Jane's Addiction - Jane Says

Alternative rockers Jane's Addiction were a truly unique band when they emerged from the LA scene in the mid 1980s.  While their music was shaped by many bands and genres, supposedly their two most significant influences were Led Zeppelin ... and The Cure.  Add some provocative art school imagery and a healthy dose of drugs and the band became a sensation in the LA club scene.  The buzz around Jane's Addiction led to a bidding war, which Warner Bros. won with a then record advance of $250,000 (or so).

The group was named after Jane Bainter, who really did have a drug problem and was a housemate of lead singer Perry Farrell (along with a dozen or so other folks).  The classic lineup added Dave Navarro (guitar), Stephen Perkins (drums) and Chris Chaney (bass).

"Jane Says" was written about the same Jane (Bainter), and incorporated elements of her life, including her boyfriend/drug dealer Sergio.  An earlier version of the song was released on Jane's Addiction's self titled independent record, but the song was re-recorded for the group's major label debut, 1988's Nothing's Shocking.  The re-recorded version added the steel drugs that are a key element of the song's now classic sound.

While "Jane Says" received some college radio airplay, it did not chart on the main charts (it did hit #6 on the Modern Rock Charts).  Nothing's Shocking did not break the top 100 on the album charts, hurt by the lack of videos and mainstream radio airplay.  Jane's Addition did not make a video of "Jane Says" in 1988, and the video they made for "Mountain Song" was banned from MTV due to nudity.  The video below is from Jane's Addition's 1997 compilation album, Kettle Whistle.

Jane's Addiction would go on to release another strong album in 1990, Ritual de lo Habitual, and would co-found the first Lollapalooza festival before the band broke up in 1991.  Farrell and Perkins would go on to form Porno for Pyros while Navarro would join the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a time.  Jane's Addiction has re-formed several times in recent years, even releasing an album in 2011.

Cool trivia fact:  While the Kettle Whistle live version of "Jane Says" features Eric Avery on bass, the video is with Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers).  The audio for the song was recorded in 1991 with Avery, while the video was recorded in 1997 on the Relapse tour (with Flea).

Cool trivia fact #2:  Jane's Addiction never had a top 40 hit, and only had one single that charted at all, 2003's "Just Because," which peaked at #73.

Simple Minds - All The Things She Said

While we had thought of Simple Minds as a big time success story, it turns out that they had only a brief period of success in the U.S.  American audiences will likely remember the band's big hit, "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which hit #1 in 1985.  That song was the first of four top 40 hits in the U.S between 1985 and 1986.  And with the exception of 1991's "See The Lights," the group did not have another top 40 song in America.

In contrast, Simple Minds were stars in their native Britain, where they had 24 top 40 singles between 1982 and 1998.  They also had three #1 and two #2 albums during this period, as opposed to one top 50 album in the U.S. (1985's Once Upon a Time).

Simple Minds were formed in Glasgow, Scotland in the late 1970s.  The band's name came from the lyrics to David Bowie's 1972 hit, "The Jean Jeanie" ("He's so simple minded he can't drive his module.")  Originally an art rock band modeled after Roxy Music, they evolved into more of an artistic pop/rock band over time; "All The Things She Said" is reasonably representative of the band during the 1980s.

The video features the two key members of the band, singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill.  In fact, both of them remain with the group to the present day.  The female co-lead singer is Robin Clark, a professional backup singer.  Interestingly, Clark is married to Carlos Alomar, who played with David Bowie from 1975 to 2003.

"All The Things She Said" was the last of the four top 40 hits mentioned above -- the song reached #28, while the Once Upon a Time album hit #10.

Cool trivia fact:  The band was not eager to record "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which was brought to them by their label.  The song had already been turned down by The Fixx, Bryan Ferry, and Billy Idol, and Simple Minds also initially turned the song down before reconsidering.  However, they remained ambivalent towards it, as evidenced by the band leaving it off the Once Upon a Time album.

Cool trivia fact #2:  Lead singer Jim Kerr was married to Chrissie Hynde (of the Pretenders) from 1984 - 1990.  He subsequently was married to actress Patsy Kensit from 1992 - 1996.

Dave Edmunds - Slipping Away

Dave Edmunds was a key part of the late 1970s and early 1980s British rockabilly scene, and his work (with Nick Lowe) in Rockpile particularly stands out.  However, both before and after Rockpile, Edmunds played and recorded his version of 1960s influenced rock and roll.

Edmunds was born in Cardiff, Wales and played in a series of bands before launching a solo career in 1970(!)  That year, his cover of "I Hear You Knocking" became a #1 hit in the UK (#4 in the U.S.).  Edmunds also became a notable producer, which led to a working relationship with Nick Lowe.  While legal issues prevented the use of the Rockpile name (Edmunds and Lowe were signed to two different labels), most of their work from 1976 through 1981 was as Rockpile (with Billy Bremner on guitar and Terry Williams on drums).  Ironically, the one 'official' Rockpile LP came at the end of this period.

"Slipping Away" is off Edmunds' 1983 Information LP, which was released after Rockpile broke up.  The song would go on to become a top 40 hit for him (barely), reaching #39 on the charts, while album rose to #51.  We suspect that some of this success was due to the video, which received a bit of airplay on MTV back in the day.

Edmunds remains active in the music industry to the present day, although his work has been less frequent since the early 1990s.

Cool trivia fact:  "Slipping Away" was written and produced by Jeff Lynne (of ELO fame).

McAuley Schenker Group - Gimme Your Love

Any discussion of the McAuley Schenker Group has to begin with the Mad Axeman himself, Michael Schenker.  The guitar protégé started performing with his older brother Rudolf in the Scorpions at 15 before joining the British hard rock band UFO in 1973 as an 18 year old.  His work in UFO established Schenker as a premier guitarist but his behavior became increasingly erratic, primarily due to alcohol issues, and he left the band in 1978.

After a brief stint with the Scorpions in 1978-79, Schenker decided to form his own band, appropriately named the Michael Schenker Group (MSG).  While MSG showed flashes of strong material, the group's album were also notoriously inconsistent, plagued by the continued alcohol abuse of Schenker (which also led to significant turnover within the band).

In 1986, Schenker recruited Irish vocalist Robin McAuley and was so impressed by the songwriting that he re-named the band the McAuley Schenker Group.  This version of MSG would go on to release three studio albums, one EP and one live album before McAuley left the band (to get married and temporarily retire from the industry) in 1993.

The McAuley Schenker Group's sound was more commercial than most of Schenker's other work.  This was not accidental; the group moved to Los Angeles and tried to cross over during the heavy metal heyday of the mid to late 1980s.  Unfortunately, significant commercial success eluded them.

For the blog, we went with "Gimme Your Love" from the first McAuley Schenker Group album, 1987's Perfect Timing.  The song did not break to top 100 (though it did hit #40 on the Mainstream Rock Charts), while the album peaked at #92.

Schenker remains active in the industry to the present day, and has been involved in occasional reunions with UFO.  McAuley also remains in the industry, and was the lead vocalist for Survivor from 2006 - 2011.  He has also performed with Schenker, notably on his 2012 tour.

Cool trivia fact:  At different points in his career, Michael Schenker was asked to audition for the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne.  Obviously, none of the auditions worked out.

Van Stephenson - Modern Day Delilah

Van Stephenson had an interesting career as a singer/songwriter, spanning the treacherous waters between country and rock in the 1980s and 1990s.  He began his career as a country songwriter, and wrote songs for Crystal Gayle and Kenny Rogers, among others.  He also released a solo album in 1981 called China Girl, which did not chart.

In 1984 he released the Righteous Anger LP, a more straightforward pop/rock album, which included his one top 40 hit, "Modern Day Delilah," (#22).  The album reached #54 and a second single, "What the Big Girls Do" nearly broke the top 40 at #45.  Unfortunately, Stephenson's next album, 1986's Suspicious Heart, did not chart.

As his solo career waned, Stephenson continued his songwriting (often for the country group Restless Heart) before forming the country act Blackhawk with Henry Paul and Dave Robbins in 1992.  Blackhawk would go on to have significant success, with four top 25 Country records and 14 top 40 Country singles.

Tragically, Stephenson was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and passed away in 2001 from the disease.  He was 47.