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Ratt Out of the Cellar 1 - Lack of Communication Out of the Cellar became a commercial success, going platinum many times over in the United States as well as making them stars in the Far East. The album catapulted the band to the top, capped off by an incredibly successful world tour that saw the band sell out countless stadiums and arenas worldwide. Out of the Cellar is today widely regarded as the band's best work and a definitive moment in 80s heavy metal. Tawny Kitaen, high school sweetheart of Crosby, who'd graced the cover of the band's EP from the previous year, agreed to appear on the cover of their debut full-length album. She also appeared in their video for "Back For More" as the girl in the 1950s skirt at the jukebox. In 1984 the band toured extensively, sharing the stage with such acts as Billy Squier, Ozzy Osbourne, Blackfoot, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister and Lita Ford.
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Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite 2 - New Girl Now The band was originally formed in 1981 by lead vocalist and guitarist Johnnie Dee (of Niagara Falls, Ontario), Keyboardist Brad Bent (of Toronto, Ontario), and original drummer Mike Lengyell, formerly with The Diodes. By 1983, the line-up changed, with Dee (the only original remaining member) now on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, along with new recruits Derry Grehan on lead guitar and Dave Betts on drums. Grehan became the band's primary songwriter, and penned "New Girl Now," which won them an unsigned band contest put on by Toronto radio station Q107. Various keyboard players and bassists came and left during this time, but on the strength of "New Girl Now," WEA Canada signed the band to the label. Ray Coburn was added as a permanent new member on keyboards as the sessions got underway for the group's debut LP, but the band still had no bass player, so bassist Brian Brackstone was recruited as a session player. Brackstone played on the entire album; bassist Gary Lalonde (formerly with Rose and Toronto) was added to the line-up after the album was completed, and appeared in the album's group photos and played with the band live. The band's self-titled debut album, produced by Tom Treumuth, was released in June, 1984. The album featured four charting hits in Canada: a completely re-recorded version of "New Girl Now," "Burning In Love," "Wave Babies," and "Stay In the Light." All were written by Grehan. "New Girl Now" was also Honeymoon Suite's first single to reach the top-50 in the United States.
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Scorpions Love At First Sting 3 - Bad Boys Running Wild Love at First Sting is notable in that it was one of the first digitally recorded heavy metal records ever released. It became the group's most successful album in the USA, where it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1984, and went double-platinum by the end of the year, reaching triple-platinum status in 1995. The original cover art created by Helmut Newton features a man and a partially nude woman locked in an embrace, with the man giving the woman a tattoo on her thigh. Despite the record company having shown the original cover art to retailers without any concerns, a complaint by Wal-Mart after the album was released resulted in PolyGram Records issuing a "clean" cover for use in several department store chains. The alternative cover was designed to be less controversial by simply showing a photo of the band members, which was the same photo on the inner sleeve.
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Whitesnake Slide It In 4 - All or Nothing In late 1983, the band recorded Slide It In, which was released in Europe in early 1984. It was the band's fourth top 10 album in their native UK, peaking at number 9. At this same time, the band secured a major US record deal with the Geffen label. The Slide It In (1984) album had drawn mixed reviews, the negatives particularly focusing on its "flat" mix. While a personnel change saw the touring band replace Moody with former Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes, plus the return of bassist Neil Murray in place of Hodgkinson, producer David Geffen insisted that the album be remixed for the US release. In addition to the remix, Sykes and Murray re-recorded the lead guitar and bass parts. This revised version of the album had its US release in April 1984. Despite Coverdale's misgivings regarding the lack of edge in these new tracks, Slide It In (1984) just barely missed the US Top 40, and went double platinum there three years later after the release of the band's eighth album
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