Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N' Roses Featured in New Book on the History of '80s Hard Rock and Hair Metal

Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses Featured in New Book on the History of ’80s Hard Rock and Hair Metal

2020-06-20

Motley Crue – Story by Charles Ken, photo by Ken Settle

“Nothin’ But a Good Time,” a new book on the history of ’80s hard rock and hair metal, promises a “no-holds-barred oral history” of the wild decade

There’s no denying the hard rock and hair metal scene of the 1980s offers some great stories and wild music.

In that spirit, a new book called “Nothin’ But a Good Time,” after the famed Poison song, is on the way. Penned by music journalists Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock, the read is described as the “definitive, no-holds-barred oral history of 1980s hard rock and hair metal.”

“Nothin’ But a Good Time captures the energy and excess of the hair metal years in the words of the musicians, managers, producers, engineers, label executives, publicists, stylists, costume designers, photographers, journalists, magazine publishers, video directors, club bookers, roadies, groupies and hangers-on who lived it,” states the book’s synopsis.

It adds, “1980s hard rock was a hedonistic and often intensely creative wellspring of escapism that perfectly encapsulated — and maybe even helped to define — a spectacularly over-the-top decade. Indeed, fist-pumping hits like Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ Motley Crue’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ and Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ are as inextricably linked to the era as Reaganomics, Pac-Man and E.T.”

Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Stour wrote the foreword to the book. He’s not from the “hair metal” era, but always has some interesting things to say about rock and metal music. The book will also feature more than 200 new interviews with Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford and members of Van Halen, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Guns N’ Roses, to name a few.

Hair metal fans will have a wait a while to get their hands on the new book. “Nothin’ But a Good Time” will arrive on March 16, 2021.

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Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.