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In the pantheon of ‘80s bands, The Bangles are among the most underappreciated.
Recalled primarily for their chirpy Prince-penned ditty “Manic Monday,” the silly – albeit fun – video for “Walk Like an Egyptian” and the glossy ballad “Eternal Flame,” the MTV-era quartet of singer Susanna Hoffs, guitarist Vicki Peterson, her drummer sibling Debbi Peterson and bassist Michael Steele achieved ubiquity from 1984-89.
But, as their authorized biography “Eternal Flame” (out now from Grand Central Publishing, 416 pages, $30) unspools, it spotlights how The Bangles’ heart – their vibe of approachably cool chicks heavily influenced by ‘60s rock – was often stomped on by a misogynistic industry reluctant to accept another all-girl band not named The Go-Go’s and arrogant producers intent on crushing their confidence.
The book, written by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, a lifelong admirer of the band who also penned a biography about Velvet Underground singer/actress Nico and studied the fandom of Britney Spears, is exhaustively researched. Bickerdike says it’s the result of a five-year process that commenced when Vicki Peterson, the de facto leader of the band, agreed it was time to revisit The Bangles’ history.
Through hundreds of hours of interviews with the Petersons and Hoffs and a dive through a trough of archived articles about the band, Bickerdike delves into the quartet’s evolution from The Bangs (as they were first known with original bassist Annette Zilinskas) to musicians balancing their role as video vamps with serious artistry.
Steele, who joined the band in 1983 and was part of the limelight years, amicably declined to participate in the biography. “We do stay in touch,” Vicki says. “But she’s been able to compartmentalize and move on in her life.”
But the Peterson sisters and Bickerdike readily chatted with USA TODAY in separate interviews to share more thoughts about “Eternal Flame.”
How The Bangles retained their independence from Prince
A couple of chapters focus on the career-altering insertion of Prince into their musical lives and the foursome mandating that they record “Manic Monday” with their own sound.
In the book, Hoffs describes the scene of the The Bangles “hovered around the cassette machine” and immediately being “smitten with the song.”
Debbi Peterson tells USA TODAY that while it “was such a thrill that (Prince) was a fan of ours,” the overwhelming consensus was, “This song is good. We want to record it.”
Vicki concurs that The Bangles were adamant they would paint the song with their own flair.
“I put my foot down that we’re making our own record and when Prince came to rehearsal, he listened to me playing the keyboard riff on my guitar, gave a thumbs up and walked out,” she recalls with a smile.
The Bangles were dismissed as lightweights
While poring over old newspaper and magazine stories about the band, Bickerdike was struck by the rampant sexism applied to The Bangles, now shrugged off as a product of the era.
“The way they were treated by the music world was appalling. That was a massive revelation,” she says. “They got signed for songwriting and harmonizing and playing instruments, but from the first time their demo was brought into an A&R meeting, there is the perception that they can’t sing or play because they’re women.”
Both Petersons admit that reading, from Bickerdike’s research, what was being said about the band at the time – much of which they didn’t know – still stung decades later.
“We didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes with management,” Debbi says. “Sneaky meetings … and then there were these quotes from people I thought were my friends.”
Vicki understands that everyone has their own recollection of events, but was curious to read about “people from the label and management and how they saw our operation. I was so focused on making everything OK that I didn’t see what was going on.”
‘Eternal Flame’ wasn’t eternally beloved by most of The Bangles
The power ballad co-written by Hoffs slow-burned for 10 weeks to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989. But even though it’s a signature entry in their oeuvre, the satiny song didn’t initially captivate the Peterson sisters.
“At that point, we were starting to break apart and didn’t feel like we were getting respect from each other,” Debbi says. “Don’t get me wrong – it’s a beautiful song. But to me it sounded like Susanna solo; it didn’t sound like a band song.”
Vicki, meanwhile, says she recognized the beauty and craft of the song, and knew it was a hit – just not for The Bangles.
“I can be a little bit stubborn and I sort of chafed because it felt like it wasn’t us,” she says. “Ultimately we made it us, and I’m grateful my stubbornness didn’t get in the way of it being produced.”
The end of The Bangles … or not?
As Hoffs became more of the focal point of the band and relationships disintegrated, The Bangles disbanded after their 1989 Everything Everywhere tour. The harsh band meeting – set up with Hoffs, Steele, managers and press agents – that cemented their demise is painstakingly recollected in the book as more of an ambush of the Petersons.
“I knew there was a lot of distress in the band and that last tour was quite rough. There was a storm that chased us all across the U.S. and metaphorically it was like the cloud was following us,” Vicki says.
Adds Debbi, “Maybe Vicki and I were in denial of things getting really that bad. It really was a shocker … I remember there being a big box of tissues and crying so much. It was so emotionally upsetting and devastating.”
While both Petersons take the “never say never” approach to the future of The Bangles, which has reunited several times over the years with Zilinskas back on bass, the core trio stays busy with musical projects.
Vicki and husband John Cowsill (of The Cowsills) will hit the road in June opening for The Minus 5, featuring Debbi on keyboards, along with renowned Seattle musician Scott McCaughey and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. Hoffs has collaborated with Matthew Sweet for their “Under the Covers” series and in 2023 released the fiction book, “This Bird Has Flown.”
Vicki hopes that The Bangles’ biography will establish that they were “self-directed young women determined to succeed beyond any reasonable expectation, and also musicians who don’t have agency over what you’re doing because of constantly being on the road. It’s a fuller story than ‘Walk Like an Egyptian.’”
