If you were living in the 80s, then you know all about the fads and fashions that spanned the decade - from friendship beads on your Keds to day-glo colors to off the shoulder sweaters, thanks to Flashdance. Some people could pull off these fashions, some could not. And I would like to think that if you were in the group that could not, then you just avoided it altogether and found another fad that suited your needs.
But what if your career dictated that you had to wear the latest fashion, despite how awful you looked? Case in point - 80s hair bands. As I was hanging out, watching some VH-1 Classic, I caught some really classic videos and the one that really got me thinking about this was David Lee Roth's "Goin' Crazy" from his solo album, 'Eat 'Em and Smile.' Of course, the star of the video was David Lee Roth himself - and we all know, from his Van Halen days, that he could really jump and high kick his heart out - the man had great legs. I attribute him and Steven Tyler (from Aerosmith) with making spandex, for men, so hugely popular among the hair bands. Of course he had his band in there and they were all forced to wear spandex and some loose fitting shirt - and you see this as a common theme throughout a lot of 80s hair band videos...Poison, Def Leppard, Warrant, White Lion, and the list goes on....
I have to say, though, there were some members of these bands that probably should have stayed away from the spandex. Maybe they had soccer player calves or unusually thick upper quads - I wonder if the other band members forced those with 'not-so-nice' legs to go on some kind of diet or become anorexic so they didn't bring the band down with their unshapely legs! Because wearing jeans when everyone else was in spandex was probably a huge no-no.
Maybe that's how the hammer pants came about. That was a sad point in fashion, and I think I fell victim (actually, I KNOW) to those pants because I didn't have shapely legs in middle school. But I digress. Now, when I am able to catch some 80s hair band videos, you better believe I am looking for those that probably should have stayed away from the spandex....though I think drummers are exempt since they're sitting behind a huge drum kit during a video and concert.
I could watch the video to "Jump" over and over again just to see David Lee Roth's wardrobe changes (not to mention his Russian split jumps).
ReplyDeleteBack in the 80s I vaguely remember thinking "that dude should not be wearing those spandex" However, I cannot remember who it was. Was it the drummer from Winger, the bassist from Mr. Big, or the sax player from Whitesnake??
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I think the lead singer of Flock of Seagulls had some huge thighs.