The ‘80s boasts some of the greatest hard rock groups in history. Poison stands out among them as one that achieved greatness and has been named alongside Bon Jovi as one of the greatest hair bands of the decade. They were incredibly popular, only outsold by Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, which should not be surprising. Though their career as a band was full of conflict, especially in the beginning when they were forced out of many of the nightclubs that they played, they had set out to be the band that they wanted to see performing. Under the old adage “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” the band was determined to be the best.

As is the case with many musicians, the group had to make a major change and take some big risks before they made it big. They moved to Los Angeles in March of 1984 and soon found themselves impoverished and spending every penny they had to promote themselves. In 1986, they were signed to Enigma Records and released their first record, Look What The Cat Dragged In. Several of the songs from this album made it to the top 10, and the group began to gain star status. By the time they released Open Up and Say…Ahhhh!, they were already famous, and with that album they rocketed towards the top.

Through the next few years, guitarist Deville became problematic due to his increasing dependence on drugs and alcohol. The band fired him, and Richie Kotzen made his commercial debut with the band in ’93. In 2006, they toured and released their anniversary album The Best of Poison— 20 Years of Rock. That album marks one of the greatest musical achievements in music history, as it debuted in the Billboard Top 20. Their most recent album is Poison’d, which is their seventh studio effort.