Rockin' The Headband!

The headband has long been an important piece of many a rock-and-roll wardrobe.  And while there were certainly plenty of 80s artists who sported a 'band around their noggin every once in a while, none are more closely associated with the headband than Mark Knopfler and Mike Reno.

You're balding, Mark.  The headband doesn't hide that.

Knopfler, lead singer and guitarist for the British band Dire Straits, burst on the music scene in 1978, but it wasn't until 1985 that he brought his headband to center stage.  Dire Straits was topping the charts worldwide in 1985 with the MTV anthem "Money For Nothing" and its parent album Brothers In Arms.  Knopfler's headband, the standard elastic kind worn by many athletes, made appearances in Dire Straits' music videos.  "Money For Nothing" and the follow-up single "Walk Of Life" both featured a 'banded Knopfler.  Even Dire Straits' 1988 greatest hits compilation, Money for Nothing, featured a Knopfler's neon silhouette, including his trademark headband.

Mike Reno (center), probably wearing red leather pants.

Mike Reno, lead singer of the Canadian band Loverboy, rocked the headband from Day 1.  Loverboy first cracked the US charts in early 1981, and recorded a string of hit singles and albums over the next 8 years before their break-up in 1988.  Reno opted for the bandana-style headband, always in red, and most always matching his red leather pants.  In some cases he would even add a bandana around his neck for added effect.



Honorable mention goes to Bruce Springsteen, who would occasionally trot out the bandana-style headband, usually in tandem with a blue denim jacket.  But Bruce is not defined by the headband, so he is relegated to Honorable Mention status.