Vicky Hamilton on the death of Glam Metal (ex-Motley Crue & Guns N' Roses manager)

FULL INTERVIEW: • Vicky Hamilton on Nirv...
With the rise of Nirvana in the early 90s & the grunge movement in general, glam metal's mainstream popularity came to a scratching halt. Vicky Hamilton, who managed Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses & Poison at various points in her career, discusses what the impact was like for some of the people in the glam metal scene once the Nirvana apocalypse took hold.
ROCK IS DEAD? Full Film: • Rock is Dead? Full Fil...
WHAT IS CLASSIC ROCK? - CANADA & USA:
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- Vimeo bit.ly/2Iv1ywd
- XBOX bit.ly/2K8AF6Z
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WHAT IS CLASSIC ROCK? - WORLDWIDE:
- Vimeo vimeo.com/onde...

[@DanielSarkissian]

Nirvana interview: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIjYppt3e897eJY

[@ChorusArtists]

I worked in the business at the time too, and she doesn't want to admit that bands were being evaluated by labels based on "hair & pants." It was ridiculous and had nothing to do with what metal was, so when grunge/alt came along, NWOBHM metal fans like myself were glad to see the glam BS gone. They were pandering to girls, and most of the real fans were dudes.

[@pentagonoenllamas]

That's something I've always pointed out and I'm glad to read it from someone who was there: people who were fans of "real" metal must have been just as happy to see the Sunset Strip scene go as the "alternative" weirdos were, if not more.

[@michaelr.4878]

...while that period did create a ton of life-long, female rock fans, you are right. The labels were trying to appeal to females because a bigger fan base equates to more sales..which means more money for them.

[@kromeknifemind]

So glad you have been doing this! It certainly gives me some closure in wondering the details leading up to that time period.

[@DanielSarkissian]

You’re welcome, cheers

[@rockerbob949]

Great stuff as usual man. Keep up the great work

[@DanielSarkissian]

Thanks Bob! Been a while, hope all's well in San Diego.

[@michaelr.4878]

Vicky Hamilton definitely had some crazy experiences and always has some great stories to share. I find it weird that whenever her name is brought up in interviews with some fo the bands that she worked with...or with people from the labels, they always drastically play down her involvement..and say that her roll was much smaller than it appears to have been. I wonder what happened...?

[@user-et2fj8xm5l]

I was 18 when Nirvana hit. Yes it was like the flip of a switch..

[@Menstral]

Nirvana was great, I'm glad it put the power ballad out of its misery. In college I discovered alternative music, and it changed my life in every possible way... A good diet, politics, what is the possibility and reality of work and relationships? Alternative wasn't gay, alternative meant alternative to the mainstream, non-mainstream, and it was '80s counterculture. I was watching a BBC documentary on the mods versus the rockers, and the rockers were poorly spoken, corpulent, poorly aged specimens of humanity. The Mods were thin and clever. Seeing this corpulent burnout makes me sad. Hair metal wasn't an all terrible, but it survived in a zombie-esque for at least an extra 5 years. Girls, Girls, Girls in 1987 was a generic embarrassment. Comparing that dross to The House of Love, The March Violets, The Smiths, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and literally hundreds of other bands with ideas and/or talent who were liberated by the availability of cheap electronic equipment.... Along with an awareness that society was stale and not really headed in the right direction.

[@wigglethemiddle1]

I appreciate that you recognize the impact nirvana had on music at the time. They were revolutionary, my favorite band by far

[@slayerbob213]

As someone that grew up back then it blows my mind how Pantera gets ignored. They ruled the 90's. Far beyond driven debuted # 1 without any radio play & before the internet & that album was not radio friendly. Grunge didn't kill hair metal, it was played out to the max & people were just done with it. The metal scene was doing just fine. Bands like sepultura, white zombie, megadeth, SLAYER & PANTERA among others were putting on great live shows & not having a problem selling tickets. Pantera would sell out the Palace of auburn hills & book a second show all the time. I probably went to at least 50 concerts in the 90's & not one of them was to see a grunge band, just sayin. Nirvana & the other grunge bands have their place in music but I disagree that they killed hair metal, it killed itself IMO.

[@mrmaxaxl]

Not everyone is into ultra heavy bands that you just listed. I like Panteras Cowboys from Hell and a couple of songs from Vulgar Display of Power. But I can't listen to the rest. Too heavy and too little melodies. I like melodic rock and I'm not ashamed of it. The grunge bands is not my cup of tea either. Extremely boring and depressing. But that's the beauty of personal taste: there is a lot of different music out there to choose from.

[@larrydanadavid2435]

All that hair metal lacked substance. Before the Seattle scene was the Minneapolis scene and that created a spark for bands that were left of the dial. Btw you ever notice that no one covers anything from hair metal bands? There’s a reason why…

[@JohnDoe-tm9wz]

Kurt Cobain happens once in history, end of.

[@nataelgarcia3722]

Didn't know I was subscribed to jake Gillinhal

[@DanielSarkissian]

Haha thank you lol

[@Menstral]

He's actually better looking than Jake Gyllenhaal

[@macrosense]

The glam metal fans had aged into adults and become less interested in music. Nirvana was popular with high schoolers and middle schoolers across the nation.

[@janetfedeles3964]

I love hearing about those times. I tuned in later in life for some reason. I think I was still listening to 70s and 80s music in the 90s. But loved all the grunge bands once I started listening and still do. Great video. Thanks, Daniel and Vicky. Interesting comments, as well.

[@trentonmihalic2100]

I wish glam would have continued

[@jokerfish2524]

How come people complain about grunge when Hip hop was selling millions of records to teenagers?

[@Pat9201]

Grunge may have sped it up some but glam metal had run its course and was on its way out one way or another.

[@richardbullwood5941]

I've got a little bit different point of view. I was born in 1970 so when I was a teenager, hair metal was king. But there was always a dissatisfaction with the way they looked. Even the bands that didn't wear makeup had silly hair and silly clothes. By the end of the 80s we had sensed that this look was over and started looking for something else. The grunge movement was not so much about the music as it was a different style and a different attitude. When I first saw bands like Pearl Jam I realized that the silliness of the 80s look is over. I will always be a fan of the music I grew up on, it's just that the music has a much longer shelf life than the look.

[@shanewoolsey940]

It started with the Pixies and the Replacements back in the early 80's. If you were only watching MTV you wouldn't have seen it coming. However if you were into punk in the 70's and stayed 'underground' you knew a 'Nirvana' type band was coming.

[@dalemcmillen5065]

Btw, Has she seen old pics of GNR.

[@twentyonetwentysix]

I had a different relationship with grunge. I was starting to listen to metal when grunge kicked in. I was not happy with it. I took time to discover metal and classic rock. Several years later I enjoyed bands like Alice in Chains. I find metal more alive today than grunge

[@peterhelmer6252]

Metalica, Pantera and Megadeth killed them off for me!

[@dalemcmillen5065]

Guys, y'all are acting like Nirvana didn't go to strip clubs and party and as with everything, it died

[@richardthayer5907]

It ALSO killed electronic music and innovation.

[@carlosdanger6129]

It didn't kill anything.. all those glam metal band are doing better than any grunge band now

[@freechordsthetruthmarceden8277]

Love Vicky ❤ Come 2 the U.K. darlin', there's a bluesy underground scene here that's anti-anti all what's going on - you'd love it! Marc Eden x

[@shandonsahm3343]

I knew her from when pariah was on Geffen ..it did catch people off guard ..but i was part of it n see it as bands were getting huge rec deals n didn't bring in revenue Geffen spent 3 thou dollars a day for 3 month's rec our band..n it came down to trends... Elvis Beatles .. Zep Nirvana they the rec company spent way too much ..most bands that get signed 99 percent don't make it .. the companies want guns and Roses one sec then want another Nirvana the next so to me record company just exhausted itself implodes n not just because of Nirvana and in that environment it's hard for a band to be itself and genuine

[@jukkepukke8742]

What always gets me is that Americans had real heavy metal in the 80s, with bands like Savatage, Riot with their album Thundersteel, Amored Saint, Fates Warning, Griffin, Leatherwolf, Helstar, Heir Apparent, Metal Church, Lizzy Borden, Crimson Glory, Liege Lord, Warlord, Sanctuary, Virgin Steele and many others but Americans didn't know what they have, so by early 90s many of those bands had given up, and rest of the world mostly picked off where those American bands had left off, and have dominated the heavy metal scene outside of the USA ever since, while Americans embraced stupid numbnut metal...sorry I mean numetal.

[@Holychickendestroyer]

“Immediately” 8 months after they released their second album Nevermind and the hype of Metallica black album and Guns n Roses use your illusions had settled and ruled the charts Funny how history is rewritten by millennials and Gen z. This was a wave of bands from Seattle, Minnesota, Boston etc. Smashing Pumpkins , Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, STP, Candlebox, Breeders, Pixies, Soul Asylum. Too many to mention. The difference is that Kurt was the only dummy to die during the era and was turned into Che Guevara level martyr status.

[@stanhanley6004]

isnt this interview a couple years old? not that is matters