About
Los Angeles gave the world a lot of glam-soaked hard rock acts in the early 1980s, and Autograph was one of the more legitimately talented outfits to emerge from that scene. Coalescing around vocalist Steve Plunkett and guitarist Steve Lynch, the band built a reputation on Lynch's jaw-dropping two-handed tapping technique, which rivaled Eddie Van Halen in sheer technical ambition. They signed to RCA Records and released their debut Turn Up the Radio in 1984, a record that announced them as serious players in the Sunset Strip ecosystem.
That debut single Turn Up the Radio became their calling card, cracking the Top 30 and earning heavy MTV rotation, perfectly capturing the era's love of anthemic, hook-driven hard rock. Their follow-up albums Loud and Clear and When the Earth Moves Again kept the momentum going, though they never quite recaptured that commercial lightning in a bottle. Lynch's fretwork remained the undeniable centerpiece throughout, giving Autograph a technical edge that separated them from pure pop-metal contemporaries.
Autograph may not have achieved the mega-platinum status of Motley Crue or Ratt, but they hold a respected place in the 80s hard rock canon. The band has gone through various lineup changes and revivals over the decades, with Plunkett and Lynch both steering different versions of the group. For fans who appreciate that sweet spot between melodic accessibility and genuine guitar chops, Autograph absolutely delivers.
