SUSANNA HOFFS

'Susanna Lee Hoffs' (born January 17, 1959 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American vocalist and rhythm guitarist best known for being a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles.

Contents

Early life

Career with The Bangles

Solo career

Sid 'n' Susie

Personal life

Discography

Albums

Singles

DVDs, films

External links

Early life

Hoffs was born on January 17, 1959 on the Westside of Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family. Her mother played records of The Beatles for Hoffs when she was a child and she began playing the guitar in her teens. She eventually joined with Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson, who needed a singer for their band, which would later become The Bangles.
Hoffs attended Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. In 1980, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art.

Career with The Bangles

The Bangles released their first album ''All Over The Place'' in 1984, and their commercial breakthrough album came with ''Different Light'' in 1986, which produced the hit singles "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian."
During this time, Hoffs starred in the movie ''The Allnighter'' in 1987. It was directed by her mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, and also featured Joan Cusack and Pam Grier.
With her increasing fame, she also appeared on the covers of numerous magazines, and the Rickenbacker guitar company issued a Susanna Hoffs model, which she still plays during live shows.
Although the Bangles did not have a set lead singer -- with the each member alternating on lead vocals -- Hoffs was perceived by many casual fans to be the main vocalist and, thus, received the most media attention, which led to tensions within the band.
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 1989.
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 '' 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

Hoffs released a solo album, ''When You're a Boy'', in 1991, which was not a commercial success (although it did spawn a US Top 40 hit with "My Side of the Bed").
In 1996, Hoffs released her second solo album, ''Susanna Hoffs''. Although it received some praise in the media (and yielded a minor US hit with the single "All I Want"), it also was not a commercial success.
Hoffs also recorded another album during 1993/1994, prior to leaving Columbia Records, but it went unreleased.
Hoffs is known for recording song demos prolifically, with many occasionally surfacing on the internet. The best known of these is, perhaps, "Pride."
Hoffs appeared in the first ''Austin Powers'' movie as a member of the fictitious 1960s rock group Ming Tea, fronted by the title character. In real-life, Ming Tea consisted of actor Mike Myers, Hoffs, Canadian musician/producer Christopher Ward, and singer Matthew Sweet. This group made a number of television performances (with Myers in character as Powers) and had a minor hit with the song "BBC." Hoffs returned with the group in the second and third ''Austin Powers'' films.

Sid 'n' Susie

In 2006, Hoffs teamed up with fellow Ming Tea rocker, Matthew Sweet, under the name Sid 'n' Susie to record 15 covers versions of classic rock songs on an album called ''Under the Covers, Vol. 1''. The album was released in April 2006 and on July 18 they appeared on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' to promote the album and tour.

Personal life

In 1993, she married Jay Roach, the director of the ''Austin Powers'' movies and ''Meet the Parents'' and producer of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. They have two sons, Jackson (born February 9, 1995) and Sam (born November 10, 1998).

Discography

Albums

Date	Title	Chart	Comments
'Solo releases'
1991	''When You're a Boy''	83
1996	''Susanna Hoffs''	-
'With The Bangles'
1982	''The Bangles (EP)''	-
1984	''All Over the Place''	80
1986	''Different Light''	2
1988	''Everything''	15
1990	''Greatest Hits''	97
2003	''Doll Revolution''	-
'Collaborations'
2006	''Under the Covers, Vol. 1''	192	with Matthew Sweet

Singles

Date	Title	Chart	Comments
'Solo releases'
1990	"Only Love"	-
1990	"Unconditional Love"	65 (UK)	Did not chart in the US
1990	"My Side Of The Bed"	30
1996	"All I Want"	77
'With The Bangles' Only charting singles are listed
1986	"If She Knew What She Wants"	29
1986	"Manic Monday"	2
1986	"Going Down To Liverpool"	56 (UK)	UK only re-release
1986	"Walk Like An Egyptian"	1
1987	"Walking Down Your Street"	11
1987	"Hazy Shade Of Winter"	2	From the ''Less Than Zero Motion Picture Soundtrack''
1988	"In Your Room"	5
1988	"Eternal Flame"	1
1989	"Be With You"	30
All chart data refers to the Billboard Hot 100 unless noted otherwise

DVDs, films

Year	Title
1978	''Stony Island''
1982	''The Haircut''
1987	''The Allnighter''
1990	''The Bangles — Greatest Hits: Videos (VHS)''
1997	''
2002	''Austin Powers in Goldmember''
2003	''Doll Revolution Bonus DVD''
2005	''The Bangles — Greatest Hits: Videos (DVD)''

External links

★ The Bangles official website

★

★ Susanna Hoffs British site