Susanna Hoffs biography
Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American vocalist, guitarist and actress. She is best known as a member of the all-female pop band the Bangles.
Early life
Hoffs was born on the Westside of Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family. Her mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, played Beatles music for Hoffs when she was a child, and she began playing the guitar in her teens. Hoffs attended Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. In 1980, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor degree in Art. When she entered Berkeley she was a fan of Classic Rock bands that played in large stadiums. While a student at Berkeley, she attended the final Sex Pistols show at Winterland and a Patti Smith concert. Exposure to punk rock changed her career goal from dancer to musician in a band. She eventually joined Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson in what would later become the pop music group The Bangles.
The Bangles' first recorded release was a self-titled EP in 1982 on the Faulty Products Label. The Bangles released their first full album All Over the Place in 1984 on Columbia Records. They had a moderate hit with the single "Hero Takes a Fall", but their commercial breakthrough came with the album Different Light in 1986, which produced the hit singles "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian".
In 1986, Susanna Hoffs co-wrote the song "I Need a Disguise" for the album Belinda for Belinda Carlisle, formerly of the all-girl group The Go-Go's.
With increasing fame, Hoffs also appeared on the covers of numerous magazines, and the Rickenbacker guitar company issued a Susanna Hoffs model of the 350 (which she customized herself).
In 1987, Hoffs starred in the film The Allnighter, which was directed by her mother Tamar Simon Hoffs, and also featured Joan Cusack and Pam Grier.
The Bangles released their third album Everything in 1988, with their biggest-selling single "Eternal Flame", which was co-written and sung by Hoffs. The Bangles disbanded in 1990.
In the late 1990s, Hoffs contacted the other members of The Bangles with the hope of reuniting. They recorded the single "Get the Girl" for the second Austin Powers movie in 1999. Subsequently, they announced their decision to reunite full-time in 2000. Their fourth album, Doll Revolution, was released in 2003.
Solo career
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Hoffs released a solo album,
When You're a Boy, in 1991, which was not a commercial success; although it did spawn a U.S Top 40 hit with "My Side of the Bed." In the UK the single landed at #44, for only 4 weeks on chart, and the album also landed decently in Europe. Hoffs recorded another album during 1993/1994, prior to leaving Columbia Records, but it went unreleased. In 1996, Hoffs released her second solo album,
Susanna Hoffs. Although it received much praise in the media and yielded a minor US hit and a UK hit at #33 for 2 weeks with a cover of the Lightning Seeds single "All I Want", but still it was not a big commercial success.
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