The Police is one of the few bands in music history to go out on top. After only 5 albums and the release of their biggest album to date, they called it quits. The album was ‘Synchronicity’ which came out on June 17, 1983. The album had 5 singles and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. However, before they called it quit, they did tour the album. The tour lasted from July 23, 1983 through til March 4, 1984 and consisted of 105 shows which break out to 66 shows in North America, 36 in Europe and 3 in Australia.
If you are curious, the average show had the following setlist…
“Voices Inside My Head”
“Synchronicity I” / “Synchronicity II”
“Walking in Your Footsteps”
“Message in a Bottle”
“Demolition Man” (some shows)
“Walking on the Moon”
“O My God”
“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”
“Wrapped Around Your Finger’
“Tea in the Sahara”
“Spirits in the Material World”
“Hole in My Life”
“One World (Not Three)”
“King of Pain”
“Every Breath You Take”
“Murder by Numbers”
Encore
“Roxanne”
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (some shows)
“Can’t Stand Losing You” / “Reggatta de Blanc”
“Next to You” (some shows)
“So Lonely”
A pretty impressive setlist and would’ve loved to have seen this tour, but I missed it. While out digging at one of my local record stores, I cam across the Tour Program from the 1983 leg of the tour and had to have it. I mean, I do collect Tour Books when I can find them. On a side note, the store had several autographed tour books fro Motley Crue, Skid Row, Metallica and a couple others but they all ran from around $275 and up. Not in my budget, sadly.
I thought I would show you what the Tour Program looked like from back in the day so here we go…and the cover is above, here is the rest…
Welcome to a the series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For Episode 5, we jump to the 80’s after spending several weeks in the late 60’s, early 70’s. We talk The Cars’ fifth album, ‘Heartbeat City’. The band exploded with help from legendary producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The album was released on March 13, 1984 and spawned not one, not two, but six singles, two of which reached the Top 10 on the Top 40. The album sold over 4 million copies going 4 x’s Platinum in the U.S. alone.
So go check it out as it is live now on September 5, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
In 1988, Def Leppard was flying high. They were at the top of their game, MTV was blasting all their videos all day long. Now was a perfect time to compile all their music videos together in one place and sell it to the buying hungry public on VHS. The video was called ‘Historia’ and it was released on July 5, 1988 and went on to sell over 200,000 copies in the U.S. alone making it a double platinum release. Back in the day, I bought this up on VHS the day it came out. Ran home, popped it in and sat back and enjoyed all the videos of the band from the ‘On Through the Night’ album up to ‘Hysteria’. It was 17 videos of pure Leppard magic. Oops, it was 18 videos actually on the VHS tape because “Love Bites” was added as a bonus and not listed.
Then in 2001, in the DVD era, Def Leppard released ‘Historia’ again except this time as a 2 video set and released with ‘In the Round, In Your Face’ live concert. And if that wasn’t enough, they updated with 5 more videos from the album ‘Slang’ and ‘Euphoria’. And of course, I went and bought this as well. The bad news is, I don’t have the VHS tape anymore as I didn’t think I’d need it anymore which I don’t, but would still be cool to have in the collection though.
The video kicks off with the some old timey style silent film like music and a some openings notes about the videos. Then it goes in to the only video from ‘On Through the Night’ with the video for “Hello America”. It was full of special video effects and why was the drum set out front??? Man, they all looked so young. Really great to see this early promotional video from Top of the Pops. Then we get three more promotional videos all from ‘High & Dry’. We get “Let It Go”, “High & Dry” and “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak (Version 1 with Pete Willis)”. All three were shot on the same day and done with live performances. I remember when I first saw these videos I thought they were the coolest as they looked so cool up there on the stage rocking out. And we get the first glimpse of the Union Jack shorts Rick Allen would help make famous.
Since I collet Def Leppard music, I also collect videos too. And yes, even bootleg videos. This one I found on eBay and was a collection of everything Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’ that appeared on TV. It didn’t matter what show, what country or anything. Someone took the time and pieced it all together to celebrate that album. And I think that is pretty cool. The collection comes in a slim DVD care and contains not one, but two DVDs. And it is around 3 1/2 hours long between the two discs. This is for Lep fans because you get a ton of Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, Steve Clark and new comer Phil Collen.
DISC 1:
The video kicks off with ‘Heavy: The Study of Metal’ that was on VH1 and showed only the parts related to Def Leppard and ‘Pyromania’. The show talked about the impact Lep had with videos and how they were one of the first rock/metal bands to really break through due to their good looks, good videos and good songs. After that we got a video of “Photograph” from their appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand on May 21, 1983. Of course it is lip synced, but who cares. The picture was a little grainy, but again, who cares. This was around 1983 and there was no HD or even 4K for that matter. We even got to see Dick come over and talk to the boys. They then play “Rock of Ages”. I don’t know if I even saw this back in the day, but so cool to have this now.
We then jump to Australia with an interview in 1984 with them on a boat sailing by The Sydney Opera House. It then cuts to the video for “Let it Rock” which I’m not sure why as that is not ‘Pyromania’ and then back to the interview. The interview gets interrupted by the boat crew dropping anchor. And then to “High & Dry”, interview and “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”…hmmm…maybe the videos for ‘Pyromania’ weren’t available yet. Nope, now we get a clip of “Rock of Ages” more interview and then “Foolin'” and “Photograph”. It is great to see an interview with Steve Clark…he is sorely missed.
For this version of The Originals vs. The Cover, we are tackling the Young Rascals 1966 song “You Better Run” off their album ‘Groovin'”. The song was written by Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavalliere both members of the band. The song was considered a disappointment for them as it only went to #20 on the Billboard Charts. The disappointment was due to their previous song going #1, “Good Lovin'”. The Cover version is by Pat Benatar and hers didn’t do as well only going to #42 just missing the Top 40. But hers is famous because it is the 2nd Video ever played on MTV, yep, right after ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’. And since MTV didn’t have a lot of videos back then, it got played a lot.
The song is a kiss off to a bad relationship. Some girl did one of the guys wrong and it was telling her to get lost, run and hide and get away from him. As well as it worked for them, Pat Benatar took and gender reversed it and now she’s telling the guy to the same and it was a great twist to the song. Let’s get to the battle and see who needs to run after this one. Before we do that, I want to thank Barry Gropman for his email and recommendations for ideas for this series.
THE YOUNG RASCALS:
The first thing you notice with their song is that bass guitar. It is the driving force as that repeated chord patter takes you up and down and back again. It is great. The song is really simple for them, with that bass line, the guitar riff and the great drumming by Dino Danelli. Felix’s vocals are filled with pain and that delivery of the vocals is so superbly deliberate and well paced. He makes it sound serious and full of anger. The harmonies on the chorus are great as well. Really killer track.
PAT BENATAR:
Pat Benatar’s version turns up the guitar with Neil Giraldo and Myron Grombacher’s drums are slamming. The bass is there, but now it is a full on guitar rocker and the guitar takes over that part. Pat’s vocals are…well…amazing. There is so much anger in her vocals and she is a total badass ready to kick this guys ass if he shows up again. It would make me run. She totally modernized the song to be a pure hard rock anthem and she totally made it her own as I didn’t realize it was a cover until years later.
THE VERDICT:
You could go either way with this one. The Young Rascals original is a classic track. I love the bass work and Felix really delivers a great vocal as I really love his approach on the lyrics. Pat turns it in to a total hard rock, almost metal, song. Her vocals are unmatched by anyone and Neil’s guitar is really the driving force. But for me, it is always Pat Benatar. It was her version I heard first, her version I always think of when I think of this song and I never tire of hearing her. So Pat Benatar for the win here for me, but I know you all might have different views, so lay them on me.
I am really interested in hearing what everyone else thinks of these two songs. Let me know which version you like the best and why. Feel free to leave a comment and talk about the song and tell me how right or wrong I am on this one. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
LYRICS:
“You Better Run”
What you tryin’ to do to my heart? What you tryin’ to do to my heart? You go around tellin’ lies You’re runnin’ ’round with the other guys What you tryin’ to do to my heart?
You better run, you better hide You better leave from my side What you tryin’ to do to my soul? What you tryin’ to do to my soul? Everything I had was yours And now I’m closin’ all the doors What you tryin’ to do to my soul?
I love you girl, I love you so Can’t you see and don’t you know? I can’t stand your alibis, your tellin’ lies, you drop me wise Myself, I can’t stand anymore Oh, what you tryin’ to do to my head? What you tryin’ to do to my head? Now I gotta draw that line You’re not gonna take my mind What you tryin’ to do to my head?
You better run, you better hide You better leave from my side What you tryin’ to do to my soul? What you tryin’ to do to my soul? Everything I had was yours And now I’m closin’ all the doors What you tryin’ to do to my soul?
I can’t stand anymore, leave me alone, woman! Go way, too much, have mercy! I need you, I need you!
For My Sunday Song #280 and the final of this 10 song set, we are talking about the 80’s classic “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. It is an iconic song and one that screams The 80’s. The song went all the way to #1 and I believe is his only #1 song and garnered Rick a Grammy. Did you know, it was the #1 song in the country when MTV debuted!! The song was from the album “Working Class Dog” and helped catapult the album to Platinum status. Rick Springfield was everywhere and even on TV as he played Dr. Noah Drake on the Daytime Soap of ‘General Hospital” which my mom watched which meant I had to watch it. We didn’t have a lot of TV options back in 1981. I am sure that his TV popularity helped shoot this up the charts as women loved him and hoped to be Jessie’s Girl.
The song is about Rick’s friend’s girlfriend. His name was Gary and not Jessie as Rick was trying to protect the innocent. Rick was in a Stained Glass class with Gary and I guess saw the girl, but actually never met her or knew her name (or he is still protecting the innocent). In fact, he states that the girl probably has no idea the song is about her. Rick was lusting from afar, but at least we got a great song out of it. The lyrics are a little silly at times and it is strange that this old guy (he was in his 30’s at the time) was singing a song about teenagers, but he made it work.
The song is pure bubblegum, pop magic and total power pop bliss at the same time. It has this really cool guitar riff throughout and the solo really pushes the song on to the rock side as well which helped it be popular with everyone. Rick sings it with an energy and honest deliver that makes you feel bad for him that he didn’t have her. I am sure we all had someone we crushed on like that growing up. You feel his yearning for her and that is what connected with everyone. Plus, the music is so damn catchy.
Right after the Creatures of the Night Tour, the band went back in to the studio to complete the follow-up album. Michael James Jackson would stay on board as the producer as the sound he got on “Creatures” was amazing and the band wanted to continue that harder sound. Vinnie Vincent was now an official member of the band as he was on the cover. However, he actually wasn’t an “official member of the band” as he never signed his contract which became an extreme soar spot with Vinnie and the band which we will discuss a little later on in our story.
The ‘Lick it Up’ album, which came out on September 23, 1983, garnered way more attention than ‘Creatures’ for one main reason. The band finally took off the make-up which is something they had been talking about doing since at least the ‘Music from the Elder’ era. They finally did it and the big reveal was on MTV during primetime. I remember this vividly as this was event TV for me as I was a lifelong Kiss fan at the time (and still am today). I remember seeing each member in make-up and then without and I remember thinking, “PUT IT BACK ON!!! OOOOH THE HORROR!!!” No, it really wasn’t that bad. It was actually pretty cool. And just like that Kiss was back in the public eye and they had some songs that could back it up.
For My Sunday Song #149, we are not going real deep for this one. We are going to one of their big hits and a personal favorite called “Panama” off the album ‘1984’. The song reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. For me, the song brings back memories of my Senior Trip in High School when we went to Panama City, Florida…the song was blasting in the car on the way down!!
The song has two theories behind its meaning. The first is it is about a car and the second theory is it is about a stripper. The lyrics work either way as it is a wonderful double entendre. The song does mention all the typical car parts and hell there is even a part during the bridge where you hear an engine revving. That car engine is actually Eddie’s 1972 Lamborghini Miura S with a mic up to its tailpipe.
The album 1984 brought the keyboard sound into the bands music, but this song would have none of that. It had Eddie blasting through some brutal riffs and Alex was pounding away at the drums and the brothers gave us the Van Halen of old. Dave is his classic self and is belting out the lyrics and even giving us a little of that spoken verse style he does so famously towards the end.
For My Sunday Song #114, we will discuss the song “Who Can’t It Be Now” by Men at Work. The song was off the Australian band’s debut album ‘Business as Usual’ and went all the way to #1 in the US Billboard chart thanks in large part to MTV. MTV didn’t have a ton of videos around 1982 and this would was in constant rotation as a result.
The song is so recognizable when the first note of the Greg Ham’s saxophone kicks in. The sax is the better than a guitar riff in this case. Originally the saxophones was only played in the middle of the song, but the record producer felt it was such a great hook that it should be the main musical focus of the song. And I would say he was correct.
The song was written by singer Colin Hay and was about a place he lived in St. Kilda, Victoria. The apartment complex at the time was in a shady part of town and all these scary figures would be around. Someone was selling drugs on his floor and would mistakenly knock on his door and that might have frightened him a little based on the lyrics in this song.
In the fledgling days of MTV, they didn’t have a ton of videos so a lot of bands that weren’t getting played on the radio, suddenly had prominence on MTV simply because they had a video. One lucky band was The Tubes with their amazing song and video for “She’s A Beauty”. The song was released in 1983 and was off their album ‘Outside Inside’. The song reached all the way to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to MTV. I know I became a fan off that video and the constant rotation on MTV. When I came across the 45 a few months back, I had to grab it.
The song was written by Fee Waybill, famed producer David Foster and Steve Lukather from the band Toto. And the inspiration for the song came from a San Francisco peep show where Fee paid $1 to talk to a naked woman. The conversation was rather frustrating and that frustration turned into the song. There is a line in the song that references that conversation…”She’ll give you every penny’s worth / But it will cost you a dollar first” (thanks to Fee for discussing this in a YouTube video for the song).
2 Loud 2 Old Music 