Kool & The Gang - Fresh

As ELP once said ... "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends."  Welcome to another year of rare, spooky, and/or atmospheric videos ... it's ERV's All Hallows Even celebration!

Leading off this year is Kool & The Gang's, "Fresh," which was a pretty big hit in 1985 (it was released in November 1984).  The song hit #9 on the charts, while the Emergency LP peaked at #13 and went double platinum.

Long time readers may note that this is Kool & The Gang's third time on ERV, as "Misled" was posted in 2018, as part of a previous All Hallows Even collection, while "Get Down On It" appeared way back in 2013.  As we noted then, the group had 16 (!) top 40 hits between 1979 and 1986, including 11 (!!) top 10 singles.  In spite of this, the video remains rare in our view, primarily as our favorite video music channel was more rock and pop focused.

The video is all 80s goodness, and uses a Cinderella theme ... which reminded us of Cinderella's "Shake Me" (now how's that for a strange link).  The strong bass line is one of our favorites for the decade, shown here with a Steinberger headless model, because of course it was.  Add some "Kool" atmosphere, "Fresh" costumes (OK, we'll stop) and voilà, an excellent Halloweeny video is born.

Grateful Dead - Hell in a Bucket

The Grateful Dead occupy such a unique place in rock history that it is difficult to even describe them.  Here's my attempt:  The Dead were a counterculture jam band with modest commercial success who built one of the most loyal fanbases in all of rock.  Their music was an eccentric combination of folk, blues, rock, jazz, and country.  Lives shows were an event and lasted for hours and many fans would travel to see them - some even effectively toured with the band. 

The group formed in the San Francisco Bay area in the mid-1960s and released their first album in 1967.  By the mid-1980s, they were seen as performing aging hippy/druggie music, though they had a series of FM radio hits in the late 70s/early 80s - "Good Loving," "Shakedown Street," and "Alabama Getaway."  However, few would have predicted the success of 1987's In the Dark LP.  "Touch of Grey," "Hell in a Bucket," and "Throwing Stones" all picked up a bunch of radio play while the videos went into heavy rotation on MTV.  The result was a bit of a renaissance for the band, though the new, younger audience clashed at times with the older Deadheads.

In typical form, The Grateful Dead didn't attempt to capitalize on their new success; they simply continued to tour, up until Jerry Garcia's death in 1995.  The remaining members of the band remained active in the industry, even touring under "The Dead" name, but have mostly passed on at this point.

For the blog, the obvious video choice would have been "Touch of Grey," so we went with "Hell in a Bucket."  We've always been partial to the song, and the over-the-top insanity of the video sealed the deal.

Cool trivia fact: The Grateful Dead are an official one hit wonder; only 1987's "Touch of Grey" (#9) broke the U.S. top 40.  

The Cult - Fire Woman

Long time readers may remember that this is The Cult's fourth appearance on ERV, as "She Sells Sanctuary," "Rain," and "Lil' Devil" have been previously posted.  To be fair, we're up to nearly 500 posts, so there are a lot of non-Cult options, but can we justify this?  (In a word: yes.)

The Cult were an unusual 1980s band, both in terms of aesthetics and sound.  We've previously described the sound as new wave's answer to AC/DC and over time the AC/DC elements became more visible.  Unsurprisingly, this led to greater commercial success, though The Cult never broke out as a truly mainstream act.  For example, they never had a top 40 hit or a top 9 album.

"Fire Woman" off 1989's Sonic Temple represented the commercial peak of the band.  The song hit #46 while the album reached #10 - both representing their highest charting successes.  The video is less gypsies and more arena rock, with the emphasis on rock.  In our view, it holds up remarkably well.

Paul McCartney – Take It Away

Yep.  We're back - and what better way to restart ERV than with true Rock Royalty™ - Sir Paul McCartney?  Books have been written on Sir Paul and the Beatles, so we're not going to attempt that, but the simple version is that the Beatles were arguably the most popular AND the most innovative act of their generation.  Needless to say, this is highly unusual in any art form.

While we think of McCartney as a 1960s star whose success continued well into the 1970s, he was still productive and successful in the 1980s.  Sir Paul released 7 LPs during the decade; all but one broke the top 30 (the exception was the Снова в СССР album).  McCartney also had 10 top 40 singles, including 3 #1s ("Coming Up," "Ebony and Ivory," and "Say Say Say.")  For those asking, "The Girl Is Mine" peaked at #2.

"Take It Away" hit #10 on the top 40 (#15 in the UK), while the Tug of War album reached #1 on the charts in both countries.  The video is a high budget, nostalgic look at a band's rise to popularity through the years.  Is it modeled after Wings?  The Beatles?  Perhaps.

Eagle-eyed viewers will recognize drummer Ring Starr, producer George Martin (on the piano) and Linda McCartney.  Even sharper readers may recognize Eric Stewart on guitars (10cc, performed on several McCartney albums in the early 1980s) and Barbara Bach (Ringo Starr's wife since 1980). 

Actor John Hurt (Midnight Express, The Elephant Man, Alien, among others) plays the lead, because of course he does.

Amazingly, McCartney remains active as of this writing.

Rick Springfield - Human Touch

Our second All Hallows Even clip is Rick Springfield's "Human Touch."  This is Springfield's second appearance on ERV; his cover of Sammy Hagar's "I've Done Everything for You" was featured on our little blog way back in 2012.

"Human Touch" came in the midst of Rick Springfield's heyday - between 1981 and 1988 he had 16 top 40 hits and five top 40 albums.  Over time, we've come around on his work - there is a fair amount of solid pop rock songs in his catalog, including this one.  Helped by the slightly odd video, the song hit #18 on the charts, while the Living in Oz album reached #12 and would become the third of four consecutive Springfield albums to go platinum.

The apocalyptic sci-fi video starts with some small skeleton people wondering into a lab that contains Rick and ... a bunch of dancers, it seems.  The year: 2016. The world seems to be a total wasteland (sadly, Springfield might not have been that far off about 2016).  There is then a bunch of dancing, some computers, and a four eyed saxophonist (no, not with glasses ... but with four actual eyes).  The result is an odd but fun video, which is easily recognizable as an 80s clip (the special effects ... oh my).

The sci-fi elements, set, and costumes make this an excellent Halloween video, and we hope that our reader(s) enjoy it as much as we did.

Missing Persons - Destination Unknown

Well, it is the time of year where ERV rolls out some rare, spooky, and/or atmospheric videos - welcome to our 11th annual All Hallows Even celebration!

First up is Missing Persons' strong 1982 cut, "Destination Unknown."  Long time readers may recall that we featured Missing Persons' cool, artsy video for "Surrender Your Heart" back in 2012.  That entry also does a good job of providing some background on the band, so we'll politely suggest following the link.

"Destination Unknown" is one of Missing Persons older songs and was originally released on the band's 1980 EP (along with "I Like Boys," "Mental Hopscotch" and a cover of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You.")  It was also the second single released from the group's breakout 1982 LP, Spring Session M (unsurprisingly, "Words" was the first single).

From an All Hallows Even point of view, we dig the atmospheric video which feels somewhat dream-like.  Bonus points for the broken mirror, which is prominently featured in the clip. The video did manage to go into rotation on MTV for a time, though we don't think that it was featured quite as much as "Words" was.

While we suspected that Missing Persons could be a one hit wonder, they actually never had a top 40 hit.  "Words" and "Destination Unknown" both peaked at #42, thought the Spring Session M album (an anagram of the band's name) did better, reaching #17 on the charts.

Peter Wolf - Come As You Are

Peter Wolf remains one of the more interesting characters in rock and roll, although we are still a bit sad about his untimely departure from the J. Geils Band -- but more on that later.

Wolf (given name: Peter Blankfield) was born in New York City and moved to Boston to attend art school at Tufts University.  His first roommate?  David Lynch. (Yes, seriously.)  While at Tufts he got into the Boston music scene, which in 1968 led to a job at the new FM rock station in Boston, WBCN.  Wolf became the first nighttime DJ on BCN, going by Woofa Goofa.  However, he soon left the radio station to focus on making it as a rock star with the mighty J. Geils Band.

We've previously posted two great videos from the J. Geils Band - "Love Stinks" and "Come Back," both of which were off the successful Love Stinks LP.  The band's next album, 1981's Freeze Frame, became a #1 album, but a rift in the band soon developed over their musical direction.  Wolf wanted to continue with a more blues rock sound, but the rest of the group favored a more pop/dance direction.  As a result, Wolf left the group in 1983 and ventured out on his own.

"Come As You Are" (no, not the Nirvana song) was the lead single off the 1987 LP of the same name.  It became a hit, reaching #15 on the charts, though it would be Wolf's last top 40 hit.  The video is a tribute to a Bobby Van dance routine from  the 1953 movie Small Town Girl, and is a hoot - typical high energy Peter Wolf.

Cool trivia fact:  Wolf was married to actress Faye Dunaway from 1974-79.

Stevie Wonder - Master blaster (Jammin')

There are not a lot of true music legends, either in general or on ERV, but Stevie Wonder certainly qualifies.  Born as Stevland Hardaway Morris, and blind since shortly after birth, Wonder started in the music industry at 11 (!) and was given the name Little Stevie Wonder by Motown producer Clarence Paul.

While many acts count their top 40 songs or albums, one indication of Stevie Wonder's success is the amount of #1s.  Wonder has ten #1 songs and three #1 albums.  In the 1970s, his music - an upbeat fusion of soul, pop, and R&B - dominated the charts (and was critically acclaimed, to boot).  For example, Wonder has four albums in the Rolling Stone top 500, including three in the top 60. 

His 1980 LP, Hotter Than July may not quite reach the career peaks of his 1970s efforts, but it is still an extremely good record.  The album would peak at #3 and go platinum, while "Master Blaster (Jammin')" would reach #5 on the singles chart.  The song was heavily influenced by Wonder's friendship with reggae legend Bob Marley.  The title is a nod to Marley's 1977 song "Jamming" and the lyrics, envisioning a world at peace, were also likely influenced by Marley.

Wonder continued to have significant commercial success through the 1980s, albeit with a somewhat more commercial sound.  Although his production has decreased in the years since, he remains active in the industry as of this writing, and remains a true living legend.

Kim Wilde - Kids In America

For a time in 1982, and again in 1987, it looked like Kim Wilde might break out and become a pop star in the U.S., but unfortunately the stars did not align for her.  However, she did carve out a long career in Europe and the UK, as well as two breakthrough hits in the U.S.

Wilde was basically born into the music business; her father (Marty Wilde) had several hits in the 1950s and early 1960s before transitioning to a career as an entertainer.  By the early 1980s, Marty was working with his son Ricky.  Kim offered to sing backup vocals in the studio with Ricky, and drew the attention of Mickie Most, the head of RAK Records. Ricky and Marty recognized that this could be a big break for Kim and wrote a song for her: "Kids in America."

The song became a hit in the UK and Europe in 1981, but it was the video, shown on the fledgling MTV cable channel that really drove Wilde's U.S. success.  "Kids in America" peaked at #25 in August 1982 - roughly eighteen months after its UK peak (at #2 in February 1981).  However, Wilde's other singles did not do well in the U.S.; none broke the top 40.  In contrast, from 1981-86, she had nine top 40 hits in her native UK.

Surprisingly, in 1987 Wilde broke through again, this time with a cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," which went to number 1.  Although Wilde never had another top 40 hit in the U.S., her career remain strong in the UK throughout the 1990s.  She later became a DJ and TV presenter which continues to the present day.

Hipsway - The Honeythief

Ah, the one hit wonder - such an interesting phenomena.  The category is comprised of major bands where only one single hit the Top 40 (such as Roxy Music), talented underappreciated artists who never quite caught on (Marshall Crenshaw), and acts who just caught lightning in a bottle (T'Pau).

Hipsway is mostly the latter, but there was definitely talent in the band, as well.  The group formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1984 and was led by Johnny McElhone (fomerly of Altered Images) on bass. Singer Grahame Skinner, guitarist Pim Jones, and drummer Harry Travers rounded out the lineup.

The group's self-titled debut album came out in 1986, and had a seriously catchy song on it, "The Honeythief," which became a hit.  Interestingly, "The Honeythief" was the third single released from the LP, which is kind of hard to understand.  At any rate, the song reached #19 in the U.S. and #17 in the UK, and helped the album to chart, too (#55 U.S., #42 UK).

Unfortunately, follow up success was elusive, thought Hipsway did have a few charting songs in the UK.  However, after the poor performance of their second LP (1989's Scratch the Surface), they broke up.  Noteably, Johnny McElhone would go on to have continued success in the UK with his next band, Texas (a definite candidate to show up on this blog down the line).

Hipswap did re-form in 2016, and even released a new album in 2018.