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.
Ready for the World (RFTW) was an R&B act out of Flint, Michigan who had a string of hits in the mid-1980s. The group formed in 1982 and soon had a major supporter in The Electrifying Mojo (a famous DJ on Detroit's WJLB). This eventually led to a recording contract with MCA.
The band's self-titled 1985 debut album reached #17 on the charts and went platinum. It also yielded a #1 hit in "Oh Sheila," a pop funk song that sounded a lot like Prince lite, which was not a bad thing in 1985. RFTW would go on to have seven top 10 hits on the R&B charts and three top 40 hits ("Oh Sheila," "Digital Display" and "Love You Down.")
The group released three more albums through 1991, with each one performing worse than its predecessor. They broke up in 1991, and lead singer Melvin Riley went out on his own (without much success). In 2005, RFTW re-formed and we believe that they still play together as of this writing.
Cool trivia fact: Lead singer Melvin Riley came up with the name Sheila by ... well, he just made it up because it sounded good. Apparently, the song was almost called "Oh Lisa."
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.
"Going Down to Liverpool" is a rare video and a cover, so it fits onto ERV in two ways. Loyal reader Krista suggested this one a while back, and it seemed like a great fit for the blog.
The Bangles were an all-female pop band from California, and the first version of the band formed in 1980. Several name changes took the band from the Colours to the Supersonic Bangs to just the Bangs. A legal issue forced the final name change, to the Bangles, when their independent label EP was released in 1983.
"Going Down to Liverpool" was off the band's debut LP, 1984's All Over the Place. While the song did receive some radio play, it did not chart -- in fact, the band's first charting single was 1986's "Manic Monday," which hit #2. Interestingly, the original version of "Going Down to Liverpool" was written by Kimberley Rew and recorded by his band, Katrina and the Waves (of "Walking on Sunshine" fame). The song appeared several times on early recordings of theirs and caught the attention of Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele of the Bangles, who decided to put it on their record.
The video features Leonard Nimoy, whose son was a friend of Susanna Hoffs (hence his connection to the band). Hoffs also enlisted her mom, indie film director Tamar Simon Hoffs to direct the video. While the video did not launch the band to stardom (that would come later), it was a solid effort. Of course, the band would have some major success in the mid to late 1980s before breaking up.
We're pretty big fans of the original as well:
Cool trivia fact: Drummer Debbi Peterson sings lead on the Bangles' version, one of only two times that she sang lead for the band (the other time was on "Be With You.")
Note that The Bangles excellent cover of "If She Knew What She Wants" was posted on ERV in December 2014.
In addition, we posted Katrina and the Waves' "Do You Want Crying?" in July 2015.
In 1986, Midnight Oil embarked on the Blackfella/Whitefella Tour with the Warumpi Band and Gondwanaland (both Aboriginal rock bands). The resulting experience of playing before some of the most remote and impoverished Aboriginal communities in Australia led to the 1987 concept album Diesel and Dust.
In retrospect, the tour and resulting LP were a logical continuation of the path that Midnight Oil had blazed since their 1978 debut album. The band was known for their progressive political views; they were one of the first Australian political rock bands. Led by the tall, bald Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil looked and sounded unlike other bands and built a loyal following through the 1980s.
The Diesel and Dust album is generally regarded as Midnight Oil's finest effort. Rolling Stone ranked it as the 13th best album of the 1980s, and it routinely shows up at or near the top of many lists of the best Australian albums ever. The album was also a huge success, reaching #21 in the U.S. (it was the band's second of four consecutive #1 albums in Australia).
While "Beds Are Burning" was the biggest U.S. hit from the LP, we went with "The Dead Heart," a haunting pop song written from the Aboriginal point of view. It was a #4 hit in Australia but did not break the top 40 in the U.S., peaking at #53.
Midnight Oil disbanded in 2002, as Peter Garrett wanted to devote more time to his political career, although they have re-formed from time to time since then. Garrett has been a Labour MP (Member of Parliament) since 2004.
Cool trivia fact: Midnight Oil is a U.S. one hit wonder, as only "Beds Are Burning" (#17) broke the top 40.
Part of the appeal of rock and roll is that it is an escape from the real world, but every once in a while, the real world crashes the party. Few bands know this better than Great White, as their story includes one of the most tragic chapters in rock history.
Of course, we are referring to the February 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island. As most folks will recall, pyrotechnics lit by the band's touring manager ignited soundproofing foam and led to a fire that killed 100 people and injured another 200. It was the fourth deadliest fire in U.S. history. Among the dead was Great White's guitarist, Ty Longley, and WHJY DJ Mike "The Doctor" Gonsalves (who was MCing the show).
In the aftermath of the show, Great White toured to support the Station Family Fund, before the band split into two factions. Lead singer Jack Russell continued to tour, using the name Jack Russell's Great White, while several other original members played shows using the Great White name.
All of this was a far cry from the band's successes during the late 1980s / early 1990s. Their brand of blues-rock led to three straight top 25 albums, and two top 40 hits. Great White's biggest hit was their cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," but they had a second hit with "The Angel Song." (Nope, not sure we remember that one either.)
For the blog, we went with their breakout hit, 1987's "Rock Me" from the Once Bitten ... LP. While the song peaked at #60 on the charts, it introduced the band to a wider audience, helped by the video below. By the way, the woman in the video is Tracy Martinson, who appeared in a bunch of Great White videos, but left the industry years ago.
The Joy Division story is among the more tragic rock and roll tales, and is only compounded by the band's innovative and visionary sound. Joy Division formed in 1977 in Manchester (UK) and were originally called Warsaw. They changed their name in 1978 to differentiate themselves from Warsaw Pakt, an on-the-rise UK punk band. The Joy Division name came from the 1955 novel The House of Dolls -- it was the prostitution section of a Nazi concentration camp.
While they came out of the vibrant UK punk scene, the band quickly migrated to a different sound that was moody, dark and atmospheric; the band was one of the originators of goth. Their innovative approach earned them the respect of several industry insiders and critics, including the influential John Peel of the BBC. Although their first LP only reached #71 on the UK charts, they were a band on the rise.
Unfortunately, their growing success and touring schedule was placing a strain on lead singer Ian Curtis. In particular, Curtis' epileptic seizures became difficult to control and his marriage was failing. In May 1980, just before the band was to leave for their first American tour, Curtis committed suicide. He was 23.
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" was written as an ironic response to "Love Will Keep Us Together," a 1975 hit for Captain & Tennille. In retrospect, the lyrics seem autobiographical, as the song was written during a difficult time in Curtis' life. The video was shot by the band themselves, during the recording of the song.
As many readers will know, the remaining members of Joy Division stayed together and renamed themselves New Order. They would go on to have significant success, and were featured on ERV last December for "Bizarre Love Triangle."
Cool trivia facts: NME rated "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as the greatest single of the past 60 years in 2012.
Rolling Stone ranked the Closer LP as the 56th best album of the 1980s.
The song has charted 3 separate times in the UK -- in 1980 (#13), 1983 (#19) and 1995 (#19). It never charted in the U.S.
The title of this song is inscribed on Ian Curtis' tombstone.
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.
"Go Insane" came out during a difficult time in Lindsey Buckingham's life. He has recently broken up with his long time girlfriend Carol Ann Harris and his band (Fleetwood Mac) was in the middle of a 5 year break. Perhaps as a result, the album was viewed as somewhat inconsistent by critics, but the better material on it is still quite good, bolstered by Buckingham's studio prowess.
Buckingham's career began in the early 1970s with his folk duo Buckingham Nicks (with then girlfriend Stevie Nicks), but he rose to fame as the guitarist and in-band producer for Fleetwood Mac. While his first LP with Fleetwood Mac was a resounding success, the second one (Rumours) was a blockbuster. Rumours remains the sixth best selling album in the U.S. ever -- it was a epic commercial and critical success.
Unfortunately, the commercial success of Fleetwood Mac did not alleviate the band's problems. In fact, it may have added to the issues. In addition to rampant drug use and breakups, Buckingham felt creatively constrained by the standard pop format, and started exploring more interesting sounds. For Fleetwood Mac, this led to the Tusk LP, and it meant that Buckingham's solo work in the early 1980s was creative and interesting. As is often the case, though, this also led to less commercial success. The Go Insane album peaked at #45, while the single of the same name reached #23.
Buckingham would return to Fleetwood Mac for their 1987 album, Tango in the Night, before leaving the band. He then returned in 1997 and has been with the band since then.
Cool trivia fact: One of the guitarists who replaced Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac was Billy Burnette, whose song "In Just a Heartbeat" was featured on ERV in February 2012.
The history of Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship / Starship is a long, meandering stroll down rock and roll lane. As many readers will know, the band started as Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco in 1965, and was an early psychedelic rock band. In addition, Jefferson Airplane is notable as one of the first rock bands to feature a female lead singer -- the charismatic Grace Slick. By the by, Jefferson Airplane was the model for the Dutch band Shocking Blue, who recorded the original version of "Venus" (featured along with the Bananarama cover last January).
In the early 1970s Jefferson Airplane effectively broke into two bands -- Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Jefferson Starship evolved to become a successful arena rock band in the 1970s and early 1980s, before personnel changes (and a dispute over the name) led to the band becoming Starship in the mid 1980s. ERV readers should not worry, though, there is no way that a Starship song will ever show up on the blog (with apologies to any fans of "We Built this City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now").
"Find Your Way Back" was from the 1981 Modern Times album. It was the second album to feature lead singer Mickey Thomas, who joined the band after Marty Balin and Grace Slick quit. Slick actually rejoined the band late in the recording session for Modern Times and was not in the original promotional materials (this is why the picture of the band at the end of the video does not include her).
The video is loaded with early 1980s goodness, including some sci-fi effects, one really skinny tie (mostly tucked in), and a cool double neck guitar. We really do enjoy the song and video, in spite of (or perhaps because of) these elements. Lastly, the song did turn out to be a decent FM hit -- the single hit #29 on the charts, while the Modern Times LP reached #26.
Note that Jefferson Starship's weird video for "No Way Out" was featured on ERV during our All Hallows Even celebration in 2015.
Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alt folk band who have been together since the mid 1980s. The band consists of three siblings (Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins) along with bassist Alan Anton. While they are something of an underground band in the U.S., they had a string of hits in Canada and remain together to this day.
Their cover of The Velvet Underground's classic, "Sweet Jane" was their biggest hit in the U.S., but it did not crack the top 100 on the Billboard charts. In fact, they never had a charting hit in the U.S., although they have scored 9 top 40 hits in their native country. "Sweet Jane" did hit the U.S. Modern Rock charts in 1989, reaching #5 and the video generated some views on MTV at that time.
"Sweet Jane" was from the 1988 album The Trinity Session, which was recorded in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity in one night, using one microphone.
Regular readers of ERV will recall that we featured The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed last September ("Dirty Blvd."). There is a bit on VU there and we would recommend it -- The Velvet Underground were brilliant and ahead of their time. They are one of those bands whose impact was materially greater than their record sales. "Sweet Jane" was originally from the VU album Loaded, from 1970, and is now widely regarded as a masterpiece.
Cool trivia fact: the Timmins other sibling, Cali, was an actress on Ryan's Hope from 1983 - 89.
