The Little Heroes - Young Hearts

When we started ERV, we originally envisioned posting only really rare videos (such as "Young Hearts"), as a way of highlighting some of the (mostly) unknown music from our favorite decade.  However, it soon became apparent that this would likely result in a blog viewership of two, including your humble author.  As a result, we expanded our playlist, but continue to mix in some really rare music on the blog.  We hope that many readers will take the time to meander through the site, uncovering forgotten and rare gems along the way.

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that "Young Hearts" is a really rare song and video, particularly for our non-Australian readers.  It is by The Little Heros, a Melbourne band that formed in 1980.  The group was comprised of veterans of the Melbourne pub rock scene and was led by guitarist/singer Roger Hart-Wells, along with an ever-changing lineup around him.

The band released their self-titled debut in 1981, but it was their second LP, 1982's Play By Numbers that helped them break out in their native Australia. That album featured two successful singles, "One Perfect Day" (#12) and "Young Hearts" (#42).  Unfortunately, while the LP reached #37 in their home market, it did not generate any real traction in other countries.

The Little Heroes released a follow-up album in 1983 (Watch the World), which performed worse than its successor, and broke up the following year.  Roger Hart-Wells would go on to become a writer and meditation coach, and most of the other members of the group likewise left the industry.

Ratt - You're In Love

There is no right way for a band to become successful, but there is a wrong (or hard) way: burst onto the scene with a huge first album before a strong fan base has been established.  While it is not the kiss of death, successful first albums can lead to oversized expectations and pressure that can be hard to live up to.  This likely hurt the careers of The Knack, The Outfield, The Hooters, and Young MC among many others.

Viewed from this perspective, Ratt didn't do half bad.  True, their first album (1984's Out of the Cellar) was their commercial peak, but they were able to maintain a significant amount of success all through the eighties, helped by the popularity of pop metal and their generally solid music videos.

The origins of Ratt go back to the mid 1970s when Mickey Ratt was formed by singer Stephen Pearcy.  The band went through a series of lineup changes, and eventually became regulars on the LA Sunset Strip scene.  Ratt's 1983 independent EP sold well, which led to a major label contract, a video with Milton Berle, and no small amount of success.

"You're In Love" was the second single of the group's 1985 LP, Invasion of Your Privacy.  The video features mostly live footage, and was filmed at shows in Mississippi and Louisiana in August 1985.  The single only reached #89 on the charts, while the album peaked at a strong #7.

Ratt maintained its string of successful albums through the 1980s, before breaking up in the early 1990s.  There have been several reunions since the late 1990s, but none with the classic lineup.  (Sadly, original lead guitarist Robbin Crosby died of a drug overdose in 2002).  A version of the group appears to be together as of this writing.

Coll trivia fact:  Ratt was very nearly a one hit wonder.  While "Round and Round" hit #12, the band's only other top 40 single was "Lat It Down," which reached ... #40.

Cool trivia fact #2:  Jake E. Lee (later of Ozzy Osbourne and Badlands) and Marq Torien (BulletBoys) were both briefly members of Ratt in the early 1980s, while Michael Schenker was briefly a member in the early 1990s.

The System - Don't Disturb This Groove

By combining two seemingly disparate musical styles -- synth pop and soul -- The System created some very interesting music in the 1980s and pointed the way forward towards the modern dance and electronic era.

The duo formed in New York in 1982 and was comprised of Mic Murphy (vocals and guitars) and David Frank (keyboards).  The group's interesting musical style and strong production values caught the attention of many industry insiders (especially in the dance segment), but failed to break through to the general public.  In fact, The System only had two charting singles -- 1983's "You Are in My System" (#64) and "Don't Disturb This Groove," which went to #4 on the charts (yes, that makes The System an official one hit wonder).

Although their success as a band was modest, Murphy and Frank remained active in the New York studio scene as performers, and Frank transitioned to helping with arrangements and production.  [Frank contributed to Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You," Phil Collins' "Sussudio," and Mtume's "Juicy Fruit."  He also worked on Scritti Pollitti's Cupid and Psyche 85 LP.]

In 1989, The System went on hiatus, and Frank moved to LA and opened the Canyon Reverb recording studio, which became quite successful.  He is perhaps best known as the co-writer and co-producer of Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle."  Murphy briefly pursued a solo career in the early 1990s.

The System has also periodically re-formed in the ensuing years, and has released material in 2000, 2009, and 2013.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Featuring Stevie Nicks - Insider

Long time readers will recall that we love a good rock & roll story at ERV and "Insider" totally fits the bill.  Eighties music fans will also remember that Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks had a smash hit with their other duet (done around the same time), "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."  That song (the 25th video ever played on MTV) would go on to reach #3 on the charts making it anything but a rare song or video.

The collaboration between Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty began while Petty was recording his 1979 breakthrough LP, Damn the Torpedoes.  Nicks was in the early stages of putting her first solo album together and asked Petty to write a song for her.  Although Petty didn't respond at first, Nicks was persistent and eventually got Petty to agree around a year later, as he and the Heartbreakers were working on the follow up to Damn the Torpedos.

Here's where it gets really interesting.  The song that Petty wrote for Nicks was "Insider."  After it was recorded (in post-production, we imagine), Nicks realized that Petty really loved the song and gave it back to him for his album.  In response, Petty offered Nicks a different song, one that he (and guitarist Mike Campbell) had written earlier called "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."  The rest is history.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1981 album eventually was named Hard Promises after a line in "Insider."  While the song never became a hit, it is a great song in our humble opinion and a rare video, too.

Cool trivia fact:  "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was the highest charting single ever for both Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty.

Cool trivia fact #2:  The working title of Hard Promises was Benmont's Revenge, named after keyboardist Benmont Tench, who was mentioned in our salacious post on Feargal Sharkey's "A Good Heart" and "You Little Thief".

Note that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Change of Heart" (directed by Cameron Crowe) was posted on ERV in October, 2013.

Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers - I'm Not Your Man

Last September, we put up "If We Never Meet Again," a solid pop/rock song by Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers.  This was a surprisingly difficult decision, as the band had two strong cuts off their 1988 major label debut, with "I'm Not Your Man" as the other. [In fact, it was the rareness of "If We Never Meet Again" that finally broke the tie.]

"I'm Not Your Man" shows the bar band in fine form, and was a solid choice as the first single off Rumble (the aforementioned 1988 debut LP).  Interestingly, while the song picked up a significant amount of radio airplay at the time, the single only reached #74 on the charts.  "If We Never Meet Again" somehow managed to reach #48 on the singles chart with less airplay.

Rumble did not break to top 100 on the album charts, and when the act's 1990 Guitar Trouble LP didn't chart, that was it for the band.  [Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers actually recorded a third album, but Columbia Records chose not to release it; it has been made available in recent years.]

Conwell remained in the industry for years but was unable to break through and eventually moved on.  However, he continued to periodically perform reunion shows to the present day.