Amid the decadence, macho showmanship and epic, squealing guitar solos, Vixen emerged as one of the few all-female rock bands from the 1980s glam metal scene, and scored a major hit with their dramatic power ballad 'Edge of a Broken Heart'. Guitarist Jan Kuehnemund grew up playing guitar and singing in St Paul, Minnesota, but with ambitious dreams she moved to Los Angeles with singer Janet Gardner in 1981 and poached drummer Roxy Petrucci and bass player Share Ross from other local California bands.
Alongside the likes of Motley Crue and Stryper, Vixen indulged in inflated peroxide mullets, gaudy spandex and strutting, over-blown rock anthems and grew from Hollywood's Sunset Strip clubs to land a deal with EMI and release their self-titled debut album in 1988. Written by Richard Marx and former Tubes singer Fee Waybill, their lead single 'Edge of a Broken Heart' was a driving, swaggering, broken-hearted stadium rock wail that became a hit with MTV viewers, whilst follow-up 'Cryin'' reached number 22 in the US charts and the band landed support slots on tour with Scorpions, Bon Jovi and KISS. In their early days they also appeared in the movie 'Hardbodies' and documentary 'The Downfall of Western Civilisation', but when second album 'Rev It Up' failed to match their previous success and grunge music began to change fashions, they split up after one final show with Deep Purple in Finland in 1991. As relationships within the band broke down, Kuehnemund sued the other members when they recorded third album 'Tangerine' without her in 1998, but they were brought back together again by VH1 TV show 'Bands Reunited', and went on to release 'Live & Learn' in 2006. Kuehnemund died in 2013 after suffering with cancer, but the band continued to tour with new guitarist Britt Lightning.
