilburys formed in 1988 to record which song as a George Harrison B-side?

Harrison, Lynne, Dylan, Orbison and Petty adopted pseudonyms as half-brothers; Orbison died two months after Vol. 1 came out.

MCA initially refused to release which 1989 Tom Petty solo album, believing it had no hits?

'Free Fallin'' and 'I Won't Back Down' followed; Jeff Lynne co-produced and it later entered the Grammy Hall of Fame.

R.E.M. formed in 1980 in which college town?

Their first top-10 hit came in 1987 with 'The One I Love' from Document.

Which independent label released The Smiths' 1984 debut album?

Morrissey and Johnny Marr's band rejected the synth-pop of the day for guitar, bass and drums.

Which Cure single from 1989's Disintegration reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100?

Founding member Lol Tolhurst was fired once the album was mixed.

Which Pixies album from 1989 became a touchstone for Nirvana and 90s alternative rock?

The Boston band's 'loud-quiet-loud' dynamics were openly borrowed by Kurt Cobain.

Which Apple co-founder bankrolled the 1982 and 1983 US Festivals?

He wanted the 80s to be more community-minded than the 'Me' generation 70s and hired Bill Graham to help stage them.

Which city was chosen in 1986 as the permanent home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Ahmet Ertegun founded the Hall in 1983; I. M. Pei's museum opened in 1995.

Foreigner's 1981 album 4 spent how many weeks at No. 1 in the US?

It produced 'Urgent', 'Waiting for a Girl Like You' and 'Juke Box Hero'.

Which INXS single from Kick reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?

Kick produced four US top-10 singles and went six-times platinum.

Phil Collins's 'In the Air Tonight' peaked at what position on the Billboard Hot 100?

It went to No. 2 in the UK and got heavy play on the newly launched MTV in 1981.

Which Faith No More single reached No. 9 in the US in 1990 after Mike Patton joined?

The Real Thing went platinum; the band had earlier been called Sharp Young Men and Faith. No Man.

Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell, still charting through the 80s, was written entirely by whom?

It grew out of Neverland, a futuristic rock take on Peter Pan; Todd Rundgren produced it.

Pat Benatar's 1980 album Crimes of Passion was kept from No. 1 in the US by which record?

The album sat at No. 2 for five weeks behind John Lennon and Yoko Ono, then earned Benatar her first Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Which Huey Lewis and the News album from 1983 hit No. 1 and produced four US top-ten singles?

It charted for 160 weeks and finished 1984 as Billboard's No. 2 album of the year, eventually going 7x Platinum.

How many singles from Bryan Adams's Reckless (1984) reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100?

Run to You, Somebody, Heaven, Summer of '69, One Night Love Affair and It's Only Love all made the top 20; the album was released on his 25th birthday.

Before going solo, Billy Idol fronted which London punk band?

Idol left the band Chelsea after a few weeks and co-founded Generation X with Tony James; it was among the first punk bands on Top of the Pops.

Which 1983 album was the first Kiss released after the band dropped its makeup?

The unmasked era lasted until the original lineup reunited in makeup in 1996; Lick It Up's videos won the band a new MTV audience.