Aiken Promotions are proud to present...

The Bangles

Live @ Vicar St. July 2^nd

Tickets on sale now!

Rock historians view the Bangles as one of the greatest all-female bands ever, are back and performing live together again at Vicar St. this July 2^nd. Tickets are €31.50 on sale now through Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide. Booking Line: 0818 719 390.

The L.A.-based quartet with their inventive incorporation of '60s folk rock, sunny SoCal harmonies and Beatles/Byrds/Beach Boys/Big Star godhead into a sound all its own - beguiling, frequently bittersweet, but always life-affirming; a canny merger of art and commerce. Theirs was a rags-to-riches story, from the band's beginnings in L.A.'s Paisley Underground scene through their reign as the smart-pop princesses of the 1980s - a problematic decade that was far richer for the Bangles' presence in its unfolding.

The band, composed of L.A. natives Hoffs, the Peterson sisters and original bass player Annette Zilinskas, first hit the radar in 1981 as the Bangs with Getting Out of Hand (on Downkiddie Records), and soon evolved into a tight-knit unit with a distinctive sound juxtaposing ringing guitars and angelic harmonies. After bringing in bass player Michael Steele, the Bangles signed with Columbia, which released their major label debut, All Over the Place, in 1984. The group then concocted their artistic and commercial breakthrough, the multi-platinum A Different Light (1986), which contained the hit singles "Manic Monday," "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Walking Down Your Street". The final studio album of their first go-round, 1988's Everything, yielded the hits "In Your Room" and "Be With You", as well as the international #1 single "Eternal Flame," so they went out on top, despite the short-term bad vibes. But though none of them could've anticipated it at the time, the Bangles weren't finished. In a very real sense, picking up their lives after the breakup would contribute to their subsequent growth as a band.
 
Susanna Hoffs released a pair of solo LPs in the '90s, while also collaborating with the Go-Go's' Charlotte Caffey, Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and legendary drummer Jim Keltner. She married film director Jay Roach in 1993, and the couple has two children. In the spring of 2006, Shout! Factory released the '60s salute Under the Covers Vol. 1, Susanna's collaboration with her friend (and Ming Tea bandmate) Matthew Sweet.
 

Debbi Peterson, who has a 9-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter with husband Steve Botting (who did production management for the Bangles in the '80s), has worked on several music projects, including collaborating with Gina Schock of the Go-Go's, and forming Kindred Spirit with English artist Siobhan Maher, formerly of River City People, with whom she recorded an album in 1993. With Kindred Spirit, Debbi drummed on the record,but sang and played acoustic guitar on tour in the UK.
 
Vicki Peterson joined the Continental Drifters after the breakup and moved to New Orleans with the band. She returned home to L.A. in 2003 to marry John Cowsill and become the stepmom to his two kids, now aged 15 and 10. During the extended hiatus, Vicki also worked with John Doe, Belinda Carlisle, Jules Shear, and Kevin Salem, while hooking up with Susan Cowsill (now her sister in law) to form the Psycho Sisters, who at one point toured Europe with Giant Sand. When the Bangles are off the road, Vicki gets a kick out of playing bass with the Lamps (a spin-off of  '90s band Jolene).

The Bangles live @ Vicar St. July 2^nd. Tickets are €31.50 on sale now through Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide. Booking Line: 0818 719 390.