March 1988
BANGLES
JON BON JOVI
AS IT DEVELOPS
If you enjoy going to concerts—this month’s ROCK-SHOTS was made just for you! We’ve pulled shots from this year’s best and most exciting shows—shows like Poison, Bon Jovl, Motley Crue, U2 and Whitesnake. “1987’s Best Live Rock” is a thrilling experience for all fans!
CONTENTS
WHITESNAKE SLITHERS UP THE CHARTS
Steve Peters
Success in America has been a long time coming for Whitesnake. While the band has had a string of hit records overseas since it formed nearly 10 years ago, it wasn’t until the release of their latest album (titled simply Whitesnake) that they met with similar success in this country.
Post Script
Post Script received tons and tons of mail this month! We even had to bribe Jacques, our handyman, to help us carry the large load up the stairs to the top floor of the ROCK-SHOTS mansion! He’s been griping about a bad back as a result, but we’re happy!
WINNERS! WINNERS! WINNERS!
Thanks so much for the Monkee Flips album I won in your Match The Monkees Music Contest in the July ’87 issue. It’s really great and one of the few Monkees albums I didn’t already have! And your Monkees coverage is so great. Please keep it up! Like lots of posters!
NIKKI SIXX/VINCE NEIL
Debbie Gibson Out of the Blue
Steve Peters
Debbie Gibson isn’t much different from your average teenager.
NOTHING LIKE STING
Steve Peters
Ever since Sting first gained popularity as the enigmatic frontman for the Police in the late 70s, he has been anything but predictable. The handsome, 37-year-old singer led the trio through five highly acclaimed (and highly-addicting) albums that mixed elements of punk, reggae and rock to create a great new sound.
The Good, The Bad & MICHAEL JACKSON
Steve Peters
Imagine that it is 1963, and you're in a small kindergarten classroom in the town of Gary, Indiana. The children are a tad restless, as five-year-olds often tend to be, and they impatiently squirm in their tiny wooden seats as the long afternoon wears on.
BRIT BUZZ
Sylvie Simmons
Madonna came to England and the whole place went wobbly. Famous platinum-blonde Paula Yates, wife of Sir Saint Bob Geldoff, dyed her hair brown in a huff, analysts spouted stuff about Maddy’s marriage being all down to “Repetition Compulsion” (i.e., always going gag over guys who remind you of your brothers who used to string you up on the clothesline by your knickers at a young age), residents of the London suburb where her sold-out shows were held battled to have her banned, and photographers—what with hubby Sean unavailable for fistfights this time—scuffled daily with her bodyguards.
MADONNA
THE BON JOVI UPDATE!
Sylvie Simmons
It’s a tough life, this rock star business. Soon as you get big enough for the champagne and the girls and the offers that come flooding in, you’re too worn out to do anything more than sit by yourself in the corner of a dressing-room like a man who’s spent the past year-and-a-half bench-pressing Meat Loaf and the Fat Boys!
QUIDNUNC'S CONFIDENTIAL!
Richard Blaine
Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? And most importantly, have you broken them yet? Motley Crue’s bassist Nikki Sixx is somewhere in between! He’s broken his silence and is now talking (and singing in “Dancing On Glass”) about beating his drug addiction.
KWIK KWOTES!
Vicki Arkoff
The tall, dark (haired) and handsome Richard Drummie and Peter Cox are the guiding lights of Go West, one of England’s hottest groups. The Londoners are riding up the charts with singles like “Don’t Look Down (The Sequel)” from the album Dancing On The Couch, which also features a jazzy guest appearance from British chanteuse Kate Bush.
POISON
JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP IS ON FIRE
Steve Peters
John Cougar Mellencamp is one of those rags-to-riches success stories that deserves to be made into an ABC Movie Of The Week. Mellencamp honed his guitar playing and storybook songwriting skills in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana, but soon realized that no record company bigwigs were likely to come looking for him there.
For The Record
Vicki Arkoff
BELINDA CARLISLE Heaven On Earth (MCA) With a new and improved figure, knock’em-dead cheekbones and a new set of pleasant ditties, this former Go-Go is back with a vengeance. Thomas Dolby lends a hand with the music and Diane Keaton helps out by directing the video for the single.
WIN A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO ROCK-SHOTS
It’s that time again—time to put on your thinking caps for another one of ROCK-SHOTS’ famous brain bafflers! This time out, we’ve created a special crossword puzzle featuring many of the artists in this month’s issue, as well as some of our regular columns.
Keep In Touch!
ROCK-SHOTS is dedicated to help you KEEP IN TOUCH! with what’s happening with all your favorites! Each issue, we’ll offer a list of fan clubs—ones that you’ll surely want to write to (but, don’t forget to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope when replying to the clubs).
BANANARAMA
1987's BEST LIVE ROCK
1987 was a great year for concerts! POISON dazzled you! U2 sold out stadiums! MOTLEY CRUE were up to their old tricks! WHITESNAKE went platinum! MADONNA danced across stages all over the endlessly! On the following pages, ROCK-SHOTS, brings you last year's hottest acts and their greatest performances.
SIMON LE BON
SHOTS IN THE DARK
“Dear Shots In The Dark,” went the letter we opened...one of the several thousand we received that morning... “We think you’re the greatest section ever and that you rule the Universe and that it would be cool if that mean biddy, Joanne, gave you another page in ROCK-SHOTS ’cause everyone buys ROCK-SHOTS just to read your great section.”
HAVE FAITH IN GEORGE MICHAEL
Joanne Carnegie
When the duo of Wham!—George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley—parted ways in 1986, a million and one hearts broke over the group’s (somewhat amicable) split. Fans the world over wondered if it would be the end of seeing their favorite stars perform again.
ROBBIE NEVIL
ROBERT SWEET OF STRYPER