All Over the Place is a (literally) monumental new biography on The Bangles by author and unofficial band historian Eric Shade back which he undertook way back in the 1990s. His book provides an overview of the band's early days and obscure early formations, as well as an informed snapshot of the sorely-undocumented Paisley Underground scene of early 80s Los Angeles.
For a band as huge and omnipresent as The Bangles, the revelation of their earlier work and incarnations, such as the mind-blowing story of Micki Steele in the first lineup of the fledgling Runaways while the Peterson sisters were rocking out in bands such as The Muze, Hollywood Girls and The Fans right around the same period, is the legendary stuff mostly outside of public knowledge. The intertwining stories of Susanna Hoffs meeting David Roback (later of The Rain Parade) and being inspired by The Last, with Vicki and Debbi’s growing interest in garage bands such as The Unclaimed around town, All Over The Place shows how many moving parts were swirling around, generating a indescribable electricity around Los Angeles as the hardcore scene raged on the other side of the coin. As the Paisley Underground scene evolved during its short window, bands such as Salvation Army/The Three O’Clock, Long Ryders and Dream Syndicate are given their long-overdue historical appreciation here.
With original bassist Annette Zilinskas, the girls formed The Colors, evolved into The Bangs, and caught the right ears after self-releasing their debut single, eventually signing to I.R.S. Records and touring extensively. As they changed the band name to Bangles, the lineup once again shifted, with Micki Steele joining, fresh off her years of gigging around LA in her post-Runaways bands Elton Duck, Slow Children, and Toni & The Movers, and things really start to fall into place. With their impeccable taste in 60s covers in their unique moment in time, The Bangles story just soars off from there, showing the gut-wrenching process of navigating the 1980s major label recording industry as a pioneering all-female band. Tours with Redd Kross, English Beat and Cyndi Lauper, MTV Spring Break appearances, meeting and working with Prince, and the inevitable drama that comes with superstardom once the “hits” started to stack up, this is the story of the Los Angeles underground you really need to read.
Eric Shade’s meticulous research and wild enthusiasm uncovers a wealth of information lost to time from early bandmates and forgotten fanzines and overseas interviews, with no stone left unturned. It features an extensive discography and tons of previously unseen images and ephemera, All Over The Place stands to be the crucial Bangles biography it was intended to be upon its conception.
