Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

homerdog said:
I'm an unrepentant fan of AOR, so make no apologies for my next choice! According to Dee Snider, they were right between Ozzy and Toto in style, so popular with both audiences, which is a good way of describing their appeal.

One of my all-time favourite bands, their debut album Dawn Patrol was released in '82, featuring future Damn Yankees bassist Jack Blades, who wrote this song:

Don't Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger
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Their 24 strings and a drummer acoustic album is right up there with some of the best.

 
homerdog said:
I'm an unrepentant fan of AOR, so make no apologies for my next choice! According to Dee Snider, they were right between Ozzy and Toto in style, so popular with both audiences, which is a good way of describing their appeal.

One of my all-time favourite bands, their debut album Dawn Patrol was released in '82, featuring future Damn Yankees bassist Jack Blades, who wrote this song:

Don't Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger
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Another song on my possibles list.
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
I’ve been a little busy the past few days so happy fill in the gaps!

Yes wanted to write this and finally have time to do so.
1982 - another great year but this decade for me builds up with each year surpassing the previous one. Though 86 and 89 are the two twin peaks……..

1982 and I start following the Banshees around in an era when not too many fans did that.
Best gig was The Banshees with John Cooper Clarke at the Elephant Fayre in Cornwall in July, in a huge marquee.
Kiss in the dreamhouse was their album with Melt and Slowdive as the singles.
In October, I hadn’t missed a City game but the Banshees were playing at Birmingham Odean on a Saturday night while City were at Ipswich. No way would I be back in time so missed my first game of the season.
A midweek league cup game at Southampton had the Banshees playing Southampton Gaumont the same night. Losing 4-0 I left early and made my way to the venue. It was sold out so stood at the side of the venue where you could hear it all. As folk left I asked for their ticket and one lad gave me his but the bouncers wouldn’t let me in with it.
Obviously I’d missed the Special going back so slept on the train station and hitched back the following day as far as Banbury, where I jibbed a train to Birmingham and paid for a single to Manchester.

Other gigs was Altered Images / Flock of Seagulls at Warwick University.
In answer to the question above about Flock Of Seagulls, their popularity stems from MTV.
When it started in 81 or 82, very few Yank bands had made videos. A good deal of videos they showed were British bands videos or even TOTP performances.
It’s how The Police / Duran Duran / Howard Jones / Billy Idol - and a Flock Of Seagulls amongst many others became so big playing on heavy rotation. The Beat - known as The English Beat are in that group too. Def Leppard the same.

Other singles from 82.
Come on Eileen - yes it’s unbearable now but when it first came out it was fantastic and refreshing before it became a wedding dance around song.
New Order - Temptation - the first song I probably “danced” to as opposed to pogoing or shuffling around on the floor. It made the white boys dance!
Psychedelic Furs were really on my radar with Love My Way - another band who became huge in the States via the film Pretty In Pink of course.
Echo and the Bunnymen - Back of love
Tears for fears - Mad world
The Associates - Party Fears Two
Modern English - Melt with you
Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding
XTC - sends working overtime
the Cure - Let’s go to bed.

Soft Cell really played heavy on my gramaphone with Say Hello / Wave Goodbye and What? Both 12 inch versions.
So if I can from all of that select two for the play list

Soft Cell - What? (12 inch)
New Order - Temptation

My ticket to the Elephant Fayre
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I was at that 4-0 loss. In my brain it was a proper autumnal night. The 4th goal was a lob by Steve Moran that slowly sailed towards us in the cage and over Corrigans retreating head.

As for TFF. Mad World came out in '82. The album in '83. Seeing as I picked Let Me Go which had the same circumstances I did have it on my first big list but I hoped someone else would pick it!
 
threespires said:
You're absolutely right, albeit I'm not using my last pick on him. Notwithstanding the artist himself and beyond the commercial success there is some artistic merit there and I remember reading something about the meticulous process they went through to create some of the sound of it. Where it sounds on first listen that you're hearing a single chord stab in reality it's actually made up of in some cases 15 separate tracks layered together each with a tiny role to play until it got the exact 'shimmer' or whatever feel Jones was wanting to achieve. Think there was a video on YT showing how what sounds like a single sound on Billie Jean is actually half a dozen tracks combined and the impact that has on the sound. Billie Jean would be what I'd nominate if I had a free hit.

Maybe an EVH fan will nominate Beat It on the basis that track is half his anyway?
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I associate “Thriller” with 1983. It was released in time for Xmas in ‘82 but the sales and most of the singles happened in ‘83, it didn’t got to #1 in the US until Feb.
 
threespires said:
On the subject of omissions

No Psychedelic Furs yet.
Nothing from A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
No Costello/Young singing backing vocals on Black Coffee In Bed
Roxy signing off with the super smooth Avalon and a cover for More Than This that may or not have given Florence ideas (except I suspect she wasn't even born at that point - I feel very old)
Mad World ?
Pretenders
I thought Cleaners From Venus might get a mention (certainly Martin Newall needs a nod at some point but i'll wait till Number 13 in a few years)
The Birthday Party
I did wondered if at least one poster might show up to make mention of the near mythical Shonen Knife debut
And perhaps one of our US posters can explain the appeal of Flock of Seagulls who I think ended up more popular over there than they ever did here?
Finally, I thought someone might nominate Men Without Hats but then I am quite puerile - think he still makes a living out of that song, fair play to him.

Arrgggh I've just realised I can't count to four and I haven't got a pick left. Good job Randolph did the business with R< but it means that Mark Hollis or Bauhaus are going to have to wait for another day and that I've forever missed my chance to put The Kids From Fame forward, devastated :-(

​

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Roxy’s “More Than This” ought to be on the playlist; I’d have “Avalon” on it too.

I quite like “Flock of Seagulls” although it took me until last year to buy anything by them. Not sure they have any sort of USP, just very 80’s, with a very stupid haircut.
 
OB1 said:
Roxy’s “More Than This” ought to be on the playlist; I’d have “Avalon” on it too.

I quite like “Flock of Seagulls” although it took me until last year to buy anything by them. Not sure they have any sort of USP, just very 80’s, with a very stupid haircut.
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Mike Scores ridiculous hair was in my list, Wishing is one of 'our' songs.
 
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OB1 said:
Roxy’s “More Than This” ought to be on the playlist; I’d have “Avalon” on it too.

I quite like “Flock of Seagulls” although it took me until last year to buy anything by them. Not sure they have any sort of USP, just very 80’s, with a very stupid haircut.
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The smoother back end of RMs career is something I've grown to appreciate over the years.

I think your right about FofS lacking a USP beyond the hair, unlike perhaps in the US it was a very crowded field over here.
 
threespires said:
The smoother back end of RMs career is something I've grown to appreciate over the years.

I think your right about FofS lacking a USP beyond the hair, unlike perhaps in the US it was a very crowded field over here.
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I think the US may (generally) be less concerned about originality, but our US brothers in arms can tell us about that. I mean by that more accepting of bands UK may dismiss as copycat.

Certainly there are UK bands that have made it over there but had little or no success over here that are British. The Outfield are an example. They started in ‘84 and have an early 80’s sound. One description is a poppy Rush but that would be the Rush who were inspired by The Police, which would have been my reference point for them. I only came across them in 1987 when they supported Billy Idol in Nashville.
 
threespires said:
The smoother back end of RMs career is something I've grown to appreciate over the years.

I think your right about FofS lacking a USP beyond the hair, unlike perhaps in the US it was a very crowded field over here.
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I very much like the smoother Roxy Music, more so than early Roxy, which I also like a lot though.
 
OB1 said:
I think the US may (generally) be less concerned about originality, but our US brothers in arms can tell us about that. I mean by that more accepting of bands UK may dismiss as copycat.
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I will again note the two biggest reasons FofS was popular over here:
  1. hit single "I Ran (So Far Away)" on their debut album and
  2. Heavy heavy MTV rotation at a time when few bands in the early days were yet doing videos, and all the attraction that would come with that (hair, look, outfits, etc.)
I've heard the rest of their debut album, and there really weren't any other songs I was a fan of, including "Space Age Love Song", but I know others liked it. Many of the songs sounded pretty derivative of the hit, so there was that too.

I do recall they were a bigger draw in the US with the ladies too. If you collected 1980s compilation series, the odds were close to 100% that you'd get "I Ran" on there, which would make them more of a "one hit 80's band" in the same way some others were. I was more listening to Rush and VH at the time on those FM stations. FofS was never heard on that dial.

OB1 said:
Certainly there are UK bands that have made it over there but had little or no success over here that are British. The Outfield are an example. They started in ‘84 and have an early 80’s sound. One description is a poppy Rush but that would be the Rush who were inspired by The Police, which would have been my reference point for them. I only came across them in 1987 when they supported Billy Idol in Nashville.
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They were more of another "one hit wonder" in the US in the mid-80's. Honestly, that song was overplayed to death to the point it was butchered here. I never liked the lead singer's vocals, so I will not be nominating anything from them, I can assure you there.
 
OB1 said:
Roxy’s “More Than This” ought to be on the playlist; I’d have “Avalon” on it too.

I quite like “Flock of Seagulls” although it took me until last year to buy anything by them. Not sure they have any sort of USP, just very 80’s, with a very stupid haircut.
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I'm taking mental notes of a minor coda with Roxy Music and MJ, but we'll have some patience this week to see what comes up in the time we have left. ;-)
 
Come ride the steel dinosaur
Run wild in the jungle
It's a Zulu Nation
Seduction, sacrifice, a new sensation
Nothing ever changes

To most here not familiar with Philadelphia FM rock radio, it really was a unique market, unlike others this side of Cleveland that was known for making bands famous. Rush comes to mind up there as Rob originally mentioned back in 1974.

I grew up listening to both WMMR and WYSP on heavy rock, alternative, and new wave persuasions (mostly on 'MMR). Before The Hooters were in heavy rotation there, there was local rock and soul band Hall & Oates, George Thorogood from my home state, and this band in 1982 that many not from this region would term a "one hit wonder".

Next to this song that starts strong on the synths and bass before the guitars take over towards the end, this artist was mostly known for in 1979 penning the original lyrics to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" that a NYC artist would later rewrite and make it into her own, but.. we're not ready for that just yet.

Before a recent UN escalator snafu incident became a topic of weight questions, paranoid conspiracies, and a bruised ego of a narcissist, it was the hit that Robert Hazard & the Heroes sang about on this MTV hit. This helped him and his band rise out of Philadelphia obscurity into 9 weeks on the Billboard Top 100. Make no mistake, MTV and appearances on American Bandstand helped with the latter, but I'd argue you wouldn't go a day (much less hours?) without hearing this song back then in Philly. Despite his mid-30s age, he had the Elvis inspired "made for the 80's" hair, the preppy skinny tie and leather suit jacket, and the now dated cigarette in hand while singing look that helped him make it during that period.

1760192058296.png

Escalator Of Life - Robert Hazard & The Heroes
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
Come ride the steel dinosaur
Run wild in the jungle
It's a Zulu Nation
Seduction, sacrifice, a new sensation
Nothing ever changes

To most here not familiar with Philadelphia FM rock radio, it really was a unique market, unlike others this side of Cleveland that was known for making bands famous. Rush comes to mind up there as Rob originally mentioned back in 1974.

I grew up listening to both WMMR and WYSP on heavy rock, alternative, and new wave persuasions (mostly on 'MMR). Before The Hooters were in heavy rotation there, there was local rock and soul band Hall & Oates, George Thorogood from my home state, and this band in 1982 that many not from this region would term a "one hit wonder".

Next to this song that starts strong on the synths and bass before the guitars take over towards the end, this artist was mostly known for in 1979 penning the original lyrics to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" that a NYC artist would later rewrite and make it into her own, but.. we're not ready for that just yet.

Before a recent UN escalator snafu incident became a topic of weight questions, paranoid conspiracies, and a bruised ego of a narcissist, it was the hit that Robert Hazard & the Heroes sang about on this MTV hit. This helped him and his band rise out of Philadelphia obscurity into 9 weeks on the Billboard Top 100. Make no mistake, MTV and appearances on American Bandstand helped with the latter, but I'd argue you wouldn't go a day (much less hours?) without hearing this song back then in Philly. Despite his mid-30s age, he had the Elvis inspired "made for the 80's" hair, the preppy skinny tie and leather suit jacket, and the now dated cigarette in hand while singing look that helped him make it during that period.

View attachment 171977

Escalator Of Life - Robert Hazard & The Heroes
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There’s very few Artists on here I’ve never heard of and this is one.
Looking forward to listening to them.
 
Out on blue 6 said:
The question is is there any other out and out genres of music left to cover after Hip Hop or are they just sub genres?
You could talk about electronics but we are talking about mid 70s there.
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It's an interesting question and certainly my view that from 65-80 is the greatest years of rock music probably aligns with that. The changes in how music is written, recorded, the complexity, scope, scale, ambition pushed it forward dramatically. The explosion of genres in this period is incredible - rock, heavy rock, heavy metal, psychedelia, soul, funk, glam rock, the singer songwriter, disco, Philly Soul, jazz rock, punk, hip hop, ambient and the fusing of classical and Indian music into rock is just mind-blowing.

Has it been done? I think a large part of me says yes but by the same token whilst the Kraftwerk etc did electronic music the acid house sounds later in the decade sound very different to anything else before it. Sure we can argue that it's a genre of electronic music but - simply - different drugs for different music. Acid House isn't the only one I can think of but I would say that it starts to push music in a new direction with a heavier focus on the club experience. Maybe disco could argue that's what it did but the music in house is computerised, heavy on beats and production etc.

I would certainly agree that most of the blocks have been laid now and we're building on these now but some of these genres start to become bigger than their parents. Whilst, for example, we can say the Beatles or Led Zeppelin are descendent of the blues their sound is so different it's really hard to compare the two.

It's a great question though and would love to know what others think.
 
Out on blue 6 said:
The question is is there any other out and out genres of music left to cover after Hip Hop or are they just sub genres?
You could talk about electronics but we are talking about mid 70s there.
Click to expand...
It's an interesting question and certainly my view that from 65-80 is the greatest years of rock music probably aligns with that. The changes in how music is written, recorded, the complexity, scope, scale, ambition pushed it forward dramatically. The explosion of genres in this period is incredible - rock, heavy rock, heavy metal, psychedelia, soul, funk, glam rock, the singer songwriter, disco, Philly Soul, jazz rock, punk, hip hop, ambient and the fusing of classical and Indian music into rock is just mind-blowing.

Has it been done? I think a large part of me says yes but by the same token whilst the Kraftwerk etc did electronic music the acid house sounds later in the decade sound very different to anything else before it. Sure we can argue that it's a genre of electronic music but - simply - different drugs for different music. Acid House isn't the only one I can think of but I would say that it starts to push music in a new direction with a heavier focus on the club experience. Maybe disco could argue that's what it did but the music in house is computerised, heavy on beats and production etc.

I would certainly agree that most of the blocks have been laid now and we're building on these now but some of these genres start to become bigger than their parents. Whilst, for example, we can say the Beatles or Led Zeppelin are descendent of the blues their sound is so different it's really hard to compare the two.

It's a great question though and would love to know what others think.
 
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