Top 10 80s Bands Everyone Loved to Hate

WatchMojo

Love them or hate them, these bands defined an era! Join us as we count down our picks for the most controversial bands of the 1980s. From corporate rock to hair metal excess, these are the acts that divided audiences then and still spark heated debates today. Which of these bands do you defend or despise?

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for 1980s bands that received

00:10and still get the most backlash.

00:1710. Warrants

00:20Warrants can pretty comfortably be filed into the category of bands that are almost

00:24like a caricature of themselves. The excess of the 1980s is very much at the center of

00:36everything they do. And if you don't like your music delivered with a huge side serving of

00:42innuendos, this band will not be for you.

00:45They wanted their listeners to know exactly what type of lifestyle they led,

00:55which, for a time, was fine.

01:06But as the times changed, people started to find Warrants' gimmick more and more off-putting,

01:11a classic example of a band that could only have existed in the 80s.

01:239. Tesla

01:25Tesla certainly would've liked to single themselves out from their peers, but

01:30even their blues-tinged take on glam metal wasn't enough to save them.

01:3410. Their haters would be quick to lump them in with any other old band from the era. In reality,

01:47their biggest crime is a simple one — they didn't really do enough to stand out.

01:5210. So here we are and we've come this far

01:56Any conversation about 1980s bands that haven't aged well is going to start with some bigger names,

02:02but eventually, Tesla's music will get a mention too. They leaned on familiar rock and roll tropes,

02:08a little too much — and people seem to simply get bored after a while.

02:1310. I will find my way

02:188. U2

02:20U2 spent many, many years as one of the biggest bands in the world, but it never truly got any

02:25better for them in terms of commercial and critical acclaim than the 80s.

02:2910. See the stones set in your eyes

02:34Through albums like Boy, The Joshua Tree, and Octoon Baby, Bono and the boys redefined the sound

02:40of rock music. But the over-the-top persona of their frontman definitely hindered them over the years.

02:4610. You give yourself away

02:49People really don't seem to like Bono, seeing him as incredibly pretentious and self-righteous.

02:56I believe in kingdom come

03:01Sure, the songs have stood the test of time for the most part, but it can be difficult to even

03:06mention U2 without immediately hearing someone complain about their image,

03:10attitude, or just the guy out front.

03:1210. But the streets have no land

03:157. Motley Crue

03:18Was there a band that embodied the debauchery of 1980s hair metal quite like Motley Crue?

03:2410. Notoriety night, can I need a fight?

03:27My mother sits on a little swissly night

03:31These guys didn't earn their reputation by accident either. No, they actively wanted every last drop of

03:37notoriety they could get, so they tended to act as outrageously as possible.

03:48Their songs, by today's standards, could be considered sleazy as can be,

03:53but at their core, these guys are provocateurs.

03:5510. I got trouble, trouble in my eyes

03:58I'm just looking for another good time

04:01The fact that they seemed to commercialize controversy earned them quite a lot of money in

04:05the 80s, but it also helped to make them almost unpalatable when the decade finally came to its end.

04:176. Spandau Ballet

04:20The new romantic era certainly was not for everyone.

04:2410. So true, funny how it seems

04:28Bands like Spandau Ballet burst onto the scene with their super suave style and

04:33made it very clear that the 80s were going to be different from the 70s.

04:38I know this much is true

04:45They scored a few enduring hits with songs like Gold and True, but it's easy to see why

04:51many have dismissed them as artificial sounding or shallow.

04:54The mission statement of the band was clear, look cool, and lean into melodrama.

05:05But for as much as they had their loyal fans, their approach to synth-pop was bound to leave

05:11more than a few people totally unimpressed.

05:145. Foreigner

05:23Fans of ultra-polished anthemic stadium rock probably enjoy Foreigner just as much as

05:28any of their contemporaries.

05:30But to many music purists, their incredibly safe approach to music just doesn't cut the mustard.

05:40Everyone loves a good hook, but Foreigner have been accused of writing music that leans

05:50far too heavily into the overdramatic side of things.

05:546. But the daylight goes on

05:58Hit singles like I Wanna Know What Love Is are about as 80s as it gets, and if you left that decade

06:03trying to move on from that kind of thing, chances are you're not a Foreigner fan.

06:084. Guns N' Roses

06:15No one can deny that Guns N' Roses have talent and that their early albums proved that beyond a shadow

06:21of a doubt, but people certainly became tired of Axl Rose's egocentric behavior. The lack of end

06:31product from that point onwards didn't help. Showing up late to gigs, several public feuds,

06:36and an extremely long wait for the disappointing Chinese democracy changed many fans' opinions

06:42of G&R. The songs themselves are legendary, but it seemed as though the band — and Rose in

06:52particular — let their egos define them way too much. A great band for sure, but one that did

07:04themselves no favors. 3. Poison

07:14Excess was at the core of everything that a lot of 80s bands stood for. Poison were not unique in

07:20that sense, but boy, did they push things to the limit. Their stage shows, music videos,

07:31costumes, and overall vibe were seen as style over substance — and to their credit, that was what

07:37they were gunning for. But Poison's haters would be quick to point out that the music,

07:46while sometimes fun, was incredibly formulaic and a little bland when you start to peel back the layers.

07:52When the grunge era of the 1990s landed, bands like Poison were constantly pointed

08:01to as a prime example of why music needed bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

08:062. KISS KISS were a party rock band with a capital P, scoring plenty of big-selling

08:16hits throughout the 70s and 80s. But for every person who was enthralled by their theatrical edge,

08:29fun, and catchy hooks, there was another who considered them cheap and gimmicky.

08:37KISS were definitely not reinventing the wheel with their music, but many of their detractors believe

08:43that their makeup is by far and away the most interesting thing about them. Strip it away,

08:47and you're just left with generic 80s filler. Oh,

08:54and it doesn't help that Gene Simmons has a reputation for being a bit of a pain.

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09:181. Starship Starship is one of those bands that you either love or hate.

09:29But if their brand of extremely slick, corporatized stadium rock isn't for you,

09:34you are likely to absolutely despise them. Songs like We Built This City and Nothing's

09:39Gonna Stop Us Now might have been smash hits, but they most certainly split people right down the

09:45middle. In fact, they are often cited as one of the prime examples of bad 80s music.

09:55We can build this thing together, standing strong forever.

10:01To this day, they've retained a very special position in the pantheon of bands

10:06from that era, as a group whose music has aged like milk to a lot of people.

10:10What 80s bands can't help but get under your skin? Let us know in the comments below.

10:30Let us know in the comments.

10:36We should now note this video on your videos.

10:41As I mentioned before, make sure you look as sprawd 오�頃s.

10:44Let us know from that, in the comments below.

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