Triumph took a more commercial turn with their 1986 studio album, The Sport of Kings . Rik Emmett’s “Somebody’s Out There” reached the American Top 40 in late 1986, a significant amount of radio and video exposure. Written and recorded in the eleventh hour of The Sport of Kings sessions,…
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Not satisfied with the album’s keyboard-dominated production nor the band’s commercialized image, John Norum decided to leave Europe in October 1986 to pursue a solo career. “I didn’t really like the direction the band was going in,” Norum said, “We became this teeny-bopper, bubblegum band and I hated that whole…
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Steve Vai left to join David Lee Roth ‘s solo band in 1986. The split was on good terms, as it was an offer Vai could not refuse. He was replaced by guitarist Danny Johnson, who recorded what became Alcatrazz’s third studio album, Dangerous Games , released in September 1986.…
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Despite their resurrecting performance, the band members’ drug problems still stood in their way. In 1986, Tyler completed a successful drug rehabilitation program, after an intervention by his fellow band members, a doctor, and manager Tim Collins , who believed that the band’s future would not be bright if Tyler…
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After two moderately successful albums, the group changed its approach and hired professional songwriter Desmond Child as a collaborator. Bruce Fairbairn was chosen to produce and, in early 1986, Bon Jovi moved to Vancouver, Canada to spend six months recording a third album. They named it Slippery When Wet after…
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The Raised on Radio tour began at Angels Camp in August 1986 and the band performed sold-out shows throughout the United States before concluding with two shows in Anchorage in early 1987, with selected dates supported by Honeymoon Suite , The Outfield , and Glass Tiger . The tour featured…
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Def Leppard brought in Jeff Rich in August 1986 to play alongside Allen during Def Leppard’s warm-up mini tour of Ireland. When Rich turned up late for a gig, he and the band realised Allen could drum alone.
In September 1985, Europe was approached by an executive from Epic Records. They helped Europe start the recording of its next album with Journey producer Kevin Elson. The result was The Final Countdown . Released on 26 May 1986, the album gave the band its international breakthrough, was certified Triple…
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Following a phone call between Cain and Perry, Journey returned to Fantasy Studios in late 1985 to record their ninth studio album, Raised on Radio , but with Perry taking the role as the album’s producer. Tensions within the band were shown when Herbert and Perry fired both bass player…
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The band hired Foreigner producer Keith Olsen to produce the new line-up’s initial album, 1986’s Fame and Fortune . Burrell agreed to rejoin the band and was name checked on the Fame and Fortune album, even though he didn’t play on it. But just before the supporting tour, he left…
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