Baltimora - Tarzan Boy

A classic one hit wonder, Baltimora came onto the music scene in 1985 with the catchy dance song "Tarzan Boy."  The band was a strange Northern Irish - Italian collaboration, with an Italian producer and writer (Maurizio Bassi) and a Northern Irish lead singer (Jimmy McShane).

Bassi and McShane apparently met in Ireland in 1984, where McShane worked as an EMT.  The two quickly formed a band, with McShane as the frontman, due to his flamboyant style.  There seems to be some dispute over who actually sung the lead vocals on Tarzan Boy, with several sources claiming that Bassi did the honors.

At any rate, the song became a huge success, hitting #13 in the U.S. (although it did even better in most of Europe).  Unfortunately, the other songs from the Living in the Background album did not do as well, and a second album (1987's Survivor in Love) did not chart at all.  Baltimora disbanded soon afterwards, and neither Bassi nor McShane had much success with their future musical projects.  McShane died of AIDS in 1995.  He was 37.

Cool trivia fact:  A remix of Tarzan Boy charted, and nearly broke the top 40 in 1993 (it peaked at #51), after the song was used in a Cool Mint Listerine commercial.  Here is your special bonus, from your friends at ERV:

Feargal Sharkey - A Good Heart and You Little Thief

Here at ERV, we like a good salacious story as much as the next rarely-read blog, especially if it involves music videos from the 1980s that are ... well, rare.  So without further ado ...

Feargal Sharkey got his start in the Northern Irish punk band, The Undertones.  Best-known for "Teenage Kicks" (a John Peel favorite), the band kicked around during the late 1970s and early 1980s before breaking up in 1983.  As an aside, Feargal Sharkey goes on our list of "best rock names ever" with Digney Fignus, Fee Waybill, and Benmont Tench (more on him later).

In 1985, Sharkey released his first solo album, called Feargal Sharkey (ok, so he wasn't the most original chap). He also transitioned from a new wave singer to a pop crooner (and we mean that in the nicest way possible).  His first single, "A Good Heart" was a #1 hit in his native UK, and charted in the US (#74).

His second single, "You Little Thief" did not do as well, but it hit #5 in the UK.

Now stay with us, because here is where it gets interesting.  Remember Lone Justice (the band just before this posting)?  The band that was helped out by Tom Petty?  Well, it turns out that Maria McKee (the lead singer of Lone Justice) and Benmont Tench (the guy with the cool name, as promised, who was Tom Petty's keyboard player) ... well, Maria and Benmont were an item for a while.  And when they broke up, Maria wrote, "A Good Heart" about it.  Perhaps in response to this, Benmont wrote "You Little Thief" about the same breakup.  So Feargal Sharkey's first two single were written by ex-lovers about each other.  Interesting, no?

Cool trivia fact:  the Feargal Sharkey (still love that name) album was produced by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, who was seemingly everywhere in the early to mid 1980s.

Lone Justice - Sweet, Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)

LA-based Lone Justice showed up on the music scene in 1985 with their self-titled debut, and were another in a long line of bands briefly viewed as The Next Big Thing.

The band came out the the early 1980s cowpunk scene (yes, there really was a country/punk scene in LA in the early 1980s).  With supporters such as Linda Ronstadt and Tom Petty (who wrote "Ways to be Wicked" for the debut album) they were able to land a recording contract with Geffen.  The Lone Justice LP received rave reviews and ... basically didn't sell very well.  For whatever reason, country rock seemed like a hard sell in the eighties, even though it did well in the 1970s and the 1990s (to this day, in fact).  Go figure.

At any rate, most of the band left after the first album, but singer Maria McKee put out a more pop oriented second album the following year (Shelter), which did not do any better.  Lone Justice officially broke up soon afterwards.

"Sweet, Sweet Baby" was the second single from the Lone Justice album, and really shows off the radio-friendly country rock sound that by all rights should have been more successful than it was.

Note that "Ways to be Wicked" was posted on ERV in November 2015.

Helix - Deep Cuts the Knife

The poor man's Honeymoon Suite (or is it the other way around), Helix showed up on the music scene in the early 1980s, and had a few minor hits here and there during the decade.  This hard-working Canadian band was formed in 1974, but it took years to secure a coveted record contract.  And although their period of modest commercial success was all too brief (roughly 1983-87), the band has continued to work, more or less continuously, to this day.

"Deep Cuts the Knife" was the lead single off their 1985 album, Long Way to Heaven, and peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Rock charts, while the album did not break the Billboard top 100.  The song is a surprisingly strong rock ballad that was combined with a polished video, but somehow it did not really connect with its intended audience.  Given the popularity of hard rock during this time, it is surprising that Helix did not enjoy more success, but such are the whims of fate.

Cool trivia fact:  Helix opened the tour to support this album in Sweden, where they were the first Canadian band to extensively tour the country.

Helix's "Heavy Metal Love" was posted on ERV in January, 2016.

The Del Fuegos - Don't Run Wild

In 1985, the Del Fuegos looked like a good bet to be The Next Big Thing.  Their second album, Boston, Mass was released to critical acclaim, and the first single and video, "Don't Run Wild" were gathering momentum.  They even had a big rock star supporter in Tom Petty (who would go on to work with them on their next album, 1987's Stand Up).

Unfortunately, sales of Boston, Mass (the album, not the city) stalled out in early 1986.  The album peaked at #134, and while "Don't Run Wild" and the follow up, "I Still Want You" received a fair amount of radio airplay, neither single broke the top 40.

The commercial disappointment of the album was exacerbated when the band made an ill-advised, highly visible commercial for Miller Beer.  We think this really hurt their credibility, especially among core roots rock fans, who considered it selling out.  It did not help that for many folks, the commercial was their first exposure to the band.

The sad part is that the band made some really great music and they could have been much more successful with a lucky break or two.

Hoodoo Gurus - Bittersweet

Although they were major stars in their native Australia, Hoodoo Gurus were seen as more of an indy or college band by American audiences.  That is not totally unfair, as their music has a college radio vibe, and is eclectic enough to be hard to categorize.

"Bittersweet" is a great, atmospheric song about a failed love affair, from the Gurus awesomely named 1985 album, Mars Needs Guitars.  The album barely broke the top 200 in the U.S., but was the second of four consecutive Gurus albums to top the U.S. college charts.  The video received some airplay on MTV, but it did not go into heavy rotation.  (To be fair to MTV, we do not think the video is as strong as the song.)

By the way, is it me, or is the intro strongly reminiscent of the intro to Robert Plant's 1983 hit "In the Mood?"

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

New wave's answer to AC/DC, The Cult's LPs were maddeningly inconsistent, but their best work (and there tended to be one or two songs per album) was incredibly strong.  "She Sells Sanctuary" was the song that really launched them, from the 1985 album Love.  The song actually predates the album, and there are at least 8 versions/mixes of the song that have been released to date.

The sound of the song came about quite by accident, as guitarist Billy Duffy was goofing off with a violin bow in the recording studio, hitting lots of pedals, when the producer (Steve Brown) started yelling through the intercom, "Hold it, hold it, that's great!"  The band re-worked some of the riffs, and the result is below.

We have always had a soft spot for "She Sells Sanctuary," as it is a real oddity -- an atmospheric hard rock song.  The video captures some of the quirky nature of the band, with lead singer Ian Astbury channeling his inner Mick Jagger/Stevie Nicks as the band rocks out.

The Cult's video for "Rain" was posted on ERV in September, 2015, and "Lil' Devil" was posted in May, 2021.

Digney Fignus - The Girl With the Curious Hand

Boston-based Digney Fignus won MTV's basement tapes in 1985 on the strength of this song and video.  The female lead in the video is none other than former newscaster Gail Huff.  Yes, that Gail Huff -- wife of U.S. Senator Scott Brown.  Ironically, one of the main reasons why Huff was chosen for the role was due to the fact that she fit into the red dress that had already been purchased.  A clip of this video was also used as part of an MTV promo during the mid-80s.