Eternal Flame: The Authorized Biography of The Bangles
$15.77
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The authorized biography of the quintessential ’80s pop band The Bangles, who scored massive hits with “Manic Monday,” Walk Like an Egyptian,” “Hazy Shade of Winter,” and more
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From their first meeting in 1981, the Bangles were ambitious, focused, and intentional; their hard-work and determination resulted in millions of records sold across the globe, before becoming the first all-girl band to have five “Top 10” hits. Not long after coming together, they toured the world, released #1 records, and collaborated with the biggest artists of the day. They seemed unstoppable—until tensions within the band, artistic differences, and the pressures of sudden celebrity tore them apart less than a decade later.
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ETERNAL FLAME is the story of those eight years: of a diverse and vibrant Los Angeles music scene, unfettered work ethics and self-belief, the dawn of MTV, the unpredictable consequences of fame, life as a touring band, and their rapid rise to global domination–then imploding at the height of success. But it’s also a story of the very real challenges faced by women attempting to follow their artistic dreams in a media and music industry ecosystem which seemed set up for their failure from the start.
With unprecedented access to founding members Debbi Peterson, Susanna Hoffs, and Vicki Peterson, ETERNAL FLAME is the first authorized biography of this iconic group, featuring exclusive stories, input, and interviews from the pioneering band members themselves as well as those that knew them best. From playing the club circuit in 1980s’ LA to bunking with Sting during a PR trip to the UK to topping the Billboard charts, to interludes with Prince and appearances on the definitive MTV, ETERNAL FLAME traces the band’s rise to superstardom, taking readers behind-the-scenes and sharing with them never-before-shared anecdotes and personal ephemera.
As Debbi herself notes, “I think it’s about time that our true story was told. People only see certain aspects of the Bangles, especially as the media has twisted the past and we have been misrepresented for a long time. Plus, certainly in the eighties, we were women making it in a man’s world. I think that needs to be celebrated.”Â
Dynamic, daring, and deliciously entertaining from start to finish, ETERNAL FLAME is a tribute to one of the greatest pop bands of the 20th century—and a long-overdue corrective that restores The Bangles to their rightful place in music history as feminist trailblazers.
From the Publisher
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 18, 2025
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0306833344
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0306833342
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #80,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #100 in Popular Music (Books) #206 in Rock Band Biographies #328 in Rock Music (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (121) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Rick Spell –
Revisit the 80s and a Really Successful All Girls Band
I remember the Bangles, good group, good songs. but I didn’t know the backstory. This is a well-written summary of their career, their desire to be a band, and the relationships within the band that made it and eventually broke it up. The desire of the Petersen girls to have a band and grow it was really quite impressive and against the backdrop of an “all-girl” band who had to fight against general pre-conceived opinions is really an impressive storyline to their success. Adding Susanna Hoffs who had equal drive & a slightly different background also helped the Bangles be the Bangles. Then after a drive to the top with a little help (thanks Prince) their record company forces them to use an experienced producer, David Kayne. All of the desires to be a REAL band writing their own songs gets derailed and creates dissension and confidence issues in the band. This was a really unique part of the story that makes the book worth it alone to see the prices paid to be successful. Living in Memphis TN my favorite part of the book was reading that Eternal Flame was inspired by a visit where the Eternal Flame at Elvis’s burial site was out. It never ceases to amaze me the inspiration so many stars get from coming to Memphis for our past music history.But, the band breaks out and really is a big part of the 80s music scene. And then it’s gone. And that’s how the book portrays the story. the story is great but has a few slow parts and as i approach what I thought on Kindle was 75% of the book, suddenly it’s over. But still a great story. want to revisit the 80s, girl bands, how to make it in the music industry at that time, this is really worth the read and I enjoyed. Their top songs were some of the best.
Randy Remote –
The Air Up There
A well-written book tracking the band from their childhoods to the dizzying (and exhausting) heights of fame. Slightly repetitive at times, ie tensions building due to Hoffs’ receiving the most attention…. Given that so much ink is given to this dynamic, and the band’s management’s focus on making Susanna a pop star ala Madonna, there is no followup. How did that go? (Not so well). There is no mention of life and music post-Bangles, such as Vicki’s work with Continental Drifters, or Susanna’s solo albums. The two reunion albums (Doll Revolution, Sweetheart of the Sun) are only briefly mentioned. It would have been nice to have more info about how those albums were made, and the relationships these women still have (or don’t) post-breakup. So, IMO, a chapter is missing.But it’s a fine book, with full participation from the band (less Steele) and their intimates and colleagues.One more thing: The Bangles should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
Doctor Mortimer –
Quality writing about one of the most iconic and underappreciated rock bands of the 1980s
The Bangles were one of the greatest rock bands of the 1980s. All four band members wrote songs, played instruments, and did vocals in four part harmony together, and they did it live with no auto tune technology or lip synching. They were trailblazers for women in rock at a time when it was a male dominated profession, and they never strayed from their primary goal of being ambassadors for great music. Unfortunately, the group was unfairly treated by producers, managers, the press, and the recording industry, leading to the band’s separation in 1989. Nine years later the group would reunite and were then able to repair their friendships and have creative control over their music.The book ETERNAL FLAME is the story of The Bangles during their 1980s fame, and is incredibly well written by the music historian Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike. Dr. Bickerdike worked very closely with Susanna, Vicki, and Debbi (Michael politely declined to participate in the project) to tell the stories from the point of view of the band members themselves. The book is entertaining and poignant without being sensationalist or filled with false gossip. It is the book where The Bangles reclaim their legacy and establish their rightful place in music history as feminist trailblazers in rock.Yes, it’s that good.
S. W. –
The Bangles: Eternal Flame
It’s a decent read if you know very little about the band and its origin, but much of it has been written about before. Unfortunately, Michael Steele’s comments were from elsewhere because she did not participate in this book. If you’re a fan, you probably know most of this story already about how the label and media wanted to focus on Susanna, how Vickie was the driving force along with Susanna. how Debbie’s role, though important, was downplayed or ignored by those outside the band in the media, and how one producer in particular made recording a hellish experience for them and the major label forced changes on them. As women, they were expected to be sexy puppets and not taken seriously as the fine musicians and songwriters that they actually were. It’s a sad reminder that the music/record business is a business first and how labels seem to push marketing and image over music. I wish something had been written about those musicians who filled in for Michael’s role after she left the band beyond Annette’s return, especially Abby Travis. HOWEVER, if you’re not familiar with their story and what happened along the way, you’ll really enjoy the book.
Cip Cipriano –
A wonderful journey to the 80s music biz with a groundbreaking band
I just finished reading Eternal Flame, the authorized biography of The Bangles by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, and I HIGHLY recommend it! Its a complete history of the band from extensive interviews with 3/4s of The Bangles and pretty much EVERYONE around them during every era. Thoroughly researched and so entertaining. Theres some awesome Prince stories in there, an endorsement of The Bangles from Terence Trent D’arby in his own unique words, 80s music biz drama and so much more! Worth noting, I was never a massive Bangles fan but I still found this book to be completely engaging and honestly, because I listened to the songs as they were mentioned in the book, I’m a full on Bangles fan now!
Dean46 –
Schön daß es nun auch Buch von The Bangles gibt
aussie mark –
This is a compelling read for Bangles fans and fills a gap in telling the story of a band which are still famous for a handful of major hits but also a comet-like trajectory. It is also a decent read for non-fans who are interested in the seedy side of the pop music industry. The book sets out to reveal the darker side of the glamour behind a band who were certainly glamourous and who always struggled with justifying their fame. Even at their peak, there were tensions around whether they were popular for their looks only or were actually serious musicians. This book explores well that tension and how as the group earned their hard-fought success so they lost control over their artistic output. The story follows the Peterson sisters through their early days, then gives the background to Susannah Hoffs leading into her famous phone call to Vicky Peterson. There are many personal insights from those three band members and many others – the book seems well researched. Some reviews bemoan the lack of co-operation of Michael Steele and it is telling that the 4th member who left the reunion era first preferred not to be involved. There is also a sudden ending to the book after the 3rd fateful album ‘Everything’ – but I assume that a publisher wanted to focus on the ‘famous’ period of time for an 80s iconic band and less so on the much later and less impactful revivals. It is an easy book to read with mostly short chapters and a flowing style of writing. There is a reasonable balance between details and telling a good story, although at times some of the former could have been passed over for more of the latter. Again, I suspect there was some tighter control from the publisher – or the story sources – to prevent the author going further with anecdotal features. It is telling that at our local book store when they were asked about the publication in Australia, immediately recalled loving the songs Eternal Flame and Walk Like An Egyptian in the 1980s. But as this book exposes, the Bangles were a much more deserving band than those two hits only. It will remain open to speculate whether their time was ending as the 1990s arrived with grunge etc, but their sudden flame-out was unfortunate since across three big albums in the 1980s they flew very high.
jay –
Love this book about the eighties band, good read! 2 thumbs up đź‘Ť.
Nat –
Love it !!
Claudia Natale –
This is a decently written book on The Bangles, mostly from Vicki’s perspective. In its concentrated narrative it provides a very clear insight into how it all happened, from whence it came (and we long knew where and how it went wrong). It provides a more concentrated, focused perspective that Shade’s book, which is still indispensible for the overload of detail. What I found less good in Bickerdike’s book was the cheap print. It comes with a slim photo section in low re black & white. The pics are of course unique because they are private but I would think The Bangles could do better than this. The pics are also far too few. The layout, the print, its all as cheap as possible. This is not how rock & roll bios are done these days (I’m not talking about female poster acts, just compare it with Velvet Underground, Bruce Springsteen or Rolling Stones books).So, its an authorized bio, but that isn’t the problem. Its great to have (half) their side of the story, and especially having Debbi’s diary quotes as inserts. These are worth the book thrice over alone. They are honest, pure, very insightful and beautifully written. I loved reading those and wished she would publish them in full. They are truly the best part of this book. I give Debbi’s thoughts ten stars. The book four. The print less than zero.I can imagine it wasn’t easy for the author to get this project to print, but she made it, that alone is worth a congrats. Yes, we need this book, but most of all we need a better quality reprint with 60+ pictures in full colour (when the original is in colour of course. It is 2025, unless I’m mistaken…).There’s a lot of interesting tidbits in the book regarding the piles of tapes (highschool demos, Those Girls, The Colours, The Fans) two of the Bangles are sitting on. Why not publish some samples of it in some retrospect? Sure, one can over do it, as in Bruce could even publish himself thinking about ‘Born to run’ on the toilet. Mick could publishing his audible thoughts on ‘Sympathy for Himself’. But The Bangles published nothing. Surely there’s a nice 2cd album to be made on the pre-Bangs-to-Bangs period? Well, we had to wait 20+ years before this book materialized, maybe it opens the door to more!Anyway, for a Band so conscious of their street credibility they surprisingly had no problem with the slightly lame book title, ‘Eternal Flame’. Seriously, ‘Eternal Flame’? Anyway, it was an easy read until 1989.