Fritz's New Wave Relics

[mrbluesky]

Excellent song. The Stranglers I have seen live a couple of times but never in the days when Cornwell fronted the band.

[Fritz]

Bram Tchaikovsky "Girl of My Dreams" from Strange Man, Changed Man (1979)




The former member of the UK punk/pub rock band The Motors, Bram Tchaikovsky scored a Top 40 hit with this Power Pop tune in 1979.

[Fritz]

Wall Of Voodoo "Ring of Fire" from Wall of Voodoo EP (1980)




Best known for the quirky 1983 novelty hit "Mexican Radio", Wall of Voodoo had a sound once described as "a fusion of synthesizer-based new wave music with the spaghetti Western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone."  

This rather bizarre cover of the Johnny Cash classic comes from their self-titled EP debut. The dissonant guitar solo is actually a cover of the theme to the 1966 film "Our Man Flint".

[Fritz]

Missing Persons "Words" from Spring Session M (1982)




Ever wonder where Lady Gaga got her shtick?

Missing Persons was an American New Wave band, founded in 1980 in Los Angeles by two former Frank Zappa musicians and fronted by former Playboy Bunny, Dale Bozzio. Two other members joined later.

Dale's quirky voice and heavy makeup made the band a favorite on MTV in the early 1980s. The band's first full-length studio album, Spring Session M (an anagram of Missing Persons), reached #17 on the Billboard US Album charts in 1982 and spawned four Top 100 singles.

[Fritz]

Boys Brigade "Passion of Love" from Boys Brigade (1983)




Boys Brigade was a Canadian New Wave band formed in 1981 in Toronto. The nucleus of the band grew out of the Toronto punk band, Arson, which broke up when their lead singer quit. They had several minor hits in Canada (including this song), but wider success eluded them and they soon broke up.

Trivia: Their self-titled debut album was produced by Geddy Lee of Rush.

[Fritz]

One for Halloween...

Felony "666 Beware" from The Fanatic EP (1983)




Best known for their lone hit "The Fanatic", featured on the Valley Girl movie soundtrack (1983), Felony was a new wave band out of Los Angeles. This throwaway novelty track came from their EP of the same title.

[Fritz]

The Beat "Tears of a Clown" from I Just Can't Stop It (1980)




The Beat (known as The English Beat in North America and The British Beat in Australia) was a British Ska band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978. This a cover of the Motown hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles was their very first single.

[Fritz]

Classix Nouveaux "Forever and a Day" - 12" Single (1982)




Classix Nouveaux was a British New Wave formed in London in 1979, following the break-up of the punk band X-Ray Spex. Despite a loyal underground following, they never really had wider commercial success. They released three albums between 1981 and 1983.

[Fritz]

Berlin "The Metro" from Pleasure Victim EP (1982)




Despite taking their name from the German capital, Berlin was actually an American New Wave band formed in Orange County, California in 1977. They figured the name would make them sound European and exotic.

"The Metro" peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and the music video got heavy play on MTV at the time.

I had the pleasure of seeing them perform live at the peak of their popularity in 1984, when they toured with the Thompson Twins.

Trivia: The lead singer, Terri Nunn, had been a struggling actress before joining the band. In 1976, she even auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars film.

[Fritz]

Re-Flex "How Much Longer" - Single (1985)




Forever known as one-hit-wonders for the eminently danceable "The Politics Of Dancing" (1983), it's not like they didn't try to follow-up that success with tunes like "How Much Longer". It's just that nobody ever heard them.

[Fritz]

Beru Revue "Hoods A Go-Go" from I Got A Job (1983)




Another Philly club favorite, Beru Revue were renowned for their live performances, particularly the wild stage antics of their frontman, Bob "Beru" McCafferty.