hard rock

1985
Urge Overkill Kato and Roeser met at Northwestern University in 1985. They formed

Kato and Roeser met at Northwestern University in 1985. They formed Urge Overkill (getting the name from a phrase in the lyrics of the Parliament song ” Funkentelechy “) in Chicago in 1986, with drummer Pat Byrne, and released an EP , Strange, I… , on Ruthless Records . The…
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Queen (band) headlined two nights of the first Rock in Rio festival

In January 1985, Queen headlined two nights of the first Rock in Rio festival at Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, and played in front of over 300,000 people each night. The Boston Globe described it as a “mesmerising performance”. Highlights from both nights were released on VHS as Queen: Live…
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Helix (band) In 1985, Helix released their fifth album Long Way to Heaven

In 1985, Helix released their fifth album Long Way to Heaven , featuring the singles “Deep Cuts the Knife” and “The Kids Are All Shakin’”. The album allowed the band to tour Sweden, becoming the first Canadian rock band to do an extensive Swedish tour. According to Brian Vollmer, the…
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Stone Temple Pilots Encounter with Robert DeLeo

In 1985, Scott Weiland and his friends in their band Soi-Disant — guitarist Corey Hickok and drummer David Allin — first encountered Robert DeLeo playing live at various gigs, deciding to track him down after witnessing his shows.

Alcatrazz The band released Disturbing the Peace in the spring of 1985. The

The band released Disturbing the Peace in the spring of 1985. The album was produced by Eddie Kramer who had worked with Led Zeppelin , Jimi Hendrix , and Triumph , among others. “God Blessed Video” was the first single and video, yet MTV barely played it. The album peaked…
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Los Violadores By 1985 some tension began to grow within the band, caused by

By 1985 some tension began to grow within the band, caused by differences about the musical style between Pil Trafa and Stuka. Stuka wanted to incorporate some post-punk and gothic rock influences, favouring the sounds of acts such as The Cure and U2 (which finally materialized in their 1986 album…
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Queen (band) releasing the single

Queen ended 1985 by releasing the single ” One Vision ” and a limited-edition boxed set of Queen albums, The Complete Works . The package included the 1984 Christmas single ” Thank God It’s Christmas ” and previously unreleased material.

Icon (band) In 1985, Night of the Crime was released, produced by Eddie Kramer

In 1985, Night of the Crime was released, produced by Eddie Kramer , mixed by Ron Nevison and featuring the songwriting talent of Bob Halligan Jr. During the mixing of the album, vocalist Stephen Clifford decided to leave the band for personal reasons. Regrouping, the band tried out a few…
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Bad Company In 1985, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke, having just worked together the

In 1985, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke, having just worked together the previous year on Ralphs’ solo album Take This , decided to reteam for a new project. But in 1986, their label, Atlantic Records , insisted they resume the Bad Company name. However, Paul Rodgers was already engaged with…
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Accept (band) Metal Heart was released in 1985. Produced by Dieter Dierks

Metal Heart was released in 1985. Produced by Dieter Dierks (then-known for working with Scorpions ), it presented the band’s creative peak. Accept toured the world supporting the album, and documented the live shows with the live mini-album Kaizoku-Ban .