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.
Stabilizers were another act that appeared on MTV for the briefest of time before fading from view. The band consisted of Dave Christenson on vocals and Rich Nevens on guitar and keyboard. By 1985, they had generated enough buzz on the Erie, PA music scene to get signed by Columbia Records, and Tyranny (their debut LP) came out the following year.
"One Simple Thing" was the lead single from Tyranny, and it picked up a bit of airplay -- even breaking into the top 100 at #93. However, the follow up single did not do as well, and the band was dropped by the label before releasing their second effort.
There seems to be remarkably little information on Christenson and Nevens since then, so if any reader has information to share, please leave it in the comments.
"One Simple Thing" is a classic 1980s pop song, in the Mr. Mister vein (note that Mr. Mister's Welcome to the Real World hit #1 on the album charts in early 1986).
Cool trivia fact: "One Simple Thing" was directed by David Fincher, who got his start in videos (including Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" and Loverboy's "Notorious") before transitioning to movies (Seven, Fight Club and The Social Network, among others).
In 1987, Martha Davis broke up the Motels in order to go solo. Later that year, she released the Policy LP, which unsurprisingly sounded a lot like a Motels record. However the hard-fought success that the Motels had captured eluded Davis as a solo artist.
In retrospect, the album was likely hurt by the name change and perhaps by the evolving tastes in the music industry. Davis' brand of melancholy-tinged new wave pop likely seemed out of place by 1987, especially as pop metal took over the charts (and MTV). The album peaked at #127, while "Don't Tell Me the Time" only reached #80.
In the aftermath of Policy, Davis asked to be released from her contract (with Capitol Records) and did not release another solo album until ...So the Story Goes in 2004.
While the song didn't break any new ground, "Don't Tell Me the Time" is a solid Motels-ish pop song that could have been a hit with a bit of luck.
Loverboy was one of the biggest arena rock acts of the early to mid 1980s. During their heyday, they had four consecutive double platinum (or better) records in the U.S., plus nine top 40 singles. The band's combination of layered guitars and synthesizers, and a "four on the floor" bass drum (typically coming down every beat rather than every other beat) created a driving rock sound that sounded vaguely dance influenced. While they could be inconsistent, their best work was anthemic and likable.
The band formed in Calgary in 1979, and was comprised of musicians who were veterans of other bands, making them something of a local all star band. Legend has it that their initial demo recordings were rejected by every major label in the U.S.; they eventually signed with Columbia Records of Canada. The resulting album almost immediately became a huge hit in Canada, and crossed over to become a major success in the U.S., as well.
Led by singer Mike Reno (he of the headband and tight red leather pants) and guitarist Paul Dean, the band's name came about somewhat randomly. The band was originally named Cover Girl, after seeing a magazine ad for the cosmetics; over time the name changed to Cover Boy and then Loverboy.
"Notorious" is a later and lesser-known song (hence its inclusion on ERV), and it was the band's last U.S. top 40 hit at #38. It was the lead single off their 1987 Wildside album, the last album before the band broke up due to creative differences in 1988. They since re-formed in 1991 and we believe are together as of this writing (with the exception of original bassist Scott Smith, who died in a boating accident in 2000).
Oh, and the video is about as lightweight as it gets, with girls, a Ferrari and some savoir faire thrown around in a seemingly random pattern. But we still like it.
Cool trivia fact: "Notorious" was co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora (along with Mike Reno, Paul Dean and professional songwriter Todd Cerney).
It's funny how capricious the charts can be. While ERV is filled with one hit wonders, there are also some lesser-known bands who landed more than one top 40 hit -- as well as some great acts who never broke the top 40. Apparently, the music gods have a sense of humor -- how else can you explain the fact that Roxy Music and the Psychedelic Furs are one hit wonders, while Chilliwack and Stacey Q aren't (they have 2 top 40 hits each).
At any rate, this brings us (in a roundabout way) to Jermaine Stewart. Stewart got hist start as a Soul Train dancer before joining Shalamar as a backup dancer. Touring with Shalamar led to a meeting with Culture Club's bass player, Mikey Craig, who helped Stewart put together a demo tape that helped him secure a recording contract.
The anthemic pop / funk smash, "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" was off Stewart's second album, 1986's Frantic Romantic. The song was written by master songwriters Narada Michael Walden and Preston Glass. Walden wrote or co-wrote (among other hits): "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (both with the songwriting team of Boy Meets Girl and both for Whitney Houston), along with songs for Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin.
"We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" hit #5 on the charts, while the Frantic Romantic LP reached #34. As savvy readers might have guessed from the introduction, Stewart had a second top 40 hit with "Say It Again" (#27) in 1987, as well as two songs that peaked just outside of the top 40 ("The Word Is Out," #41 and "Jody," #42).
Sadly, Jermaine Stewart died of an AIDS-related illness in 1997. He was 39 years old.
Named after a friend of the band (who really did hate jazz), Johnny Hates Jazz was one of a series of groups who shot to prominence, only to quickly fade away. [Spandau Ballet, Cutting Crew, Level 42 and The Blow Monkeys all come to mind right away in this category.]
Johnny Hates Jazz formed in 1986 and were ironically signed by Virgin Records after performing at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London. Seriously. "Shattered Dreams" was their first single on Virgin, and it became a worldwide smash -- hitting #5 in the UK and #2 in the U.S. (where it was released in 1988). Their follow up single, "I Don't Want to be a Hero," also from their debut LP Turn Back the Clock did reasonable well, peaking at #31 in the U.S. For those keeping score at home, this means that Johnny Hates Jazz was not a one hit wonder.
While they did not appear on the U.S. charts after those two songs, the band had four additional top 100 songs in Britain, all but one from their Turn Back the Clock album. The band (minus original lead signer Clark Datchler) did release a second album in 1991, but it did not chart, and they officially broke up soon afterwards.
The video shows the trio in fine form, and while it is a bit reminiscent of The Car's "You Might Think," it still gets a solid in my book. It was directed by David Fincher, who would go on to become a successful movie director (Seven, Fight Club, etc.)
Update [January 2021], as an added bonus, we are including the UK version of the video (below):
