Two
additional
albums
followed in 1977 and 1979.
The band's first five albums
have since attained multiplatinum status. Throughout
the 1970s, the band toured
extensively and charted a
dozen Hot 100 singles. By
the end of the decade, they
were among the most popular
hard rock bands in the world
and developed a loyal
following of fans, often
referred to as the "Blue
Army". However, drug
addiction and
internal
conflict took their toll on the
band, which resulted in the
departures of Perry and
Whitford in 1979 and 1981,
respectively;
they
were
replaced
byJimmy
Crespo and Rick Dufay. The
band did not fare well
between 1980 and 1984,
releasing the album Rock in a
Hard Place, which went gold
but failed to match their
previous successes.
41
Perry and Whitford returned
in 1984 and the band signed a
new
deal
withGeffen
Records. After a comeback
tour, the band recorded Done
with Mirrors(1985), which
won some critical praise but
failed to come close to
commercial expectations. It
was not until the band's
collaboration
with
rap
group Run–D.M.C. in 1986,
and the 1987 multi-platinum
release Permanent Vacation,
that they regained the level of
popularity
they
had
experienced in the 1970s. In
the late 1980s and 1990s, the
band scored several hits and
won numerous awards for
music from the multiplatinum
albums Pump (1989), Get a
Grip (1993),
and Nine
Lives (1997), and embarked
on their most extensive
concert tours to date.
The band also became a pop
culture phenomenon with