It's easy to forget just how commercially successful hard rock was in the latter half of the 1980s, especially in America.
If, for example, you take a quick look back at the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1987, you'll see that Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer topped the chart for four weeks, Heart's Alone topped the chart for three weeks, and Whitesnake and Billy Idol (along with guitar acts U2, The Bangles, Starship, Cutting Crew and Bob Seger) also scored number one singles.
Slide into 1988, and the story is similar: there were number one singles for Guns N' Roses (Sweet Child O' Mine), Def Leppard (Love Bites), Bon Jovi (Bad Medicine, two weeks on top), Cheap Trick (The Flame, also for two weeks) and Poison (Every Rose Has Its Thorn), with AOR giants Richard Marx and Chicago also hitting the top.
