Black 'n Blue is a heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon. The group moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and made their first appearance on an independent compilation Metal Massacre, which also introduced newcomers: Metallica, Ratt, and Malice. Their guitarist Tommy Thayer is part of Kiss.
Black 'n Blue was formed in November 1981 by high school students Jamie St. James and Tommy Thayer in Portland, Oregon. Originally called Movie Star, the band chose the name Black 'n Blue inspired by its musical style "full face" . The group became popular in 1982 thanks to Brian Slagel who listened to the Chains Around Heaven demo and added the song to his compilation Metal Massacre - an independent compilation featuring newcomers like Metallica, Ratt, and Malice>.
Black 'n Blue relocated to Los Angeles in 1983 and became popular in the Hollywood music scene. In six months, the band signs an international distribution contract with Geffen Records, and publishes its first album, Black 'n Blue, in August 1984. The album, produced by Dieter Dierks, includes Hold on to 18 which will be broadcast on MTV and will become a moderate success. A continuation of the album, entitled Without Love, is published the following year. The songs Without Love and Miss Mystery are successes. A third single from the album, entitled Nature of the Beach is included in the soundtrack of the movie Vision Quest. In 1986, Black 'n Blue attracted the interest of Kiss's bass player, Gene Simmons, who will become the group's producer for two albums. The band released two new releases on the Geffen label, Nasty Nasty in 1986 and In Heat in 1988. In 1988 released the album In Heat. The following year, in 1989, the group separated>.
After the band split, Thayer formed the American Man band with guitarist Brian Jennings, bass and singer Todd Jensen and drummer Kevin Muriel (AK Kevin Valentine). The trio Thayer, Jensen and Valentine joined Harlow in 1990. St. James recorded some demos under the direction of Wet Engine in 1988 before forming Freight Train Jane.
