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.
This is XTC's second appearance on the blog, as "Senses Working Overtime" showed up way back in September 2011. As we mentioned in that post, XTC produced some outstanding 1960s influenced pop, but somehow managed to avoid becoming big stars. Their lack of major success seems to have been the result of two factors: (1) Their inability to tour (guitarist/singer Andy Partridge's stage fright is the stuff of legends), and (2) The lack of trendiness in their music. Ironically, while they often seemed out of step back in the day, their music has aged remarkably well, in ERV's opinion.
"Mayor of Simpleton" was from the band's 1989 Oranges and Lemons album, and at #72, it was their highest charting U.S. single. In fact, XTC's only other charting song in the U.S. was "Generals and Majors," which reached #104 in 1980. "Mayor of Simpleton" was undoubtedly helped by the catchy video(s) below, which led to some airplay on MTV, particularly during the 120 Minutes segment.
Due to the wonders of the internet, we also know that there were two version of the video -- a U.S. version:
And a U.K. version:
XTC continued making music through 1992, when a dispute with their label led the band to stop recording for six years. Once they were released from their contract, XTC resumed releasing music on a smaller scale until they disbanded in 2005.
Although they were not the first LA punk band, X quickly became the standard-bearer for the California punk scene. The band's literate, dangerous lyrics and unique punk meets rockabilly sound earned them rave reviews and a loyal following but never translated to mainstream success. Perhaps that is part of their charm, through their lack of success says more about rock radio and the listening audience than it does about X. It is easy to describe a band as ahead of their time and few truly were, but X fits the bill.
The group came together in the late 1970s and was made up of transplants from all over the U.S. -- John Doe (bass and vocals, born John Duchac from Baltimore), Exene Cervenka (vocals, born Christine Cervenkova from Tampa), Billy Zoom (guitars, born Ty Kindell from Illinois) and D.J. Bonebrake (drums, from California and using his real name -- Donald James Bonebrake).
X released two spectacular early 1980s independent albums (both of which made Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time) before signing a major label deal with Elektra. Their Elektra debut, 1982's Under the Big Black Sun was just as strong, in your author's opinion. The LP opened with "Hungry Wolf," and the video picked up some airplay on MTV back in the day. In spite of this, the album peaked at #76, and the single did not chart.
After Under the Big Black Sun, X slowly shifted their sound, trying for greater commercial success. These changes did not pan out and guitarist Billy Zoom left the band in 1986, supposedly frustrated by the lack of success. Amazingly, X has remained together through the years, albeit with several extended breaks. While the group has not recorded any new material since 1993, they continue to perform to the present day (with Billy Zoom, as of this writing).
Cool trivia fact: Ray Manzarek (The Doors) produced X's first four albums.
Cool trivia fact #2: John Doe and Exene were an item, and were married from 1980 - 85.
This is the second appearance on the blog for Jason and the Scorchers (JATS), as "White Lies" showed up on ERV in April 2012. As we pointed out then, Jason and the Scorchers is one of the great unknown country rock bands of the 1980s. The band produced a catalog of stellar cow punk (country rock), but never found their audience. In my view, they were just a bit ahead of their time, and as has been mentioned several times on ERV, country rock bands had a particularly difficult time breaking through in the eighties.
For the second JATS video, we went with "Absolutely Sweet Marie" from the band's 1983 EP Fervor. This was the record that really placed them on the map, and it was a critical darling to boot. The New York Times rated it the EP of the year, the Village Voice placed it third on the critics poll, and Rolling Stone gave it a four star review. How's that for impressive?
The lead single was a re-worked cover of Bob Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie" this is truly marvelous. As an aside, Dylan remains a wonderful artist to cover, as he wrote a truckload of great songs, many of which were not huge commercial successes. The video did show up on MTV for a time, but the single did not chart, and the EP only reached #116 on the charts.
Jason and the Scorchers would go on to release three LPs during the 1980s before breaking up in 1990. The band periodically re-formed several times since then, most recently in 2010-11 when they recorded a new album (Halcyon Times) and toured to support it. It is not clear what the current status of the band is, as drummer/songwriter Perry Baggs died of complications from diabetes in 2012.
Here is the JATS version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie:"
Every now and then, we come across a song that fits perfectly into the blog, almost as if The Universe itself has made a request. [As an aside, it would be pretty damn cool if The Universe did care about 1980s music in general and ERV specifically ... our idea of heaven surely has a lot of 1980s music, along with some really good pizza.] At any rate, we heard this one today and were surprised to find out that it is a 1980s song, although just barely.
The Lightning Seeds were formed by noted producer Ian Broudie (of Echo & the Bunnymen, The Fall, and The Icicle Works fame). He started using the name for his solo work beginning in 1989, and the project eventually evolved into a full fledged band. By the by, Broudie's first band was Big in Japan (with Holly Johnson), who would be the inspiration for the Alphaville song of the same name (featured on ERV in January 2012). Small world, huh?
"Pure" was released in June of 1989, making it officially an eighties song, although the Cloudcuckooland album wasn't released until early 1990. [As we said, before we looked it up, we thought of "Pure" as an early 90s song.] And yes, Cloudcuckooland should go on the growing list of coolest album titles ever. "Pure" ended up charting, reaching #31 on the main charts, the only top 40 hit for the band. To be fair, they did have several Modern Rock charting hits in the early to mid 1990s and a slew of hits in the UK.
Broudie and The Lightning Seeds continue to record and perform to the present day, although they did take an extended hiatus in the early 2000s.
Todd Rundgren is a fascinating artist who has crafted a long and diverse career both in front of and behind the microphone. Rundgren's career began with Nazz in the late 1960s, but really took off with his 1972 double album Something/Anything. That LP was a huge success, featuring two top 20 hits in "I Saw the Light" and "Hello It's Me." However, instead of continuing to write pop songs, Rundgren moved into progressive rock and became more involved in production and engineering.
For much of the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren recorded music, both as a solo artist and with his band, Utopia. He also worked behind the scenes with artists including Badfinger, The Band, Patti Smith, Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad, the New York Dolls, and XTC, among others. His work is notable for his craftsmanship, strong technical expertise and varied styles. As a result, he is favorably viewed by critics and his fellow musicians but he did not achieve significant mainstream success as a performer (although he does have a loyal following as something of a cult artist).
"Hideaway" is from Rundgren's 1982 album The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect. The album marked something of a low point in his career, as he viewed the release as a legal obligation to his label, Bearsville Records. As a result, the songs are a bit more pop sounding and less complicated -- there have been rumors that he just wanted to finish the album quickly. However, his talent still shines through. The best-known song from this album is "Bang the Drum All Day," which has become something of a pop classic. Instead of going with that, we opted for "Hideaway," a relatively unknown pop gem with a cool video to go with it. "Hideaway" never charted (the LP peaked at #66) and received only a modicum of airplay, but is well worth a listen.
Rundgren remains active in the music industry to this day. Additionally, Rundgren's band Utopia was posted on ERV in March 2014 for "Feet Don't Fail Me Now."
By taking traditional pop songs and updating them with a post-punk approach, Squeeze became a pioneer in the emerging New Wave scene in Britain. And as if that wasn't enough, they also created a bunch of memorable, well-crafted pop / new wave songs, with catchy melodies and clever lyrics.
The band was formed in 1974 and was named after the poorly-received Velvet Underground record. [Squeeze, the VU record was released in 1973 without any of the original members of the band, and was panned by critics and fans alike.] The main creative force behind Squeeze (the band) was the duo of Chris Difford (lyrics) and Glenn Tilbrook (music), who wrote virtually all of the songs, including "Another Nail in My Heart."
"Another Nail in My Heart" is off the 1980 LP Argybargy [Argybargy is British slang for an argument, by the by]. As with most of the early Squeeze singles, it did not break the top 100 in the U.S., although it did reach #17 in the U.K. In what can only be described as a crime against music, none of the early Squeeze singles charted in the U.S. until 1981's "Tempted" (#49). The band would go on to have 2 top 40 hits ("Hourglass," which hit #15 in 1987 and "853-5937," which peaked at #32 the following year). A less polite person that I might suggest that the relative success of these later songs could be considered signs of The Universe having a sense of humor ... or irony.
In any event, the band broke up in 1982 (although Difford and Tilbrook continued to work together and even released an album in 1984). Squeeze subsequently reformed in 1985 and continued working together until 1999, then broke up (again) before reforming (again) in 2007. We believe they are together as of this writing.
The video of "Another Nail in My Heart" is a solid early video with the band performing (and hanging out at the pub) while keyboardist Jools Holland pushes a piano around London. We particularly like the way that they shot the guitar solo (starting around 0:52), which is an absolutely superb piece of musicianship.
For folks who are interested in learning more about the band, their greatest hits record, Singles – 45's and Under is highly recommended.
The Smithereens are another in a growing list of underrated 1980s rock bands, and stood out as an unusual band that combined rock with 1960s British Invasion pop. The result was inventive and catchy, in a Beatles meets AC/DC sort of way. This led to some success in the mid to late 1980s, as they had three successive albums that broke the top 60. However, they never truly found the success or recognition that they deserved.
The band was formed in New Jersey in the early 1980s, and named after a Yosemite Sam expression ("Varmint, I'm a-gonna blow you to smithereens!") Amazingly, the original lineup of Pat DiNizio (songwriter, guitars and vocals), Jim Babjak (guitar), Dennis Diken (drums) and Mike Mesaros (bass) stayed together for 25 years, until Mesaros quit the industry to raise his kids.
"A Girl Like You" was the band's biggest hit, from 1989's 11 (named after the famous Spinal Tap amplifier). The song peaked at #38, while the LP hit #41. The Smithereens had a second top 40 hit, as well -- but it probably isn't the one that you are thinking of. "Too Much Passion," from the Blow Up CD hit #37 in 1992.
While the band's period of major success was relatively brief they have remained a working band, and continue to perform and record to this day.
Cool trivia fact: "A Girl Like You" was originally written for the Cameron Crowe movie Say Anything... Apparently, Crowe felt that the song gave away too much of the plot, so he did not include it, but he remained on good terms with Pat DiNizio (who did a cameo in the Crowe film Singles in 1992).
The ambitious, eclectic and eccentric Julian Cope has been one of the more interesting figures in the music industry over the past few decades. Cope first showed up on the scene as the lead singer of The Teardrop Explodes, a psychedelic new wave band from Liverpool. The band achieved a fair amount of success in the UK in the early 1980s, before creative tensions and drug use tore the band apart.
Cope then went on to a successful solo career. To be fair, his solo work is somewhat inconsistent, partly due to continued drug use and partly a result of his avant-garde tendencies. However, at his best, Cope recorded some truly great (and under appreciated) independent rock.
"World Shut Your Mouth" was Cope's most successful single, and was off the Saint Julian LP. The song was a top 20 hit in the UK, but only rose to #84 in the U.S. It remains Cope's only charting (top 100) song on Billboard. The video is pretty straight ahead, with the exception of the jungle gym mike stand.
In the aftermath of Saint Julian, Cope remained a prolific songwriter and continues to release material to the present day. In addition, he has written 2 autobiographies, 2 books on lesser-known music (one each on the German and Japanese underground music scenes), and 2 books on ancient monuments and sites in the UK and Europe.
Cool trivia fact: Cope recorded Saint Julian using a Gibson ES-335 12-string guitar, but he only used 9 strings -- the E, A and D strings were singles, while the the G, B and high E strings were doubled. This is an unusual set up, but it does seem to fit Cope.
Cool trivia fact #2: Chris Whitten (formerly of The Waterboys) played drums on Saint Julian. Whitten was also the drummer on "The Whole of the Moon."
The Call are another in a long list of bands who were critically acclaimed, but never quite found their audience. Other artists that would we would place in this category include Marshall Crenshaw and XTC. Note that the Underrated label to the right captures a bunch of additional bands (or songs) that by all rights should have been bigger than they were.
The Call was led by singer-guitarist Michael Been, and formed in California in the early 1980s. Critics liked their roots rock sound and sophisticated lyrics, with some referring to The Call as a kind of updated version of The Band. These comparisons were likely helped by Robbie Robertson appearing on their 1985 album, Reconciled. Peter Gabriel was also a fan, and guested on the same album.
"Let the Day Begin" from the 1989 LP of the same name was The Call's biggest hit -- it reached #51 on the charts, while the album peaked at #64. Unfortunately, the band broke up in 1990, when Been left to pursue a solo career. The Call then re-formed in 1997 but broke up for good in 2000.
Sadly, Michael Been died of a heart attack in 2010, while working as a sound tech for his son's band (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).
The Universe made another request, playing this song serendipitously as we were considering the next entry, and we do try to accommodate requests (especially from The Universe). So without further ado ...
Many readers will be familiar with Roxy Music. The English art rock band formed in the early 1970s, and went on to have huge success in Britain, where every one of their studio albums broke the top 10, including three number ones. In the U.S., they were significantly less successful, although they built a loyal following through the 1970s and early 1980s.
The band was known for their sophistication, particularly lead singer Bryan Ferry -- perhaps the most debonair rock star ever. As is often the case, their sound evolved over time, and gradually became less art rock and more atmospheric pop, although there was often a strong pop sensibility to their songs. The band's final album, 1982's Avalon, represented something of a peak for the group. Incredibly lush and layered, it is a real work of art. Much of the music was written by Ferry while he was on vacation on the West coast of Ireland and their is something of an ethereal vibe that runs through the entire LP.
We don't use the word masterpiece much on the blog (we think the only other time that we've used it was for The Waterboys song "The Whole of the Moon") but we think that "More Than This" qualifies. The striking guitar line, the lyrics, the synthesizers all paint a musical picture that is haunting, with a gentle sadness. "More Than This" also has a spectacular, lingering outro that perfectly suits the song.
Amazingly, "More Than This" did not break the top 100 in the U.S. (#103), although it was a top 10 hit in the U.K. and Australia. The Avalon album peaked at #53 in the U.S., (it was a #1 LP in Britain). The video might be a tad bit overdone, but it does seem to suit the band and the song.
Bryan Ferry broke up Roxy Music soon after Avalon's release, and went on to have a successful solo career (particularly in the U.K). The band did re-form and toured in the early 2000s, but Ferry has stated that he does not intend to release another Roxy Music album.
Cool trivia fact: Roxy Music is a U.S. one hit wonder. Their only top 40 hit was "Love is the Drug" (#30) from 1975.
Cool trivia fact #2: 10,000 Maniacs 1997 cover of "More Than This" hit #25 on the Billboard charts -- higher than any Roxy Music single ever, and much higher than the superior original version. Go figure.
Cool trivia fact #3: Rolling Stone rated Avalon as the 31st best album of the 1980s (and the 336th greatest album, full stop).
By the late 1980s, hard rock was enjoying huge commercial success, a backdrop that should have made Badlands big, big stars. Surprisingly, though, the band's blues-rock sound did not resonate with the record- buying public, making Badlands a rare case of an underrated late 1980s hard rock band.
The driving force behind Bandlands was guitarist Jake E. Lee, who left Ozzy Osbourne with the stated intention of forming a band. The addition of lead singer Ray Gillen from Black Sabbath helped to cement that sound, which was roughed up blues-rock (think updated Led Zepplin). Although the band was well-regarded in the music industry, their debut album (Badlands) was a commercial disappointment, peaking at #57 on the album charts.
"Dreams in the Dark" was their lead single, and it did not chart. The video shows the band's approach -- we would describe them as a "let the music do the talking" sort of band. Unfortunately, this image just didn't click with their audience at the time.
Their follow up LP, Voodoo Highway performed worse, and the band broke up in 1993. Jake E. Lee has kept a pretty low profile since then, although he has put out a few solo albums and continues to play. Ray Gillen died of an AIDS-related disease in 1993.
"Keep Your Hands to Yourself" has one of the best opening lines of any eighties song: "I got a little change in my pocket going jing-a-ling-a-ling." And with that auspicious beginning, the Georgia Satellites burst onto the music scene. The Satellites played a wonderfully retro brand of rock and roll that owes as much to Chuck Berry as it does to Lynyrd Skynyrd. However, their hybrid rock & roll/country stylings were well off the beaten trail in the mid-1980s, a fact that would eventually hurt the band. [If this story reminds our readers of Lone Justice or Jason and the Scorchers, well, you may be on to something.]
The Georgia Satellites originally formed in the early 1980s, and actually broke up in 1984, as their career appeared to be going nowhere. Fortunately, their manager continued to shop the band's demo recordings, and eventually found a small British label that released them as the Keep the Faith EP. The positive response led to the band re-forming and they were subsequently signed by Elektra in 1986.
Their eponymous debut was a huge hit -- the album topped out at #5, while "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" peaked at #2, kept out of the top spot by Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." Sadly, from there it was all downhill, as rock radio more or less ignored the band, although they did manage to have a minor hit in 1988 with their cover of The Swinging Blue Jeans' song "Hippy Hippy Shake." The band finally broke up in 1990.
Lead singer/songwriter Dan Baird would go on to have success with his 1991 CD, Love Songs for the Hearing Impaired, which goes on the list of greatest album titles ever. Baird continues to perform as of this writing. Other members of the Satellites re-formed the band and continue to perform as the Georgia Satellites. Additionally, lead guitarist Rick Richards is also a member of Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds (Izzy was a former member of Guns n' Roses, by the by).
Cool trivia fact: "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" was supposedly based on an argument between the Satellite's drummer and his girlfriend, and was written on a tour bus.
Cool Trivia Fact #2: The demo version of this song helped land the Satellite's recording contract. However, the band did not like any of the 'professional' takes of the song, so they put the original demo version on the album, and it is the version that you hear to this day (including in the video above).
The Satellites' video for "Battleship Chains" was posted on ERV in March 2014.
For people who don't believe that a pop song can be a well-crafted work of art, we'd like to present Marshall Crenshaw. He wrote a truckload of great pop songs, and his first two albums, 1982's self-titled debut and 1983's Field Day are chock full of them. It is just short of criminal that he is an official one hit wonder, as only 1982's "Someday, Someway" broke the top 40.
In retrospect, we think Crenshaw may have been hurt by the video music revolution as much as any artist -- he released a couple of performance videos in 1982, but "Whenever ..." was his first 'real' video. My guess is that he wasn't into the whole music video thing at the time. Additionally, his 60's influenced pop songs may have been seen as a bit dated in the early 1980s. Looking back on them now, however, reinforces the timeless nature of his songs.
"Whenever You're On My Mind" is a great example of his work. On its surface, it is a love song, but the catchy hook and thoughtful lyrics make it one of the better love songs written in the decade. Plus, you have to love a songwriter who uses the word reverie (go ahead, you can look it up if you like ... I'll wait). Amazingly, neither the song, nor the album (Field Day) even charted upon their release in 1983.
The video was played a little back in the day, and then seems to have been forgotten. In fact, it was hard to find even today. For folks who like it, we suggest listening to samples from his first two albums -- there are a lot of pop classics there.
Cool trivia fact: Crenshaw co-wrote the Gin Blossom's 1995 hit "Til I Hear It from You," which peaked at #11 in 1996 (the highest charting song that Marshall Crenshaw wrote). The guitar intro, in particular, sounds a lot like a Crenshaw lick.
The Psychedelic Furs are another in a growing list of under-appreciated bands on ERV; highlighting videos like "The Ghost in You" is one of the reasons why we started the blog. In the Furs case, we think the combination of a relatively short period when they were at the top of their game and a somewhat evolving sound combined to limit their success. However, at their peak (say from 1981-84), they made some of the strongest music of the decade.
The band started in England in 1977 and was formed around the Butler brothers (Richard sang and Tim played bass). Their name was an allusion to a Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs." Some readers may be surprised at how little commercial success the band had in the U.S., where they are an official one hit wonder. Yes, the Furs only had one top 40 hit ("Heartbreak Beat"), although they did have three other charting singles in the top 60, including "The Ghost in You," which hit #59.
"The Ghost in You" was written by Richard and Tim Butler, and was the second single off the 1984 album Mirror Moves. It is a lush, atmospheric song, with interesting, ambiguous lyrics. The mostly monochromatic video tries to capture the atmosphere, with some success.
Although their 1987 LP, Midnight to Midnight was a commercial success, the band seemed to have lost their way musically -- something that Richard Butler has admitted in recent interviews. The Furs released two additional albums that did not do as well, before breaking up in 1991. Richard and Tim Butler would go on to form Love Spit Love before reforming the Psychedelic Furs in 2001.
One of the nice things about writing a blog on eighties rare videos is that is provides an opportunity to revisit and perhaps even introduce a few folks to bands who produced great music, but never made it big.
Jason and the Scorchers (JATS) are a great case in point. Although front man Jason Ringenberg was originally from Illinois, the band formed in Nashville in the early 1980s. Stylistically, JATS broke new ground as a country/punk band and probably defined cowpunk as much as any other group.
Loved by critics, Jason and the Scorchers never really broke out in spite of really strong material. The short answer is that their sound was too country for rock stations and too rocking for country stations. Ironically, just a few years later, the emergence of modern country with strong rock influences would lead to a rise in popularity of country music.
"White Lies" was the main single of Jason and the Scorchers first full length album -- 1985's Lost and Found. The album barely broke the top 100, and the song did not chart on the hot 100. Jason and the Scorchers put out two other solid albums in the 1980s before breaking up in 1990. They have since reformed a few times and continue to perform.
In addition to being an innovative band that wrote great country/punk songs, Jason and the Scorchers were also known for their high energy live performances. For folks who are so inclined, here is a clip of them on Conan O'Brien performing "White Lies" around 1998.
Joan Armatrading is yet another artist who should have had more American success, but never quite found her audience. In some ways this is understandable, as her music is eclectic and a bit hard to categorize. However, she is a really solid singer/songwriter and well worth a listen.
Armatrading was born in Saint Kitts, but her family moved to Birmingham (UK) when she was young. John Peel (the famous UK disc jockey) became a fan early on, and was a supporter of hers throughout her career. While Armatrading is a bit of a cult figure in the U.S., she had a successful career in Britain, with 14 charting singles between 1976 and 1992.
"Drop the Pilot" from 1983's The Key was her biggest U.S. hit, peaking at #78, while the LP hit #32. The video is a wonderful combination of a performance and an old movie, with the old Purple Rose of Cairo trick thrown in. (Yes, we know that Purple Rose of Cairo came out 2 years after this video.) Additionally, "Drop the Pilot" is representative of Armatrading's work in that it contains elements from multiple musical styles.
How can you tell if an artist is a great singer-songwriter? Well, how is this for a partial list of performers who have covered John Hiatt songs: Bob Dylan, Willy DeVille, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, Paula Abdul, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Buffett, Mandy Moore, Iggy Pop, Emmylou Harris, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rosanne Cash, Jewel, Aaron Neville, Jeff Healey, Keith Urban, Joe Cocker and Chaka Khan. Impressive, yo.
John Hiatt put out his first record in 1974, but it took him years to find his voice (and his audience). In addition, his career was almost ruined by years of alcohol abuse. His breakthrough came on 1986's Bring the Family, which had two notable songs -- "Have a Little Faith in Me" and "Thing Called Love." Since then, virtually all of his album have had strong sales, and end up peaking between 110 and 50 or so on the album charts.
Amazingly, in spite of critical acclaim and solid LP sales, Hiatt has never had a top 100 single. "Slow Turning," from the 1988 LP of the same name, is his biggest hit -- it reached #8 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. It is also a great song and quirky, cool video. And, as a bonus, it has one of the great lines in rock and roll:
The Hooters were formed in Philadelphia in 1980, and were driven musically by the partnership between Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman (who met at Penn in 1971). The band's style was rocked up folk music (or, if you prefer, folk influenced rock) and sounded quite a bit different from most of what was on MTV in the mid 1980s.
"Karla With a K" was the third single off 1987's Long Way Home, and (unfairly, we think) broke the band's streak of six consecutive singles that charted in the U.S. The video is a performance clip, with some European travel shots thrown in.
In retrospect, "Karla" was the beginning of the end for The Hooters; while the band's cover of "500 Miles" from 1989's Zig Zag did chart, it was the last Hooters song to do so. In fact, the poor sales of Zig Zag led Columbia to drop the band. Although The Hooters soldiered on, and even released an album on MCA, they had little success. The band unofficially broke up in 1995.
Bazilian and Hyman have remained active in the music industry to this day. Fittingly, their biggest success was as a team; they co-wrote and performed on Joan Osborne's triple platinum 1995 album Relish ("One of Us" in particular, sounds like it could have been a Hooters song).
Cool trivia fact: The band took its name from the Melodica (which they called a "hooter"), a combination keyboard/harmonica instrument played by both Bazilian and Hyman.
The Hooters' highest charting single, "Day by Day" was posted on ERV in February, 2016.
Picking the strongest song from Dire Straits classic album Making Movies is almost like picking your favorite finger. The LP (justly ranked as the 52nd best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone) is incredibly solid from start to finish, and well worth a listen for any 1980s music fan.
We eventually settled on "Skateaway," partly for sentimental reasons, as it was the first song that we heard from the album. Coincidentally, it was the only single from Making Movies to chart in the U.S., reaching #58, while the LP hit #19. The song is classic Dire Straits, with a great beat, cool lyrics and interesting, artistic guitar work by Mark Knopfler.
The song was inspired by a girl on roller skates in New York City, and the somewhat dated video (featuring "it girl" Jayzik Azikiwe) does reflect the story line. We liked that the band is barely present in the video, and when they do appear, it is a humorous, awkward moment. (We especially liked that the Stratocaster gets better lighting and more air time than the band).
Dire Straits would go on to have tremendous success with the somewhat more commercial-sounding Brothers in Arms, but in my opinion Making Movies was their masterpiece.
Mike Scott's masterpiece began on a snowy New York City street in January 1985, when his girlfriend asked him whether it was hard to write a song. The song started as a few scribbles on the back of an envelope, and was still unfinished when the recording of the This is the Sea album began in March.
As an ode to artistic expression, the song's lyrics are clearly a tribute to the artists who inspired Scott. While there has been much speculation about who it is written about, the only comments that Scott has made indicate that C.S. Lewis was "in there somewhere" and that Prince wasn't (Prince had been rumored to be a source of inspiration, and some sources still cite him).
Amazingly, neither "The Whole of the Moon" single nor the This is the Sea album ever charted in the U.S. "The Whole of the Moon" did chart twice in the U.K.; once in 1985, upon the original release (#26), and again in 1991 (peaking at #3), after the song won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
After This is the Sea, Scott (who was the main creative force behind the Waterboys), opted to go for a smaller, more folk sound, which continued until the band broke up in 1993.
Cool trivia fact: The video is directed by Irish director Meiert Avis, who has directed dozens of videos, including a bunch from U2. The Waterboys posed a little bit of a challenge in that Mike Scott will not lip sync; hence an actual concert was created just for the video.
