Terminator star unrecognisable, sad life at 69<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m fat\u2019: Unrecognisable Top Gun star at 69<\/a><\/p>\n The Bangles have turned their music run into multimillion-dollar property moves.<\/p>\n Frontwoman Susanna Hoffs sits at the top of the real estate tree.<\/p>\n Yet, the massive wealth built around Hoffs was once the catalyst that tore the band apart.<\/p>\n Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by Hoffs alongside sisters Vicki Peterson (lead guitar) and Debbi Peterson (drums), before adding bassist Michael Steele, The Bangles initially operated as a strict democracy. <\/p>\n The group shared songwriting, vocal duties, and concert earnings equally.<\/p>\n That democratic dream collapsed when the music industry stepped in.<\/p>\n Record executives and media outlets relentlessly singled out Hoffs as the face and voice of the band.<\/p>\n Tension reached boiling point when outside songwriters were brought in and Hoffs was handed primary lead vocals on major global smashes, including the Prince-penned hit Manic Monday and the ballad Eternal Flame.<\/p>\n Disagreements over their musical direction, moving from raw garage-rock to polished radio pop, combined with intense resentment over Hoffs being treated as the default lead singer.<\/p>\n \u201cThere would be squabbles. There would be jealousies,\u201d Hoffs told the Independent<\/a> about the pressure cooker environment. <\/p>\n The Bangles was formed in 1981.<\/p>\n Bassist Michael Steele grew increasingly isolated, while drummer Debbi Peterson openly bristled at the band being styled as \u201csex poodles\u201d rather than serious musicians.<\/p>\n Former tour manager Chris Lamson recalled that the dynamic shifted rapidly.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of a sudden, it wasn\u2019t just a band thing, it was Susanna Hoffs and The Bangles,\u201d Lamson told Vh1\u2019s Behind the Music in 2000. <\/p>\n Vicki Peterson admitted the press framing cut deep.<\/p>\n \u201cSusanna at the time was like the little sex kitten. I personally wanted The Bangles to be seen more as musicians and as a band, not just little sex poodles up there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hoffs acknowledged the awkwardness of the dynamic, admitting she struggled with how to navigate suddenly being thrust into the lead role.<\/p>\n The friction turned into humiliation during the recording of their mega-hit Walk Like an Egyptian.<\/p>\n Producer David Kahne took total control of the track, replacing real drums with a drum machine and forcing the band members to \u201caudition\u201d line-by-line for vocal verses.<\/p>\n Debbi, who was originally scheduled to sing lead, was completely stripped from the track.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had us one by one go out to the mic and sing a selected verse,\u201d Vicki recalled. <\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t like the way Debbi sang any of the verses \u2026 so he just sort of knocked her out of the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Steele (top left) grew increasingly isolated from the band.<\/p>\n Debbie described the experience as a humiliating slap in the face that left her feeling terrible.<\/p>\n Despite Walk Like an Egyptian holding the number 1 slot for four weeks, the band was miserable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe god of irony was laughing down upon us,\u201d Steele said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to have a huge record, but it\u2019s going to be the record that you feel the most estranged from as an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n By late 1989, under the weight of exhaustion, unequal media attention, and unspoken resentment, the group acrimoniously collapsed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t fight like we should have,\u201d Vicki reflected. \u201cWe didn\u2019t fight like all-boy bands fight. We didn\u2019t learn how to say those things that are hard to say.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the split, the members pursued vastly different financial and personal paths.<\/p>\n The Peterson sisters poured their earnings into solid Los Angeles real estate.<\/p>\n Debbi bought a secluded three-bedroom home in Woodland Hills, California, for $US330,000 back in June 1988 at the height of the band\u2019s fame.<\/p>\n After completing a major gourmet kitchen renovation, Debbi sold the artist\u2019s retreat in 2012 for $US582,500. <\/p>\n She rolled those profits into a newly built, $US1.149m ($A1.7m) custom four-bedroom home in the same suburb.<\/p>\n Her net worth is now estimated between $US3m to $US5m ($A4.5m to $A7.5m).<\/p>\n Debbi Peterson poured her earnings into Los Angeles real estate.<\/p>\n Vicki Peterson maintained active music streams with The Continental Drifters and Action Skulls. Picture supplied.<\/p>\n Vicki, now worth an estimated $US8m to $US12m ($A12m to $A18m), maintained active music streams with The Continental Drifters and Action Skulls. <\/p>\n After living in New Orleans, she relocated back to Los Angeles with her husband, musician John Cowsill.<\/p>\n Steele accumulated an estimated $US7m ($A10.5m) through major album credits from the band\u2019s peak eras before opting for a quiet private life away from the spotlight.<\/p>\n More than a decade after their bitter split, Hoffs, Steele, and the Peterson sisters put their grudges aside to rebuild their friendship and make music on their own terms.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve kind of gone back to that simple place where we would like to have the feeling of control,\u201d Hoffs said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the years that we weren\u2019t working together, we just kind of grew up a lot and learned how to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE: Unrecognisable Bewitched star\u2019s wealth at 62<\/a><\/p>\n Shock lives of 40yo Hanson brothers now<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Oh I don\u2019t know\u2019: Harry\u2019s update on UK move<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Behind the chart-topping harmonies of The Bangles sat intense rivalries, bitter power struggles and a sudden break-up that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":912810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-912809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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