Bangles beating to a different drum

Bangles beating to a different drum

by NICK BOND

The Bangles were the ultimate 80s all-girl band, churning out mega-hits like Walk Like An Egyptian, Manic Monday and the oft-covered Eternal Flame before their abrupt collapse in 1989 (possibly under the weight of their own teased, oh-so-80s hair).

Having pursued solo careers and started families during the 90s, the band reunited in 2001 and are now well into the second phase of their career, as a globetrotting live act.

The group’s drummer, Debbi Peterson, recalls their last Australian visit in 2005 with some fondness.

The audiences were just amazing; we couldn’t believe how fun it was, she said. We could feel the love.

That sojourn was especially meaningful for Bangles fans, as the band never toured here first time around.

We never quite made it there. In 1989, we were booking a tour of Australia, then we broke up. It was a drag, Peterson said.

Back in the day, The Bangles often experienced another drag: the common misconception that, being women, they were a manufactured pop act, rather than a skilled band.

We still do, Peterson said. There are misconceptions about any female band.

People are used to seeing the singing girls, not the girls who actually play instruments. I know there was a lot of that [misconception] in the 80s, but now it’s a lot more common -” you see singer-songwriters, even girls on drums.

It’s no secret that The Bangles’ split was far from harmonious, but Peterson insists that, second time around, all that negativity has been left behind.

We get along so much better, and I think a lot of that is about communication, she told Sydney Star Observer.

We don’t tour the crazy amount we used to in the 80s. In the 80s, everything was The Bangles. Now, we all have kids and we have another life.

It’s like, -˜Okay, here’s my Mom time and here’s my Bangle time’.

And unlike the usual spin we hear after a band’s split, Peterson is refreshingly honest about the reasons behind the decay that killed off The Bangles.

We were exhausted. If we weren’t on the road, we were making a record, or doing press, or a TV show -¦ we never had any time for ourselves, it was drowning us, she said.

It was a weird split; it was dictated to my sister and me because Susannah [Hoffs] had had enough and wanted to do a solo record.

It was kind of stupid really, we should’ve said, -˜Okay, let’s take a year off and come back together after that.’ But we weren’t really thinking about that at the time.

Their initial reformation in 2001 produced a killer comeback album in Doll Revolution, which gave them new material to play and helped to fend off potential accusations that the band was trading on past glories.

However, five long years after the release of that album, Peterson is aware that the time has come for new Bangles music.

We’re at a point now where we definitely want to make a new record, she said.

We’re aching to start that, so that will be next year. We’re really excited about it.

info: The Bangles play the Enmore Theatre on 12 October. Details: www.ticketek.com.au.

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