While many remember the music of the 1980s as being namby-pamby New Wave and synthpop, they forget that the 1980s was also a time when bands also rocked as hard, with metal outfits like Metallica and Megadeth etching the way. But the best of both worlds was seen in New Jersey band, Bon Jovi. And this album, Slippery When Wet, saw the band kick out the jams in more ways than one. Bolstered by hits such as Livin' On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name, Wanted Dead Or Alive, and Never Say Goodbye, Bon Jovi married hard-edged rock (thanks to scintillating solos from guitarist Richie Sambora), with synthpop (harmonies, cool keyboard riffs) and emerged a winner. Everybody loved the album, and Bon Jovi became the first "hard rock band" to have two consecutive No 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Funnily enough, the album went through various name changes. At various points, it was reportedly called Wanted Dead Or Alive and even Guns N' Roses; but later changed to Slippery When Wet after the band visited strip clubs in Vancouver. The original album cover featured a busty woman in a wet T-shirt with a pink border. According to reports, singer Jon Bon Jovi apparently hated the border and the cover was swapped for the familiar wet plastic bag shot instead. (Also, Walmart wasn't amenable to distributing the racy cover.) CHRISTOPHER TOH