Whatever Happened to Rock + Metal’s Class of 1984?

The year 1984 will always conjure up memories of Prince, Michael Jackson, Van Halen and Bruce Springsteen, but what about the bands and newly solo artists that were just starting out? What happened to them?

In this feature, we’ll take a look at the careers of the band and singers that were serving up their debut albums and see what happened to them. in the cases of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bon Jovi, it was a best case scenario that ended up with a Rock Hall induction.

For others, such as Ratt, their first album was their biggest though they kept up a solid career. And then there are others who had one big moment in the spotlight in 1984 and largely fell off the map after.

Just for the fun of it, what ELSE was happening in 1984? Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, Karate Kid and Footloose dominated at the box office. The MTV Video Music Awards aired for the first time. Wendy’s wanted to know “Where’s the beef” in their commercials and Apple launched their Macintosh computer line with the famous “1984” TV ad.

Now that you’ve got those cultural touchtones, let’s take you back in time to 1984 and see what was happening with the year’s breakout rock and metal bands and how they would evolve beyond the year.