The place for great and not-so-great nearly forgotten videos from the decade of Miami Vice, mullets, and acid wash jeans. All praise to the bands, YouTube, and the original posters of these videos.
As with any endeavor, inspiration for eighties videos can strike in strange ways. After we finished the previous post (Lou Gramm's, "Just Between You and Me"), we thought that it would be cool to follow it up with April Wine's, "Just Between You and Me," a totally different song that has the same title (as astute readers will already have noticed). Consider this a double shot of "Just Between ... "
Canadian rockers April Wine had been around for a lifetime by the time their 1981 album, Nature of the Beast came out. The band formed in 1969 (!) and had released 8 albums prior to their U.S. breakout. Nature of the Beast peaked at #26, and ended up going platinum in the U.S. (and double platinum in Canada). In addition, two singles broke the U.S. top 100 -- "Just Between You and Me" (#21) and "Sign of the Gypsie Queen" (#57).
The video is pretty basic, highlighting the band in concert (in fact, "Sign of the Gypsie Queen" was shot using footage from the same concert). We have to say, we love the three guitars and the big drum kit (with double bass); the whole thing is a great snapshot of a late 70s / early 80s rock band.
Cool trivia fact: "Just Between You and Me" was the 14th video ever played on MTV and the first one by a Canadian performer, securing April Wine a place in music video history.
Yes, this is not a rare song or video, but our loyal reader(s) will know that we like to post songs that you didn't know were covers, and this puppy qualifies. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" catapulted Joan Jett to stardom, and was a monster hit -- 7 weeks at #1 in early 1982, and it became the 56th best selling single of the rock era.
What you may not know was that the song is a cover of an Arrows song. Who are Arrows? (We're glad that you asked). The Arrows were a British pop rock band active from 1974-77, who had a TV show on Granada Television in the UK (this becomes important in a moment). The song was written in response to the Rolling Stones "It's Only Rock and Roll;" the Arrows felt that the Stones' song was an apology, and this was their response.
The Arrows version was originally released as a B side, then re-recorded and released as an A side in 1975. However, it did not chart -- but it did show up on the Arrows' TV show. (Remember how we stated that this was important ...) Well, Joan Jett saw the song on the TV show while she was touring with the Runaways in 1976, and liked it ... a lot. She apparently tried to convince the Runaways to record a cover, but her bandmates did not feel the same, so they passed.
Jett eventually recorded a version in 1979, as part of three songs that she recorded with Paul Cook and Steve Jones (of the Sex Pistols) as she tried to start a solo career, but the songs were not released (until years later). Finally, Jett recorded the song on her second album, which she also titled I Love Rock 'n' Roll ... and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here are the two videos, starting with the original Joan Jett & the Blackhearts vid from 1981 (we love how it starts with Jett's "Bad Reputation" from the her previous album of the same name):
And here is the Arrows version, from TV -- which is, we believe, the version that Joan Jett saw in 1976 (and loved):
Lastly, we recently found a color version of the video, which is below.
Here at ERV we are not above taking requests, even from (especially from) The Universe. Tonight, on my way home from work, we were reflecting on which video to post next when this popped up on our local classic rock station. Hence, we consider it a sign (or a request ... whatever), and as we have said at least once before, when The Universe makes a request, we listen.
You might not know John Hall's name (no, he was not in Hall & Oats) but you know his music. He was a founder of Orleans, best know for their 1970s top 10 hits "Dance with Me" and "Still the One." Hall left the band in 1977 (just after their two big hits) in search of a solo career, and as is often the case, it did not turn out that well. The John Hall Band put out two albums (which did not break the top 100) and two singles, neither of which broke the top 40.
Hall's first solo single "Crazy" (sometimes with the added (Keep on Fallin')) from 1981's All of the Above is a typical early video -- it is just the band playing on a stage. However, the catchy hook helped it go into heavy rotation for months in the early days of MTV. We particularly enjoy the three lead vocals, with keyboardist Bob Leinbach challenging The Producers' Wayne Famous as the coolest 80s keyboard player. The whole look, down to the matching blue glasses and jumpsuit is just ... Crazy, to coin a phrase. Also, keep an eye out for the six guitar video effect (starting around 2:19).
Even with a solid song and the previously mentioned airplay on MTV, "Crazy" peaked at #42 in 1981, and the All of the Above album was unable to break through at #158. When 1983's Search Party LP did not fare much better (#147), EMI-America dropped the band.
During the 1980s Hall became increasingly involved in politics, eventually leading to two terms as a U.S. Representative from New York state. Hence the Congressman John Hall Band on the video title (below). Hall lost the 2010 election and has spent the time since with his family and performing at reunion shows with Orleans.
The extremely rare and surprisingly solid video for "You Sure Fooled Me" was posted on ERV in December, 2015, and is worth checking out.
After working as a musician and actor for years, Rick Springfield finally got his big break in 1981, with the Working Class Dog album. The album peaked at #7, driven by "Jessie's Girl," a #1 hit with a corresponding video that showed the emerging power of a young MTV.
However, it is the second (charting) single that is more interesting (to me, at least). "I've Done Everything for You" was another top 10 hit for Springfield, but is actually a cover of a Sammy Hagar song. The song was originally released on Hagar's 1978 live album, All Night Long, and apparently Hagar had been performing it since 1977. A Sammy Hagar studio version was released in 1982 (on the Rematch album), in order to attempt to generate momentum in the aftermath of "I've Done Everything" becoming a big hit.
While Rematch was not a big hit, Sammy Hagar's career did take off in 1981, perhaps partly due to the Springfield cover. Of course, Rick Springfield would go on to have tremendous success in the 1980s, with 4 consecutive top 20 records.
As an aside, we think Springfield does a fine job on the cover, which sounds more polished than the original.
Note that the Sammy Hagar version is louder (!) so you might want to turn down the volume a bit ...
Cool trivia fact: Rick Springfield played a sex and drug addicted version of himself on the cable TV show Californication, which gets ERV's highest recommendation.
Springfield's odd but fun sci-fi video for "Human Touch" was featured on ERV's All Hallows Even celebration in 2022.
It took Chrissie Hynde years to find the right fit in a band, but once she did, the results were impressive. Hynde was originally from Ohio, but moved to London in the early 1970s in order to pursue a career in music. After several failed attempts (including early versions of both The Clash and The Damned), Hynde found her band in the Pretenders.
The band was named after The Platters song "The Great Pretender," and found almost immediate success -- their first album hit #9 in the U.S. and was a #1 album in the UK in 1980. Pretenders II followed in late 1981 and hit #10 on the U.S. charts.
"Day After Day" is a rare Pretenders song not written entirely by Hynde (guitarist James Honeyman-Scott co-wrote it). The song was never released as a single, but the band did release a video (of course), which went into heavy rotation on my favorite video music channel. The song is classic Pretenders, mixing pop, new wave and punk into something greater than the sum of its parts. This is a band at the top of their game.
Unfortunately, drugs would soon destroy the first incarnation of the band. Bassist Pete Frandon was kicked out of the Pretenders in June 1982 due to drug use, and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died days later of cocaine intolerance. Farndon subsequently drowned in 1983, after taking heroin in a bathtub and passing out. Hynde soldiered on, but to our ears was never quite able to fully re-capture the magic of the first version of the band.
Note that "2000 Miles" was posted at ERV in December, 2012.
Chilliwack's history dates all the way back to 1964. Originally called The Classics, and then The Collectors, the band became Chilliwack in 1970 (!). The band named itself after a town near Vancouver (which in turn is named after a Salishan phrase meaning "going back up").
While the band had no less than 10 songs that charted in the U.S. between 1973 - 1983, they are best known for their 1981 album, Wanna Be a Star, and "My Girl," their biggest single, which peaked at #22 in the U.S. (and was a #1 hit in Canada). While the song may sound like there is a story behind it, Bill Henderson (who wrote it) states that it was a total figment of his imagination.
The band released two albums after Wanna Be a Star, but was unable to generated much momentum, and broke up in 1984.
Special shout out to Steve and Karen, who posted this on their fb pages and spurred us to action. It is great to have old friends who like 80s music.
Cool trivia fact: The second single from Wanna Be a Star, called "I Believe" hit #33 on the U.S. charts, so technically Chilliwack is not a one hit wonder. No, we don't recall ever hearing "I Believe" either.
I know, I know. Prince on a rare 80s video blog? I mean the dude dominated the 1980s (along with Madonna and Michael Jackson). But wait; hear me out.
While Prince did indeed become a massive star, starting with 1982's 1999, he was no overnight success. In fact, 1999 was his fifth studio album; two of which were released in the late 1970s!! And as would be expected from a prolific, slightly insane musician who later became an unpronounceable symbol, there is some really good stuff on his early albums that did not receive the airplay that it deserved. Although it took us a while to warm up to Prince, we have to say that he produced one of the broadest and most interesting bodies of work of any artist of the past few decades. In particular, his ability to fuse rock, pop, R&B and funk was unparalleled.
"Controversy," the title cut from his 1981 album is a great case in point. This is the album that immediately preceded 1999, and it shows an artist at the top of his game. The song itself is a catchy new wave funk song that was ahead of its time. One interesting point: the video is the edited single version of the song. The album version is almost twice as long, and contains the Lord's Prayer (in full), which went over with religious conservatives about as well as you would think. To be fair, Prince and his band also went over with religious conservatives ... well, you get the idea.
Ladies and gentlemen, for your audio and video pleasure ... His Purpleness.
Note that Prince's "Dirty Mind" was also featured on ERV, in March 2012, and "Uptown" was posted on ERV in January, 2015.
Another wonderfully ridiculous video featuring supernatural guitars (see Breaking the Law for an earlier example). Set in the future (or at least a 1981 version of the future), Aldo Nova portrays a mystical guitar player with bodyguards, and the geekiest guitar tech known to man. Nova uses his guitar laser to break into a warehouse in order to ... play guitar with his band?
In fact, Aldo Nova's 1981 self-titled debut was moderately successful. The album quickly went gold (it has since gone on to be certified double platinum!!) and peaked at #8 on the album charts. The single, "Fantasy," no doubt helped by the video, hit #23 on the singles chart. However, Nova's subsequent work did not do very well, and while he has remained in the business, it is not pretty. He has written songs for Jon Bon Jovi, Faith Hill, Clay Aiken and ... Celine Dion (man, say it ain't so Aldo).
Cool trivia fact: Aldo Nova played George Harrison in Beatlemania.
From The Producers self-titled, 1981 debut album, which is now out of print, we believe. "What's He Got" did not get a ton of airplay on MTV, but was played a bunch on HBO's Video Jukebox. Now mostly forgotten, Video Jukebox started as a short series of videos played to fill time between movies on HBO in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Eventually, HBO tuned Video Jukebox into a half hour show, and it ran on the network in this format from 1981-1986.
At any rate, "What's He Got" is a rare pop gem from the Atlanta-based quartet. And yes, that is Wayne Famous on keyboards.
Note that The Producers "She Sheila" video is also on ERV.
From the under-rated 1981 album, The Completion Backward Principle. Co-written by the Tubes lead singer Fee Waybill (best rock name ever?) and Toto's (!) Steve Lukather. The Tubes would go on to have a modicum of success with "She's a Beauty" two years later before disappearing from public view. "Talk to You Later" is a great, driving rock song and might be my favorite video ever (we especially love the closing snapshots).
