New Paramount Docuseries Looks Back At One Of The Wildest Decades In Rock Music - The 1980s

Paramount’s new docuseries called “NOTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME: THE UNCENSORED STORY OF 80S HAIR METAL is based on a book by the same name written by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock

It’s full of candid, sometimes shocking stories from one of music’s most iconic eras that gave us those hard hair rock bands and artists like Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osborne, Poison, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, and many others.

When it came time to bring the book to life in visual form, filmmaker and producer, Jeff Tremaine, best known for co-creating the MTV reality show Jackass, seemed the perfect choice.

“It definitely fits my brand, as far as the uncensored side of it,” Tremaine says with a laugh. “It was the craziest music scene, but I was happy to tell those stories and get those stories out.”

Divided into three episodes, Tremaine offers a fast-paced, well-directed series blending photos, archive video, a clever use of animation to reenact stories and conversations, and interviews with many of the rockers themselves, as well as others involved with the decade’s music scene. The list includes Brett Michaels (Poison), Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses), Phil Collen (Def Leppard), David “Snake” Sabo (Skid Row), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), and many others.

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“For the most part everybody we asked wanted to do it,” Tremaine says. I think a lot of it had to do with it being a book and they had already told some of these stories. They were cool with the authors and liked the book.”

The series looks back at the start of the movement, the LA club scene, the early beginnings of some of the bands, and the wild and raucous lives they led – onstage and off.

Tremaine, who sat down and interviewed those featured, says he was pleasantly surprised by their openness, honesty, and some of what they shared. As one example, he points to an incredible story Jack Russell, the lead singer of Great White, shared about ending up in jail just as the band was getting underway.

“He was so into cocaine at the time,” Tremaine explains, “and he was robbing drug dealers. He would take a gun and go rob drug dealers. At one point, he decided to do it while he was on PCP, and he lost focus and ended up shooting a maid. So, he got arrested, but his time got reduced down to two years. After two years, he quickly joined back with the band, and they became an international sensation. So, we get to tell that story which is so wild.”

Tremaine says he’s especially grateful to share Russell’s account given the singer passed away in August.

“A couple of guys I interviewed have since passed away like Steven Riley, the drummer for WASP and LA Guns. So, I’m proud we were able to capture these vibrant stories.”

Between bizarre stories of drugs, sex, and the rock and roll lifestyle, there are poignant stories, too. Like the short-lived career of guitar phenom Randy Rhoades who started with Quiet Riot, then went on to help launch Ozzy Osborne’s solo career with the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Bassist Rudy Sarzo, who was also Rhoades close’ friend, recounts the tragic plane crash that took the young guitarist’s life.

“I’d never heard that story,” Tremaine says. “I knew how Randy died but to hear it from Rudy Sarzo who was right there when the plane clipped the bus and blew up in the garage right where the bus was parked. And Rudy loved Randy, so you could feel his pain as he told what happened.”

Tremaine, who also directed The Dirt, a biographical film on Motley Crue, says he hopes people watching the new Paramount series will enjoy looking back at one of the most unique times in music history.

“You don’t even have to love this music, but I think you’ll end up liking these guys and girls and just what a crazy time it was. It’s a miracle a lot of them are alive today, right? They were really burning it at both ends. I’m happy so many of them are still alive and able to tell their stories. And my hope is people will be entertained for the two-and-a-half hours this whole thing adds up to.”

It also comes at a time when many of these 80s groups are still making music and appealing not only to fans “who knew them when,” but to younger generations.

“I went to see Motley Crue with Def Leppard and Poison at a football stadium, and it wasn’t a bunch of people my age and older, it was young kids and they were loving it. So, there’s a huge new audience.”

All three segments of NOTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME: THE UNCENSORED STORY OF 80S HAIR METAL are now available for streaming on Paramount+.