In 1984, you couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing a woman in warrior face paint, sporting a jagged haircut, and firing literal finger guns at the camera. That woman was Patty Smyth. The song was "The Warrior." It was a massive, top-ten global smash that should have cemented the band Scandal as the next big thing in rock.
Instead, the band basically evaporated at the height of their success.
When people talk about the "Patty Smyth scandal" today, they aren't usually talking about a tabloid arrest or some illicit affair. The real scandal was how a band with a #7 hit and a platinum record managed to implode so spectacularly that they didn't even make it through the tour. It’s a story of "off-Broadway" music video disasters, internal power struggles, and the time Patty almost became the lead singer of Van Halen.
Shooting at the Walls of Heartache (and Each Other)
Scandal wasn't just some studio project built around a pretty face. They were a gritty New York City rock outfit formed in 1981 by guitarist Zack Smith. They had actual pedigree—heck, even a young Jon Bon Jovi did a brief stint on guitar for them in 1983. But by the time they hit the studio to record the Warrior album, the "band" was already coming apart at the seams.
Most people don't realize that "The Warrior" wasn't even written by the band. It was penned by Holly Knight and Nick Gilder. Because the record label, Columbia, was desperate for a hit, they brought in outside writers and a heavy-handed producer, Mike Chapman.
This created a massive rift. Zack Smith, the founder and primary songwriter, saw his influence shrinking as the label pivoted all the focus toward Patty Smyth. By the time the song was climbing the charts, Zack and most of the original lineup were practically out the door. Honestly, it’s kinda wild to think that their biggest triumph was the exact thing that broke them.
The Music Video Disaster
If you watch "The Warrior" video now, it’s a time capsule of 80s "cheese." You’ve got interpretive dancers that look like they wandered off the set of Cats, weird body paint, and that iconic "bang-bang" finger-gun move.
Patty Smyth actually hated it.
She later admitted in the book I Want My MTV that she was "crestfallen" when she saw the final cut. She thought it was going to be funny or cartoony, but it ended up looking like a low-budget stage play. The label had taken total control, sidelining the band's rock-and-roll identity for a polished, theatrical MTV product.
For the guys in the band, watching their lead singer turned into a "Thundercat" was the final straw. They were a rock band from New York, not a dance troupe. The visual "scandal" of the video might have helped the song sell millions, but it killed the band's soul.
The Van Halen "What If"
Here is the part that really blows people's minds. In 1985, right after Scandal fell apart, Eddie Van Halen personally asked Patty Smyth to join Van Halen. This was after David Lee Roth left and before Sammy Hagar took the gig.
Think about that for a second. We almost lived in a world where the voice behind "The Warrior" was fronting the biggest rock band on the planet.
🔗 Read more: Amelia Dimoldenberg Birth Chart: The Real Reason She’s So Deadpan
Why did she say no? A few reasons:
- Pregnancy: She was eight months pregnant at the time.
- Geography: She was a die-hard New Yorker and didn't want to move to L.A.
- Vibe Check: She saw the "lawless" lifestyle and the constant fighting between the Van Halen brothers and wanted no part of the drama.
She’s since said she regretted turning it down because of the sheer amount of money she would have made, but at the time, she was just trying to protect her own sanity. She basically chose her life over a legacy that would have changed rock history forever.
Why the Scandal Still Matters
The legacy of Scandal and Patty Smyth is a cautionary tale about the music industry's "hit-at-all-costs" mentality. They had the look, the voice, and the songs, but the pressure to conform to the MTV era's theatrical demands stripped away the band's foundation.
By the time the tour ended in late 1984, Patty was essentially a solo artist with a backing band. The "Scandal" was that there was no band left. Zack Smith moved to California, other members drifted into different projects, and Patty eventually moved on to a successful solo career, most notably with the Don Henley duet "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough."
Actionable Insights for Music Fans
If you're diving back into 80s rock history or trying to understand why certain bands "one-hit-wonder" their way out of existence, here’s how to look at it:
- Check the Writing Credits: When you see a band's sound change drastically between albums, look at the credits. Bringing in outside "hit-makers" often signals the end of a band's internal chemistry.
- MTV vs. Reality: Remember that many 80s artists had zero control over their music videos. Patty Smyth’s career is the perfect example of how a "bad" video can be a commercial hit but a personal disaster.
- The Van Halen Paradox: Sometimes the best career move is the one you don't make. While Patty missed out on Van Halen fame, she's been happily married to tennis legend John McEnroe since 1997 and maintained her artistic integrity.
The next time you hear that "bang-bang" on the radio, remember it wasn't just a catchy hook. It was the sound of a band going out in a blaze of glory—literally.