The Bangles’ hit “Eternal Flame” peaked at #1 in our feature year 1989.Susanna Hoffs explained how the band changed from their original name The Bangs because of another group with the same name.
She said, "We had done the artwork and everything. And then Miles got a call -- who was our manager at the time -- saying there was a band from New Jersey with the name The Bangs -- which had been our name. We had to either pay them a lot of money that we didn't have at the time. This was back in, I think, 1983. What do we do? We have to come up with another name. And the record was ... all of it, like I said, the cover was already made. It said The Bangs on it. So we just decided to add a few letters and change it to The Bangles and hope for the best."
“Eternal Flame” made The Bangles only the third “girl group” to have more than one #1 single, after The Supremes and The Shirelles accomplished that in the 60’s. The flame in the song’s title was actually inspired by the flames at Elvis Presley’s gravesite.
Get more on The Bangles on the Big Show Fan Page at KBGO.com and on iHeartRadio, keyword Bangles.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]