The Long Ryders - Looking for Lewis and Clark

"Looking for Lewis and Clark" is another reader suggestion and a mighty fine one at that.  The song is by the Long Ryders, a really interesting LA-based band who deserved a lot more success than the pittance they received.

Guitarist/singer Sid Griffin founded the band in the early 1980s.  Named after the 1980 Walter Hill western film of the same name (but with a more traditional spelling), the group quickly gathered a following.  They released their first EP in 1983, and the band's rocked up country sound and political lyrics endeared them to critics and fans alike.  We think of the Long Ryders as sounding like a more rocking version of 1980s R.E.M.; readers who enjoy that music would be well served to check out the band's catalog.

While The Long Ryders were loosely associated with the Paisley Underground scene, many critics (correctly, in our view) consider them more of a roots rock or country rock band.  [As an aside, the term Paisley Underground refers to an LA-based style of roots rock that had strong 1960s (Byrds) and psychedelic influences.  Artists associated with the scene include The Dream Syndicate, The Bangles, Rain Parade, and The Three O'Clock.]

"Looking for Lewis and Clark" was the lead single off the group's major label debut, 1985's State of Our Union.  The song charted in the U.K. (#59) but did not hit the U.S. charts.  It did generate a bit of college radio play, but we do not recall ever seeing the video on MTV.

After a few more years of struggling to break through, the Long Ryders broke up at the end of 1987.  Sid Griffin moved to London a few years later and founded The Coal Porters, a bluegrass act.

We particularly love the call-outs of  Tim Hardin and Gram Parsons in the song.

The Long Ryders' cover of "I Want You Bad" was posted on ERV in March, 2016.

INXS and Jimmy Barnes - Good Times

As fall rolls in (in the Northern hemisphere), our thoughts turn towards the upcoming All Hallows Even.  And yes, before you ask, ERV will have a special collection of Halloween videos (just as we do every year), starting in about two weeks.  Consider this an offering from the chef -- a tasty morsel prior to the full meal of Halloweeny videos.

"Good Times" was off the soundtrack of the 1987 teen vampire film The Lost Boys which starred Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz and the Coreys (Haim and Feldman).  We may be biased, but the movie is not half bad, and the soundtrack is actually pretty strong (and used extensively in the movie itself).  Helped by MTV, "Good Times" would peak at #47, while The Lost Boys soundtrack would reach #15 on the album charts.

Americans (well, non-Australians) may also wonder why Jimmy Barnes got to sing with INXS.  It turns out that Barnes was the lead singer of the Australian rock band Cold Chisel before becoming a solo artist.  Cold Chisel enjoyed huge success in their home market (6 top 10 LPs, including 3 #1s) but never broke through internationally.  The group disbanded in 1983, and Barnes would go on to have a successful solo career in Australia, with 7 #1 LPs (and 3 #2s).

Making the song even more interesting (and more Australian, to boot), it is a cover of a 1968 Easybeats song.  The Easybeats were the most successful Australian rock band of the 1960s and the first Australian rock act to have an international hit with "Friday on My Mind."

The INXS and Jimmy Barnes version:

The original Easybeats song:

Note that INXS was previously featured on ERV with "Don't Change" back in December 2011.

Robin Lane & The Chartbusters - When Things Go Wrong

The 11th video ever played on MTV, "When Things Go Wrong" is another great, nearly forgotten classic by Robin Lane & The Chartbusters.  Lane was a native Californian who began her career as a folk artist in the late 1960s.  By the mid-1970s, she had moved to Massachusetts and became involved in the vibrant punk and new wave scene.  After hanging out at the legendary Rathskeller club (nicknamed The Rat) in Boston, she decided to put a group together.

The resulting band released an independent three song EP in 1979, which sold more than 10,000 copies.  Later that year, Jerry Wexler (one of the most well-regarded A&R executives in the industry) signed them to Warner Bros. and the band's major label LP came out in 1980.  Unfortunately, poorly produced records and a lack of marketing doomed the group.  "When Things Go Wrong" managed to reach #87 on the singles chart, but the band did not have another charting single or album as far as we can tell.  By 1983 the Chartbusters had broken up, although Lane remained in the industry.

In 2001, there was a Robin Lane & The Chartbusters reunion, which led to a new album in 2003.  More recently, Lane has been involved with the Turners Falls Women's Resource Center, where she uses music therapy to help abuse survivors. [As an aside, this gets our vote for coolest post rock star job ever.]

Cool trivia fact:  Robin Lane was married to Andy Summers (guitarist of The Police) from 1968-70.

Addendum:  Thanks to reader Shellie, who mentioned a TV show in Boston, called Chronicle, that featured Robin Lane over the summer.  The show is up on YouTube (here), for folks who are interested (It gets a recommendation from ERV).

XTC - Mayor of Simpleton

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.

Paul Simon - Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes

In 1986, Paul Simon's career was at an interesting juncture.  On the one hand, he was one of the foremost singer/songwriters of the 1970s, with three top 5 LPs (plus another three top 5 albums as half of Simon and Garfunkel).  Oh, and he had recorded 26 top 40 singles, too.

On the other hand, his 1983 album, Hearts and Bones had not broken the top 30, and a case could be made that his most interesting work (and biggest successes) were behind him.  Simon had other ideas, however, and recorded the unexpected and brilliant Graceland album.

Some readers may have a hard time appreciating just how out of left field this album was.  World music was in its infancy, and South African music was essentially unknown in the rest of the world.  In addition, music was very stratified in the 1980s.  The idea of combining western pop with mbaqanga and turning it into an album ... this was insanity.  And genius, as it turned out.  The resulting album was a masterpiece that managed to sound fresh and familiar at the same time.

The album rejuvenated Simon's career, and went 5x platinum in the U.S., where it peaked at #3.  It had similar success globally.  Graceland also appeared on seemingly every best of list -- Rolling Stone considers it the 5th best album of the 1980s (and the 46th best album ever).

For the blog, we went with "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes," our favorite cut from the LP.  The song features Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a black South African men's choral group singing the intro (in Zulu of course).

Saga - Wind Him Up

Way back in the dark days of August 2011 (when we started ERV), the first thing that we did was to compile a list of 35 or so potential videos for the blog, most of which have already appeared.  One name on the list was Saga.  So after sitting in the bullpen for more than two years, the Canadian progressive rock band finally gets its turn.  [As an aside, the bullpen list now has 216 names, and continues to grow.]

Saga formed in Oakville, Ontario (near Toronto) in 1977 and were originally called Pockets.  They released their first record in 1978 and gradually built an audience in their homeland.  The group's third LP, Silent Knight (1980) even charted in Canada (#42), although they remained relatively unknown in the U.S.

This all changed in 1981 when they released the Worlds Apart album.  Two videos from the record went into heavy rotation on your favorite video music channel and Saga became an early MTV success story.  The Worlds Apart LP reached #29 in the U.S. (#22 in Canada), while "Wind Him Up" (#64) and "On the Loose" (#26) both charted.  Saga even won the Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year in 1982 (regular ERV readers will now shake their heads knowingly ... another example of the cursed nature of a best new anything award).

Unfortunately, the band's commercial success did not last, but Saga has remained a working band and continues to regularly release albums and tour.  They remain particularly popular in Germany, Scandinavia and Puerto Rico.  As of this writing, Saga has released 21 studio albums and remains active in the industry.

For the blog, we went with "Wind Him Up," an early story video.  While the video was clearly shot on a budget, the band's dramatic flair and storytelling were ahead of their time, and helped generate traction on MTV.

Fine Young Cannibals - Johnny Come Home

Named after a 1960 movie, Fine Young Cannibals were a British pop/soul band formed from half of The Beat (The English Beat to Americans), who were previously featured on ERV for "Save It For Later."

The Beat broke up in 1983, surprising guitarist Andy Cox and bassist David Steele, who were notified by their accountant that vocalists Ranking Roger and Dave Wakelin had left the band to form General Public.  Once Cox and Steele decided to continue making music, the first order of business was to find a singer, which proved to be a difficult task.  After eight months and 500 demo tapes, the duo finally settled on Roland Gift and set about recording their first LP.

The first single off their self-titled first album was "Johnny Come Home," a cool piece of post-ska fusion.  While the song only reached #76 in the U.S., it broke the top 10 in the U.K., leading to significant success there.  Four years later, the band's second album, The Raw and the Cooked became a huge international success, reaching #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K.

There seems to be some controversy over whether the band officially broke up, but Fine Young Cannibals never released a third album, and have only occasionally worked together since The Raw and the Cooked.  This is a shame, as they created some of the best jazzy, soul/pop music of the decade.

Tommy Shaw - Girls With Guns

There was always tension in Styx between the theatrical vision of Dennis DeYoung and the rock approach favored by Tommy Shaw, and these differences finally tore the band apart in 1983.  After the Kilroy Was Here tour, Shaw left the band and set out on a solo career.  Styx released a live LP, and then disbanded for the rest of the 1980s.  [We considered including a "Mr. Roboto" joke here, but thought better of it.]

Shaw immediately began work on his first solo album, and Girls With Guns was released in 1984.  The title cut reached #33 on the charts, while the album peaked at #50.  Unfortunately, Shaw's other albums did not fare as well, with only 1985's What If breaking the Billboard 200 album charts.  However, the formation of Damn Yankees (with Night Ranger's Jack Blades, Ted Nugent and drummer Michael Cartellone) led to two top 25 LPs and 2 top 40 singles in the early 1990s.

The video for "Girls With Guns" is a great example of a one shot video -- the entire clip was shot in one continuous take, with no edits.

As a special treat, it turns out that the above video for "Girls With Guns" was not the original.  As Shaw explains in the clip below, a more standard video was shot, but discarded.  Even better, a short clip of the original video is included in the video below (this starts at 0:22)

Cool trivia fact:  While Shaw is an official one hit wonder as a solo artist, he wrote or co-wrote 7 top 40 songs with Styx and Damn Yankees.

The video for Styx "A.D. 1928 / Rockin' the Paradise" (the 10th video played on MTV) was posted on ERV in July 2015.

X - Hungry Wolf

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.

Living Colour - Cult of Personality

Living Colour (the band, not the cool TV show, In Living Color) has been on the list of acts to add to the blog for some time.  And while we considered going with a less well-known video such as "Open Letter to a Landlord," we finally settled on "Cult of Personality" because ... well, because it rocks.

Guitarist Vernon Reid was the driving force behind Living Colour and formed the group in 1986 with singer Corey Glover, bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer Will Calhoun.  The New York group became regulars at CBGBs and soon caught the ear of Mick Jagger, who helped the band get signed (and later had them open for the Stones on the 1989-90 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour).

While Living Colour initially gained some notoriety for their skin color, it soon became apparent that they were carving out a divergent musical path that combined hard rock, jazz and funk into a new sound.  The result was critically acclaimed, and amazingly found an audience.  The group's 1988 debut, Vivid, reached #6 on the charts and produced two top 40 songs -- "Cult of Personality" (#13) and "Glamour Boys (#31).  Living Colour also won the MTV VMA for Best New Artist in 1989 (which may have been the kiss of death; see the Michael Penn - No Myth entry for a list of MTV's Best New Artist winners).

Unfortunately, the band's follow up efforts became progressively less successful, and this, combined with disagreements around their musical direction caused Living Colour's 1995 break up.  The individual members remained in the industry and re-formed the group in 2000; they continue to record and perform to the present day.

Cool trivia fact:  the song contains samples of several famous speakers, most notably Malcolm X in the intro.  (JFK and FDR are sampled later in the song).

Cool trivia fact #2:  Rolling Stone views Vivid as the 64th greatest album of the 1980s.

Arc Angel - Tragedy

Arc Angel (not to be confused with The Arc Angels, the 1990s blues rock band) was an early 1980s  AOR band.  Though they were talented, the group never quite found its audience and broke up after just one LP.

The band was comprised of Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan, who had previously been in Jasper Wrath, a locally famous Connecticut progressive rock band.  After Jasper Wrath broke up in 1976, Cannata and Soldan continued to work together and eventually secured a recording contract as Arc Angel.  The record was put together using studio musicians; while the video appears to show a band, Arc Angel was in fact a Cannata and Soldan project.

Although Arc Angel was not a success, "Tragedy" from their 1983 eponymous debut album did pick up some radio play.  However, we don't recall ever seeing the video at the time.  While the music did not break any new ground, it was a well-produced slice of album rock and we think the band deserved more success than they found.

After Arc Angel, Jeff Cannata remained in the industry, and released records under the Cannata name.  Arc Angel (with Michael Soldan) also released a second album in 2002, called Tamorok.

Cool trivia fact:  the intro (backwards) lyrics are "Never gonna slip away."

Big Country - Look Away

Long time reader Krista recommended this one, and it is a perfect fit for the blog.  (I have to say, having well-informed readers makes my job even easier ...)

Big Country was a one hit wonder in the U.S., with only "In a Big Country" (#17 in 1983) breaking the top 40.  However, in the U.K., the band had significant success with 15 top 40 songs between 1982 and 1993.  Even more surprising (to me, at least), "In a Big Country" was not their highest charting single in the U.K. (at #17, same as the U.S.).  Instead, "Look Away" was, as it reached #7 in 1986.  In the U.S., the song is not nearly as well known as it did not chart.

Although Big Country formed in mid-1981, it took a few months to solidify the classic line up of Stuart Adamson (guitars, vocals), Bruce Watson (guitars), Tony Butler (Bass) and Mark Brzezicki (drums).  Interestingly, Tony Butler was not the first choice on bass, but Gang of Four bassist Dave Allen declined to join the group.  In 1982, the band signed with Mercury-Phonogram and released their first LP in 1983.

The band was known for their strong Scottish folk influences, driven by guitars that often had a bagpipe-like sound.  This stylized sound eventually hurt the band as critics argued that their songs sounded too much alike.  However, the band did produce a bunch of solid Celtic-rock songs (and that is not a sentence that one writes very often).

For the blog, we went with the previously mentioned "Look Away," from the 1986 LP The Seer.  The video uses period costumes, horses and dogs to capture the feel of the song, and does a nice job, in my opinion.

Big Country remained together and continued to record and perform until Stuart Adamson's suicide in 2001.  The band broke up at that point, but has re-formed twice in the intervening years, most recently with Mike Peters (former lead singer of The Alarm). [Note: Mike Peters left the group in November 2013 and was replaced by Simon Hough.]

The group's first charting single, "Fields of Fire (400 Miles)" was posted on ERV in January 2015.

Billy Joel - Sometimes a Fantasy

By 1980, Billy Joel was a big big star, but the lack of critical acclaim bothered him.  So, he did what any good artist would and poured these frustrations into his seventh solo album.  The resulting effort (Glass Houses) combined Joel's skillful pop melodies with a stronger rock sound and edgier lyrics.  It is our favorite Billy Joel album, and the last of four tremendous LPs (Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street and Glass Houses) that he made between 1976 and 1980.

The really impressive thing about Glass Houses (and the three other albums) is the strength of the material.  There is nary a bad song on any of these records, and they are quite stylistically diverse, to boot.  They are also impeccably produced by Phil Ramone, which, ironically, may have added fuel to the fire for some critics who viewed it as too polished for rock and roll.

As many readers will know, Joel was anything but an overnight success.  He started playing keyboards with The Echoes in 1965, then quit to join The Hassles in 1967.  In 1969, Joel formed Atilla with The Hassles drummer Jon Small, but the group disbanded after Joel had an affair with Small's wife (Joel would eventually go on to marry her).  Billy Joel's solo career started with the release of Cold Spring Harbor in 1971, and he gradually build a following until the huge success of The Stranger in 1977.

"Sometimes a Fantasy" was the last of five singles released from Glass Houses.  The song reached #36 on the charts, but given Joel's huge success at the time, it is almost a lost classic.  The video (which we don't recall ever seeing back in the day) is the only 'story' video shot from Glass Houses, as the other videos are simply Joel performing on a sound stage (remember, Glass Houses came out a year before MTV launched).  We am particularly partial to the "bad" Billy Joel (the one with the beard) in the video.

Billy Joel would go on to have continued success throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, albeit with mostly weaker material in your humble author's view.  His last rock studio album was 1993's River of Dreams, although he still performs to the present day.  And over time, the critics have warmed up to him -- Allmusic rates the four albums above as 4 stars (on a 5 point scale; actually, all but 52nd Street are 4 1/2 stars).

Echo & The Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar

Although they had a string of hits in the U.K (including 13 top 40 singles)., Echo & the Bunnymen never charted in the U.S.  However, they were popular on college radio and did develop something of a cult following in the 1980s.

The band came out of the late 1970s Liverpool scene.  In fact, lead singer Ian McCulloch had previously been in Crucial Three with Julian Cope (who went on to form The Teardrop Explodes before his solo career) and Pete Wylie (Wah! Heat).  After Crucial Three broke up, McCulloch began working with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson and Echo & the Bunnymen was formed.  Some sources believe that the drum machine used by the band was named Echo, but this seems to be in dispute.  There is little doubt that the name was essentially random and meant to be ridiculous.

We have to admit that we were surprised that "Lips Like Sugar" never charted, as it has generated a fair bit of airplay through the years.  The song did chart in the U.K., where it reached #36, while the album was Echo's highest charting U.S. LP, where it reached #51.

McCullouch left the band in 1988, effectively ending Echo & the Bunnymen (although one album without him was released).  The group then re-formed in 1997 and remains together as of this writing.

De La Soul - Me Myself and I

When De La Soul's debut album came out in 1989, it created quite a stir in the music industry.  At a time when old school rap had started to feel stale, De La Soul's funky, jazzy and quirky take on hip hop was a breath of fresh air.  That album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was both critically and commercially successful and was hailed by many critics as a sign of things to come.

The lead single from the LP was "Me Myself and I" which would go on to become De La Soul's only top 40 hit (at #34), while the album would reach #24 and go platinum.  At the time, the group's positive message and broad use of samples seemed to be pushing hip hop in an upbeat, artistic direction; it was easy to believe that this was the beginning of a new era.  This sense of a movement was reinforced by the Native Tongues collective, which was a grouping of artists (led by De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Jungle Brothers) who shared a musical vision that was positive, laid-back and somewhat Afrocentric.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan for De La Soul.  First, The Turtles sued the band for not obtaining permission to use their song "You Showed Me" as a sample (in "Transmitting Live from Mars").  The Turtles eventually won the case, which had a huge impact on the rap industry, as samples now had to be cleared (and paid for) prior to work being released.  This delayed the group's second album, and made it more difficult to produce the layered songs that they favored.

In addition, the group had a difficult time artistically as their recordings varied in style but did not resonate as well with critics and listeners.  To my ear, it almost sounds as if they were trying to find their sound, something that became more difficult after the industry's shift to gangster rap in the early 1990s.  While the band continued to record, their audience seemed to shrink with every record.  To their credit, De La Soul has stayed together and continues to record to the present day.

Cool trivia fact: Rolling Stone rated 3 Feet High and Rising as the 103rd album on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. 

Eurogliders - Heaven (Must Be There)

Eurogliders were an Australian band that had one minor international hit, although they had much greater success in their homeland.  The group formed in Perth in 1980 and were originally called Living Single.  By 1981 they had changed their name and secured a recording contract.  It is unclear why they chose the name Eurogliders as they were neither (to be fair, lead singer Grace Knight was born in the U.K., but had relocated to Australia by 1977).

The band's big hit was their 1984 single "Heaven (Must Be There)," off their second LP, This Island.  I'm not sure how much airplay the song had on radio, but the video was in rotation on MTV for a time.  In any event, "Heaven" peaked at #65 in the U.S., while the album stalled at #140.  In contrast, our Australian reader(s) may recall that the song reached #2 on the charts there (the album hit #4), one of seven top 40 hits in their homeland.

Eurogliders broke up in 1989.  Lead singer Grace Knight went on to have a successful career as a jazz singer and several of the other members remained in the music industry.  The band has sporadically re-formed since 2005.

Ramones - Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?

Often viewed by critics as the first punk band, the Ramones are an incredibly important act in the history of rock and roll.  By stripping rock down to its basic elements, they created something new, brash and exciting, and breathed new life into the music industry.

The roots of the Ramones go back to early 1960s rock and roll, and the band's style (jeans, leather jackets) showed these influences.  This was probably one of the factors that made them so influential -- they were doing something new, but it was connected to rock's past.

The Ramones got their start in New York City, and they quickly became part of the punk/new wave scene at CBGB's that included Blondie, Talking Heads, and Television among others.  Their early sets (often featuring 10 songs in 20 minutes) soon gathered a following, and they were signed by Sire in 1975.   Their debut album came out the following year, and the band then began a relentless touring schedule for the next 20 or so years.

In spite of the band's importance, they had only modest commercial success, and in 1980 they decided to work with Phil Spector on their fifth album, End of the Century.  While the combination was a bit weird, it also made some sense, as the band's 1960s influences and desire for more commercial success fit well with Spector's strengths.  The resulting album was surprisingly good, though the recording sessions were tumultuous (at one point, Spector apparently pulled a gun on the band).

While End of the Century was the band's highest charting LP, it only reached #44, and none of the singles charted.  The band would go on to tour and release records up until their breakup in 1996.  Sadly, Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee would all pass away within eight years of the breakup.

Cool trivia facts:  "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" was the 103rd video played on MTV (on the first day).

The Ramones never had a top 40 hit; 1977's "Rockaway Beach" was their highest charting single at #66.

In 2002, Spin Magazine ranked the Ramones as the second greatest band ever, trailing only the Beatles.

The Ramones video for "Pet Sematary" was posted on the blog in October 2013 as part of our annual All Hallows Even celebration.

Jason and the Scorchers - Absolutely Sweet Marie

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:"

And the Bob Dylan original ...

Loverboy - Notorious

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).

Vixen - Edge of a Broken Heart

By 1988, hard rock had virtually taken over the U.S. charts and the record labels responded by putting out a ton of product.  This included a bunch of pop metal that was modeled after Bon Jovi or Def Leppard and was more or less designed to be commercially successful.

Vixen fits into this guilty pleasure segment, which isn't to say that they weren't a solid band ... just that they had a crafted sound.  The all-female band was formed in the early 1980s in Minnesota, but moved to LA by the middle part of the decade.  They were signed by EMI in 1988, and their eponymous debut LP came out the same year.  One sign of EMI's involvement was that the band wrote exactly one of the eleven songs on their album (to be fair, they co-wrote four others with external songwriters).

"Edge of a Broken Heart" was co-written by Richard Marx (yes, that Richard Marx, who also appears in the video at 2:42) and Fee Waybill (cool rock name alert!) from The Tubes, who was featured on ERV way back in August of 2011 for the under-rated classic "Talk to You Later." (Seriously worth a listen; turn the sound up as the video's volume is too low.)  The song generated a ton of airplay on MTV and reached #26 on the charts, while the album peaked at #41.  Vixen's second album did not do as well and the band broke up in 1991, although they have re-united periodically in the ensuing years.

Cool trivia fact: Jon Butcher wrote "American Dreams" for Vixen's debut album.  Butcher's "Don't Say Goodnight" was the third video featured on ERV, back in August 2011 and gets our highest recommendation.

Cool trivia fact #2:  Vixen is not a one hit wonder, as their Heart-influenced single "Cryin'" hit #26 on the charts.

Difford & Tilbrook - Love's Crashing Waves

As many readers will know, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook were the main creative force behind the underrated new wave/pop band Squeeze.  (By the by, Squeeze was featured on ERV last January with "Another Nail in My Heart.")  Squeeze released five solid LPs between 1978 and 1982, broke up, re-formed in 1985 and stayed together until 1999, broke up again, and re-formed again in 2007.

Interestingly, Difford and Tilbrook continued to work together after the first Squeeze break up and actually released an album in 1984, which they creatively called Difford & Tilbrook.  The album did not do that well, only reaching #55 on the Billboard charts, which perhaps explains why there wasn't a second Difford and Tilbrook  album.  Additionally, we do not believe that the "Love's Crashing Waves" single even charted in the U.S. (it did reach #57 in the U.K.).

While the material is still strong, the album's production is definitely blue-eyed soul, influenced by Hall & Oates (as several critics have pointed out).  Along the same lines, the duo changed their clothes and Glenn Tilbrook even grew his hair (in retrospect, probably not the best idea; you can judge for yourself in the video below).  The new image and sound did not resonate with listeners, and after a successful reunion show in 1985 Squeeze re-formed and stayed together (with some personnel changes) for the next 14 years.

Carl Carlton - She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)

Carl Carlton has been a working musician since the mid-1960s, and had two top 40 hits in his career.  The second big hit was 1981's "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)" from his shirtless self-titled album (yes, really).  The song reached #22 on the charts, and helped propel the album to the #34 slot, making it the highest charting album (but not single) of Carlton's career.

The video features Mr. Carlton in a Michael Jackson-esque white tux and four swimsuit beauties (Misses Pieces, Gemini, Virgo and Aries if you must ask).  Carlton serenades the women and there is a little bit of dancing involved ... and that's pretty much it.

In any event, "She's a Bad Mama Jama" is a seriously good pop/funk song, written by Leon Haywood.  Haywood's name might not ring a bell, but you know his one hit -- 1975's "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You."  Younger readers may recognize the melody as "Nuthin' But A G Thang," which samples (essentially covers) the song.

Carlton's first big hit was a cover of "Everlasting Love," which peaked at #6 in 1974.  As an aside, "Everlasting Love" is a great and interesting song that is one of two songs to have broken the top 40 in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s.  (The other song to do this is "The Way You Do the Things You Do".)

Carl Carlton remains active to the present day, but has not had another major hit.  In recent years, he has rotated to more gospel-related music.

Vain - Beat the Bullet

Long time reader Sam requested Vain (multiple times) and he is right -- "Beat the Bullet" is a solid late 1980s choice for the blog.  So this one goes out to Sam, with my compliments.

Vain came out of the San Francisco hard rock scene of the mid 1980s and was led by singer Davy Vain.  The band formed in 1986 and played regularly in San Francisco and Los Angeles before signing a contract with Island Records in 1988.  Vain's debut album, 1989's No Respect was a solid initial effort and reached #154 on the album charts.  Although the single, "Beat the Bullet" did generate some airplay on MTV, it did not chart.

The group returned to the studio to work on their second LP, titled All These Strangers, but were dropped by their label when Island Records was acquired by PolyGram.  Vain then joined forces with ex-Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler to form Road Crew and recorded an album that generated some recording label interest.  Unfortunately, Adler's drug problems soon put an end to the project.  The band then returned to the Vain moniker and has continued to record and perform to the present day.

Talking Heads - Once In a Lifetime

The 63rd video aired on MTV, "Once In a Lifetime" is now often viewed as one of the most significant songs and videos of the 1980s.  The song was named to the NPR 100 (the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century) while the video has been displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Talking Heads was made up of three friends from the Rhode Island School of Design (David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth) who were subsequently joined by Jerry Harrison (who had played in Jonathan Richman's band The Modern Lovers).  The band came out of the vibrant punk/new wave scene at New York's CBGBs, along with the Ramones, Blondie, and Television, among others.

Allmusic characterizes Talking Heads as art-school punks, which is a great description.  The band incorporated punk, new wave and world music influences into something that resembled artistic pop music.  The formula did not always work, but at their best, Talking Heads made some of the most artistic and interesting music of their era.

"Once In a Lifetime" was the lead single off the band's fourth record, 1980's Remain in Light.  While the album sold well and reached #19 on the charts, "Once In a Lifetime" did not break the top 100, peaking at #103.  (It did better in the U.K., where it reached #14.)  Remain in Light was also the third LP where Talking Heads collaborated with Brian Eno, who co-wrote, produced and engineered the album.

The video was one of the craziest, most creative things shown on early MTV.  Choreographed by Toni Basil (of "Mickey" fame), it consists of David's Byrne's crazed marionette-like spasms, which are combined with additional footage in the background.  Somehow, the whole thing comes together, and the result is a musical and visual masterpiece.

Cool trivia fact:  Rolling Stone rated Remain in Light as the 4th best album of the 1980s, and the 39th greatest album ever.

Bruce Hornsby and the Range - Mandolin Rain

Bruce Hornsby and the Range released their well-crafted debut album in 1986.  The Way It Is quickly gained traction, rising to #3 in the U.S. and generating three top 20 hits -- the title cut (a #1 single), "Mandolin Rain" (#4) and "Every Little Kiss" (#14).  Hornsby then went on to win the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1987, and was never heard from again.  OK, the last part is not true, but Horsby's debut album was the commercial high point of his career.  [And for a list of Best New Artist Grammy winners since 1975, check out the BoDeans' "Only Love" post from last June.]

In fact, Hornsby recorded two additional album with The Range (both of which reached the top 20) and had three additional top 40 hits before dropping the band to go out on his own.  In the intervening years, he has worked as a studio musician, recorded a bunch of albums (his more recent work has more of a jazz-influenced sound) and played with the Grateful Dead.

While Hornsby's videos were played in the 1980s, his low key approach (which is apparent in "Mandolin Rain" below) did not fit in well with MTV target market.   Afterwards, his move to a more jazz and bluegrass influenced sound took him out of the mainstream.  However, he remains a talented artist who had six top 40 songs from 1986 - 1990.

Cool trivia fact:  Bruce Hornsby co-wrote two top 10 hits for other artists -- Don Henley's "The End of the Innocence" (#8 in 1989) and Huey Lewis' "Jacob's Ladder" (#1 in 1987).

Mink DeVille - I Must Be Dreaming

In 1985, Mink Deville released Sporting Life, the band's six (and final) LP.  The album contained one of the better unknown ballads from the 1980s - "I Must Be Dreaming," which seemed like a great fit for ERV.

Mink Deville's origins go way back to 1974 when Willie Deville (born as Billy Borsay) formed the band in San Francisco.  Named somewhat randomly after the group's idea of a cool car (a fur-lined Cadillac), Mink Deville first gained notoriety as the house band at CBGB's from 1975 - 1977.  Amazingly, their unique pop/soul style somehow fit in with the new wave and punk groups at the time.

Signed to Capital in 1976, Mink Deville recorded several eclectic albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and never quite found their audience.  In fact, few of their albums and singles even charted in the U.S. though they did have some success internationally.  In addition, as members of the band left, Willie Deville replaced them with studio musicians, so by the third album Mink Deville and Willie Deville were virtually indistinguishable.  The Sporting Life was the last album where the Mink Deville name was used, after that it was Willie Deville for all concerts and albums.

Willie Deville would go on to release eight more studio albums, mostly with a soul flavor (in fact, his pop/soul songs with Latin rhythms would come to be called Spanish-Americana music).

Deville sadly died of cancer in New York in 2009.

Cool trivia fact: The pop metal band Giuffria recorded a cover of "I Must Be Dreaming" in 1986, which charted at #52.

Steve Earle - Copperhead Road

As a country roots rocker in the 1980s, Steve Earle had a challenging time fitting in, not unlike John Hiatt.  Earle was critically acclaimed and flirted with success on both the country and rock charts but ultimately never quite broke through.  However, he recorded a bunch of great music and gradually developed a modest but loyal following.

Earle's 1988 release Copperhead Road was represented a clear break from the more country-oriented sound that preceded it.  A combination of frustration over the Nashville music scene and his liberal politics may have driven the change.  In any event, the result was a unique and really solid country-rock album that reached #56 on the charts.  The single "Copperhead Road" is a classic roots rock storytelling song, and it received some radio airplay at the time.

The video does a fine job of telling the song's story about moonshine, Vietnam and drugs, with a decidedly anti-authoritarian slant.  (I particularly like the intro.) 

In the aftermath of Copperhead Road, Earle's career deteriorated, primarily due to drug use.  His 1990 CD, The Hard Way, is not viewed as one of his better efforts, and he then mostly disappeared from view for several years.  However, he returned to the industry (cleaner) in 1995 and has carved out a solid and interesting path since then.  For readers who are interested, 1986's Guitar Town and 1996's I Feel Alright are especially strong.  ERV also posted an earlier effort, "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" in January 2014.

Earle remains active in the industry as of this writing.

Soul II Soul - Jazzie's Groove

More a community of artists than a static band, Soul II Soul were nevertheless one of the more interesting and creative R&B acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jazzie B (real name: Trevor Romeo) formed the group in London in 1988 with a lineup that included Nellee Hooper and Caron Wheeler among its ranks.  [Carol Wheeler appeared on ERV last December as a backup singer in the Elvis Costello and The Attractions song, "Everyday I Write the Book."]

Soul II Soul's sound was a modern take on traditional R&B and soul.  In particular, by combining samples with modern R&B, they made songs that were more interesting and creative than most R&B on the radio at the time.  The group's first album, Club Classics Vol. One (called Keep On Movin' in the U.S.) was a hit, reaching #14 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K.  The singles "Keep On Movin'" (#11 in the U.S.) and "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" (#4) became big hits, and the group appeared to be headed for continued success.

Sadly, Wheeler left the band before the second LP was recorded, and further personnel turnover also had an impact on the group.  While they remained stars in the U.K., they did not have another top 40 hit in the U.S. Jazzie B eventually disbanded Soul II Soul in 1997, although they have reunited and performed in recent years.

For the blog, we skipped right over their two big hits listed above and settled on "Jazzie's Groove," a funky, mostly instrumental song that features samples from Gary Byrd's "Soul Travelin' Pt. I," Beau Dollar's "Who Knows," The Honey Drippers' "Impeach the President" and Pleasure's "Celebrate the Good Things."

Scorpions - No One Like You

For the second "Jailhouse rock" video, we went with a clip that is very close to, and very far away from our first video.  "No One Like You" was shot one year after Marty Balin's "Hearts" video, in the same location (Alcatraz).  However, it is the diametric opposite in terms of style; "No One Like You" is a hard rock ballad, and the video seems more focused on capital punishment than love.

"No One Like You" was the first charting single (in the U.S.) by Scorpions (no 'the'), and it hit #65 on the charts  (and #1 on the Rock Tracks charts).  It was off the Blackout LP, which was the band's eighth album, and highlights just how long it took for the group to break through in the U.S.  Blackout reached #10 on the album charts and was the first of three consecutive top 10 albums for the band.

Scorpions were formed in Germany in the late 1960s by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who has been the band's only constant member, although lead singer Klaus Meine has been with the group since 1970 (and is the lead singer on all of their albums).  Coincidentally, Schenker and Meine co-wrote "No One Like You."  With its anthemic chords and simpler solo, the song showed the template that Scorpions (and many others) would use in the 1980s.

The video is notable for three things:  1. stock footage of sharks (1:45), 2. Rudolf Schenker's imitation of the album cover (2:53, although the album art was a self portrait of artist Gottfried Helnwein) and 3. Klaus Meine's underwear (3:40 if you wish to avert your eyes).  Oh, and not to give anything away, but it turns out that the whole thing was just a nightmare.

Of course, Scorpions would follow up Blackout with their 1984 smash Love at First Sting, which featured "Rock You Like a Hurricane," one of two top 40 hits for the band (it hit #25, while "Winds of Change" reached #4 in 1991).

While there have been recent rumors about the band's breakup, they appear to be together as of this writing.

Marty Balin - Hearts

Marty Balin's "Hearts" is the first of two "jailhouse rock" videos.  The video is a wonderful smorgasbord of early 1980s cheesiness, complete with Alcatraz, a beautiful woman, and a rock star in his underwear.  Amazingly, all of these elements will appear in the next "jailhouse rock" video as well.

As many readers will know, Marty Balin (born Martyn Buchwald) was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane.  He was with the band from 1965 to 1971, and then rejoined Jefferson Starship in 1975.  During his Jefferson Starship days, Balin wrote and sang "Miracles" and sang  "With Your Love" and "Count on Me."

Balin left Jefferson Starship in 1978, and released his cleverly titled solo album, Balin, in 1981.  The Balin LP reached #35 on the album charts and produced the only solo top 40 hits of Balin's career -- "Hearts" (#8) and  "Atlanta Lady" (#27).  No, we don't remember "Atlanta Lady" either.

"Hearts" is a well-produced, lite-rock ballad, with a fitting video.  There is also a lot of Balin -- in a bathing suit, in his underwear, curled up with his acoustic guitar, frolicking on the beach ... you get the idea.

Balin remained active in the industry until his passing, in September 2018.  He released a bunch of material through the years, including solo projects, as well as albums with Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and even one with the KBC Band (with  Paul Kantner and Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane).

T'Pau - Heart and Soul

Although they were stars in the U.K. (where they had 8 top 40 hits), T'Pau were a classic one hit wonder in the U.S., with only "Heart and Soul" breaking the top 40.  The band was formed in Shropshire, U.K. in 1986 and were led by singer Carol Decker.  The group was originally called Talking America but changed their name to T'Pau (a Star Trek character) almost randomly.  It seems that an old episode of the TV show was on in the background while they were debating names, and the word T'Pau stuck in their heads.

T'Pau's demo tapes soon scored them a recording contract with Virgin Records, and the band's debut LP, Bridge of Spies was released in 1987.  Interestingly, the initial release of "Heart and Soul" did not go well.  And then ... it was used in a Pepe Jeans commercial in the U.S. and U.K. and absolutely took off, reaching #4 on both sides of the Atlantic.

While they did not chart again in the U.S., our British readers may remember "China in Your Hand," a #1 song from later in 1987.

The band broke up in 1991, then re-formed in 1998 and continue to perform as of this writing.

Toto - Stranger in Town

David Paich, Steve Lukather and the Porcaro brothers (Jeff, Steve and Mike) were session musicians whose credits included Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, Michael Jackson, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton and The BeeGees.  In 1977, Paich and Jeff Porcaro started to talk about forming their own band, and in short order they put a group together.  Supposedly, they wrote Toto on their initial recordings to differentiate themselves from the other bands in the studio and the name eventually stuck.

While Toto's first album was successful, the next two LPs were commercial disappointments.  The band's fluid style migrated between pop and arena rock due to the competence and diverse styles of the members, but this was not a recipe for broad commercial success.  Toto responded with Toto IV, a crafted pop album that reached #4 and went triple platinum in 1982.

Unfortunately, the band's next album, 1984's Isolation, returned to the arena rock style and did not resonate with their audience (who were expecting more songs like "Rosanna" and "Africa").  Part of the change may have been influenced by a change in vocals, as lead singer Bobby Kimball left the band and was replaced by Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen.

Ironically, the one hit off Isolation was a song that could have fit in on Toto IV -- "Stranger in Town."  This is underscored by David Paich's vocals (he also sang lead on "Africa.")  The song was inspired by the 1961 British film Whistle Down the Wind, about a group of schoolchildren who discover an escaped convict and mistake him for ... well, watch the video; you'll see.  Helped by some airplay on MTV, the song reached #30 on the charts (one of 9 top 40 hits for the band).

Although the band's popularity faded after the late 1980s, they have more or less remained together to the present day, with some personnel changes (sadly, Jeff Porcaro died in 1992).

Cool trivia fact: "Stranger in Town" was directed by Steve Barron, who also directed Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean, A-Ha's "Take on Me" and Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing"  and many, many other 1980s videos.

Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny

Tommy Tutone was a solid, straight-ahead rock band who came up with the killer single that most bands dream about.  That song, "867-5309/Jenny" shot to #4 on the charts and helped make Tommy Tutone 2 a #20 LP.  Interestingly, that was not Tommy Tutone's only top 40 hit (although they are often considered a one hit wonder) ... but more on that later.

The Northern California band was led by lead singer Tommy Heath and guitarist Jim Keller.  The group was originally called Tommy and the Tu-tones; this eventually was shortened to Tommy Tutone.  While there is some mythology around the song, it was simply a made-up story as there was no Jenny.  The song was co-written by Jim Keller (Tommy Tutone) and Alex Call (who also wrote "Perfect World" for Huey Lewis and the News and "Little Too Late" for Pat Benatar).

As alluded to before, Tommy Tutone had a minor hit in 1980 with "Angel Say No," which was our first choice for the blog.  However, it does not appear that a video was ever made for that song, so we put up an audio clip on the ERV Facebook page.  "Angel Say No," from Tommy Tutone's 1980 self-titled debut album, peaked at #38.

Unfortunately, the band's third album, 1983's National Emotion, barely broke the top 200 album charts and the group broke up.  Jim Keller remained in the industry, while Tommy Health apparently left the music business for a time.  They both have occasionally recorded and performed, and we believe that Tommy Heath has a version of Tommy Tutone together as of this writing.

Cool trivia fact:  The actress in "867-5390/Jenny" is Karen Morton, Playboy's Playmate of the month for July 1978.  For those who are interested, there is an interview with her on the Noblemania blog.

The Police - Don't Stand So Close to Me

One of our favorite aspects of researching ERV is encountering a video so rare that even we haven't seen it.  The unreleased Guns N' Roses video for "It's So Easy" (previously featured on ERV) would be one such example.  And the first Police video (below) for "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is another.

The Police released five strong albums over a six year period, and are one of the few rock bands who did not release a bad album, in your author's opinion.  While we favor the first three LPs, even the weaker Police material is extremely strong.  The band successfully combined elements of punk, new wave, traditional rock, jazz and even reggae into their songs.  In addition, they became huge stars, and have sold some 50 million units.

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" was off the superb third Police album, 1980's Zenyatta Mondatta.  Recording between tours, the album was completed in roughly four weeks.  Subsequently, the band has criticized the album as being rushed, but many critics (including the folks at ERV) believe that it is one of the strongest rock records ever made.

The first (rare) video was recorded at the same time as the video for "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da."  The recording took place in late November 1980 in Grey Rock, Quebec.  Although the vid was shown on the BBC's Top of the Pops around the same time, it has since become almost totally forgotten.

The second video of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is the standard video, and it was recorded later.  We remember seeing this one on HBO's Video Jukebox, probably in 1981.  It features Sting in his Beat (English Beat to Americans) t-shirt.

As many readers will know, the Police never officially broke up, but they simply went their separate ways (for the most part) after their 1984 Synchronicity tour.  A 1986 attempt to re-record their greatest hits was aborted and only remakes of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (released at the time) and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (rare but released later) were done.  They did re-form for a 2007 - 2008 reunion tour, but have not released any new material since 1983's Synchronicity.

Andy Taylor - Take it Easy

By 1985 Duran Duran were huge stars, but the years of recording and touring had taken their toll on the band.  The group decided to take a break to recharge, but the members' free time soon led to two side projects.  Andy and John Taylor went for a rock/dance sound with the Power Station (with Tony Thompson and Robert Palmer), while Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor formed Arcadia, which focused on more atmospheric pop.

The Power Station LP became a huge success, reaching #6 on the album charts and spawning three top 40 hits ("Some Like It Hot" (#6), "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" (#9) and "Communication" (#34).)  While Robert Palmer soon left the band to continue his solo career, the new sound interested Andy Taylor and he left Duran Duran in 1986 to pursue a solo career.

His first solo project involved working on the soundtrack of American Anthem, and he eventually contributed three songs to the film's soundtrack.  "Take It Easy" (no relation to the Eagles song) was released as a single and did well, reaching #24 on the charts.  Sadly, this would be Andy Taylor's only top 40 solo hit, as his 1987 album (Thunder) did not do terribly well.  Taylor then moved on to producing, although he continued to perform and record both as a solo artist and with Duran Duran (he officially rejoined the band from 2001 - 2006).

While American Anthem was not a huge hit, it did feature Mitch Gaylord (best known for leading the 1984 U.S. men's gymnastics team to a gold medal) and Janet Jones (best known for marrying Wayne Gretzky).  The video, blending Taylor's band with clips from the film, is a highly entertaining mid-1980s video.

Cool trivia fact:  The rhythm section for the song and video for "Take It Easy" featured Terry Bozzio on drums and Patrick O'Hearn on bass -- they both had been in Missing Persons and were now unemployed, as that band broke up in 1986.

The Pointer Sisters - Neutron Dance

The Pointer Sisters were a fascinating group who managed to navigate the difficult pop and R&B waters during most of the 1970s and 1980s.  They had 15 top 40 hits, and had a stretch in 1984 where they had four consecutive top 10 hits (including "Neutron Dance.")

The sisters (who really were sisters) were from Oakland, California.  In the late 1960s Bonnie and June began singing (often as backup singers) and were soon joined by Anita and Ruth.  They remained a quartet until 1977 when Bonnie left the band.  While they were versatile in terms of their musical style, they were also distinctive due to their tight harmonies and strong vocals.

"Neutron Dance" was off their 1983 smash LP Break Out.  However, the song is best known for its inclusion in the movie Beverly Hills Cop.  The song was co-written by Allee Willis (who co-wrote Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" and "Boogie Wonderland") and Danny Sembello (the younger brother of Michael, who wrote "Maniac" from Flashdance.)  Interestingly, the song was originally written for the 1984 film Streets of Fire, but it did not make the cut.

"Neutron Dance" reached #6 on the charts and was the last of the four top 10 Pointer Sister singles (the first three were "Automatic" (#5), "Jump (For My Love)" (#3) and "I'm So Excited" (#9)).  The sisters had several more hits through 1987 and have remained active (with some personnel changes) through the present day.

Cool trivia fact:  In 1974 the Pointer Sisters became the first black artists to play at the Grand Ole Opry.

Honeymoon Suite - Feel It Again

"Feel It Again" was Honeymoon Suite's only top 40 U.S. hit, and it remains something of a guilty pleasure for me. The band originally formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Canada and chose the band's name based on the fact that a lot of couples honeymoon in Niagara Falls.

The group's big break came when "New Girl Now" helped them win a 1983 unsigned band contest held by Toronto radio station Q107.  Honeymoon Suite soon had a recording contract and released their self-titled debut album in 1984.  While they were not superstars, they had a bunch of success in Canada, with 14 charting singles, 8 of which went top 40.  The U.S. market proved tougher to crack, although they did have three other top 100 songs aside from "Feel It Again."

While we have often lumped the band together with Helix (another Canadian hard rock band), Honeymoon Suite was more polished (poppy?) and less metal than Helix.  [Helix has already appeared on ERV with their ballad "Deep Cuts the Knife," so interested readers can decide for themselves.]

The video for "Feel It Again" is awesomely cheesy, and uses some wonderfully dated special effects, which generated some airplay back in the day.  (We are particularly partial to the dog on treadmill effect at 1:06.)  The song ended up as a modest hit, reaching #34 in the U.S. (#16 in Canada) while their LP The Big Prize peaked at #61.  The band's mainstream success faded after the early 1990s, but they continue to perform and record as of this writing (though there have been some personnel changes).

Cool trivia facts:  Honeymoon Suite won the 1986 Canadian Juno Award for Group of the Year.  The group also performed the title cut for the 1987 movie Lethal Weapon.

200!

Amazingly (to us, at least) Electric Boys "All Lips N' Hips" was the 200th video on ERV.  We have been going strong since August 2011 and have a current backlog of more than 100 videos -- which is at least another years' worth.

We would like to thank any and all readers on the site -- we enjoy doing the blog, but it is especially fun to have some regulars who email and comment (you know who you are).  For anyone else wondering how to express support for ERV, you can:  tell your friends, like us on Facebook or follow us on Blogger (or both), click on ads, comment or email us.  Or you can just lurk -- we're pretty easy around here.

As a brief interlude before we get back to the videos, we have a few station identifiers and intros to great video programs from the 1980s.  The first is a collection of MTV Identifiers:

Next, the intro theme to the wonderful USA Network show Night Flight.  We have mentioned Night Flight once or twice on ERV -- it was a collection of videos, rock movies, cult films, documentaries and art films.

Lastly, the introduction to HBO's Video Jukebox, which played videos in between movies on HBO.  We believe that this was the first place that we saw music videos, as Video Jukebox actually predates MTV.

Again, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read this, and we will have more videos up soon.

Electric Boys - All Lips N' Hips

Electric Boys were Sweden's contribution to the cool, but short lived funk metal scene.  The band was formed in 1988 in Stockholm by guitarist/vocalist Conny Bloom (Blomqvist) and bassist  Andy Christell.  Their first single, "All Lips and Hips" was released the same year, and became a hit in Sweden.  The local success of the song led to a recording contract, and in 1990, the band's debut album (Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride) was released.  [Hence, astute readers might view "All Lips and Hips" as a 1990 release, but we tend to go with the original release date at ERV.  Is this cheating?  Perhaps, but it does allow us to highlight a few videos that otherwise would not be included.]

As Allmusic points out, Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride was not funk metal the way Faith No More was, it was more funk shaded hard rock like vintage Aerosmith or early 1970s Rolling Stones.  "All Lips and Hips" cracked the Billboard charts, but only reached #76, and ended up being the only Electric Boys song to chart in the U.S.  However, the band's psychedelic gypsy-inspired videos did pick up some airplay on MTV, and it seemed as if they were well-positioned to build their audience. Then Nirvana's Nevermind happened, and the Electric Boys soon found themselves totally out of favor.

The band did release two subsequent albums in 1992 and 1994, but neither charted, and they broke up in the mid 1990s.  Electric Boys has re-formed in recent years, and even released a new album in 2011.

Jackson Browne - Somebody's Baby

While the video did not get much airplay on MTV, Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" did become a big hit for him, hitting #7 on the charts.  In fact, this well-crafted song would end up becoming the highest charting hit of Browne's career.

"Somebody's Baby" was written for the Fast Times at Ridgemont High movie soundtrack.  The Cameron Crowe movie became an instant classic and gets ERV's highest recommendation (as does the later Crowe film, Almost Famous).  As a former Rolling Stone writer, Crowe is a true music aficionado, and his use of music in Fast Times is impeccable.

In some ways, Jackson Browne was a strange choice for the soundtrack.  While he remained successful as a singer/songwriter, his laid back folk style was somewhat out of favor by the early 1980s, as new wave and heavy metal were the next big things in popular music.  However, his haunting song fit right into the movie and retains a timeless feel to the present day.

While Browne continues to record, his releases have become less frequent over time.

Ready for the World - Oh Sheila

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."

The Lightning Seeds - Pure

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.

The Bangles - Going Down to Liverpool

"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.