page_title: Glam metal
section_title: First wave (1981–1986)
hierarchical_section_title: Glam metal / History / Mainstream success (1981–1991) / First wave (1981–1986)
context_page_description: Glam metal, also known as hair metal or pop metal, is a subgenre of heavy metal, which features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, and borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam rock.
  Early glam metal evolved directly from the glam rock movement of the 1970s, as visual elements taken from acts such as T. Rex, the New York Dolls, and David Bowie were fused with the decidedly more heavy metal leaning and theatrical acts such as Alice Cooper and Kiss. The first examples of this fusion began appearing in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene, pioneered by bands such as Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Stryper, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Dokken. It achieved huge commercial success from approximately 1981 to 1991, bringing to prominence bands such as Poison, Skid Row, Cinderella and Warrant. From a strictly visual perspective, glam metal is defined by flashy and tight-fitting clothing, makeup, and an overall androgynous aesthetic in which the traditional "denim & leather" aspect of heavy metal culture is replaced by spandex, lace, and heavy use of the color pink.
context_section_description: In the early 1980s, bands from across the United States began to move towards what would become the glam metal sound. In 1981, Mötley Crüe (from Los Angeles) released their first album Too Fast for Love, Dokken (also from Los Angeles) released their first album, Breaking the Chains, and Kix (from western Maryland) released their first album, Kix. In 1982, Night Ranger (from San Francisco) released their initial album Dawn Patrol which reached the top 40 in the United States.
  1983 was the breakout year for heavy metal: Quiet Riot's Metal Health was the first heavy metal album to reach number one in the Billboard charts. Quiet Riot success paved the way for many heavy metal acts, glam and otherwise, as the decade progressed.  That same year saw a larger wave of heavy metal albums achieve previously unheard of commercial success, with Mötley Crüe releasing its second album Shout at the Devil, Def Leppard releasing its third album Pyromania, and Kiss releasing Lick It Up. Though glam metal had not yet truly emerged as a commercially viable heavy metal subgenre, these bands opened the doors.
  Def Leppard's Pyromania, later certified 10x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), reached number two on the Billboard 200. The singles "Foolin'", "Photograph", and "Rock of Ages", helped by the emergence of MTV, reached the Top 40. Pyromania's style was widely emulated, particularly by the emerging Californian scene. However, remarked Leppard's Joe Elliott, "I don't know how anybody could confuse us with that lot. We weren't even around when all those so-called glam bands came up. We were in fuckin' Holland making Hysteria. While they were out banging chicks or whatever, we were looking at windmills and playing pool on a table without any pockets. We were as far away from LA as any band could be."
  The most active glam metal scene was starting to appear in clubs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, including The Trip, the Whisky a Go Go, and the Starwood. These clubs began to avoid booking punk rock bands because of fears of violence and began booking many area metal bands, usually on a "pay to play" basis, thus creating a vibrant scene for hard rock music. An increasing numbers of metal bands were able to produce debut albums in 1984, including Ratt (from Los Angeles) with its breakthrough album Out of the Cellar, Bon Jovi (from New Jersey) with its debut Bon Jovi, Great White with Great White, Black 'n Blue (from Portland, Oregon) with Black 'n Blue, Autograph with its first album Sign In Please, and W.A.S.P. with its self-titled debut album. Also in 1984, Lita Ford put out her second album called Dancin' on the Edge, Quiet Riot released its follow-up to Metal Health called Condition Critical, Dokken released its second album called Tooth and Nail, and Kiss released the glam-sounding Animalize.
  All these bands played a part in developing the overall look and sound of glam metal during the early 1980s. In 1985, many more commercially successful glam metal albums began to appear. Mötley Crüe released Theatre of Pain, Ratt's second album Invasion of Your Privacy, Dokken's third album Under Lock and Key, Stryper's first release Soldiers Under Command, Bon Jovi's second release 7800° Fahrenheit, and Autograph's second album That's The Stuff. Los Angeles continued to foster the most important scene around the Sunset Strip, with groups like London, which had originally formed as a glam rock band in the 1970s, and had seen future members of Mötley Crüe, Cinderella and Guns N' Roses pass through its ranks, finally releasing their début album Non Stop Rock in 1985 as well.
caption: Quiet Riot was one of the first glam metal bands to achieve mainstream success.
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