Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson was born in 1958 in Northridge, California. In 1981, she founded The Bangs, later renamed The Bangles, with her sister Debbi Peterson and Susanna Hoffs. Vicki sang and played guitar, as did Susanna. Debbi played the drums. Annette Zilinskas joined later and sang and played bass.
They originally called themselves The Colours, then renamed itself The Supersonic Bangs, and shortly afterwards The Bangs. A legal issue forced the band to change their name at the last minute so they dropped "The" and added the letters "les" to the end to become Bangles.The band was part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s-influenced folk-rock and jangle pop with a more modern punk–ish/garage band flavor.
In 1981, the threesome recorded and released a single record, "Getting Out Of Hand" and on the flipside, "Call on Me," on DownKiddie Records which was their own label. In 1982, the trio was signed to Faulty Products, a label formed by Miles Copeland.
In 1982, they released the single "The Real World." Their first EP was retitled Bangles and released that year. In 1983, Faulty Products issued a 12 inch "remix" single of "The Real World" to radio and media, but another setback came as the label folded. I.R.S. Records picked up distribution and re-issued the EP.
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When Zilinskas left the band to focus on her own project Blood on the Saddle, she was replaced by Michael Steele, formerly of the all-girl band The Runaways, Toni & The Movers, Slow Children and Elton Duck.
The Bangles' full-length debut album on Columbia, All Over the Place, released in 1984, featured the singles "Hero Takes a Fall" and the "Going Down To Liverpool." The record received good reviews, and the video for "Liverpool" featured Leonard Nimoy, which helped to generate further publicity. This came about due to a college friendship between Hoffs and Nimoy's son Adam, a television producer. They received a much wider awareness serving as the opening act of Cyndi Lauper on her Fun tour.
The group attracted the attention of Prince, who later wrote "Manic Monday" for the group. "Manic Monday" went on to become a #2 hit in the US, the UK and Germany, outsold at the time only by another Prince composition, his own "Kiss." The band's second album Different Light, released in 1986, was more polished than its predecessor and produced the worldwide #1 hit "Walk Like an Egyptian."
Due to friction within the band, the Bangles disbanded in 1989. Afterwards, Vicki played with the Continental Drifters and The Psycho Sisters, alongside Susan Cowsill formerly of the Cowsills. (Peterson married Cowsill's brother John in October 2003).
In addition to performing their own material, The Psycho Sisters freelanced as celebrity backing singers for Steve Wynn's Fluorescent, Giant Sand's Center of the Universe, and Peterson has also contributed harmony vocals to recordings by the Hoodoo Gurus, John Doe and Belinda Carlisle. Additionally, she replaced a pregnant Charlotte Caffey on the 1994–95 Go-Go's reunion tour.In 2000, The Bangles reunited and embarked on a tour. That same year, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
In 2001–2002, they recorded a new album Doll Revolution. Doll Revolution, featuring such songs as "Stealing Rosemary," "Ride the Ride," "Nickel Romeo," and the single "Something That You Said." The title track was written by Elvis Costello, who initially recorded it for his 2002 album When I Was Cruel.
Doll Revolution was a solid comeback success in Germany after the Bangles had performed in Germany's biggest television show Wetten dass, but failed to make any impact in other important markets such as the UK, the U.S. and Australia.
In July 2004, The Bangles were made Companions of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
The Bangles returned to the studio in spring of 2009 to begin work on a new album.
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