Perhaps you remember Figures on a Beach, a Detroit band that released a couple of albums in 1987 and 1989.
From Standing on Ceremony, this is No Stars.
According to Wikipedia, Anthony Kaczynski (vocals) and Michael Smith (drums) went on to form Fireking. Christopher Ewen (keyboards) went on to form Future Bible Heroes, and to collaborate with Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson from The Magnetic Fields.
Typically, Wednesday is the day for a lost and found video, but I am feeling kind of tired and uninspired with regard to tracking something down, and so I will write about AOL Radio. Another obscure video should be making an appearance either tomorrow or Friday.
While there is an increasing amount of great music available on the infomercial superhighway, my #1 recommendation for online listening is The '80s Underground radio show, streaming live on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. P.S.T. Podcasts are available via streaming audio or MP3 by clicking here.
But since Jeff is not able to broadcast 24 hours a day, AOL Radio Featuring XM is another good option. It was the XM part of it that led me to further explore this service, hoping against hope that the Fred Channel I've heard so much about might just be available; alas, it is not. There are a lot of interesting offerings, though, including the following channels: '80s Alternative, Adult Alternative, Alternative Mix (described as new and old alternative meeting in a blender), Brit Pop, Classic Punk, Gothic, and New Wave, just to name a few.
I sampled the '80s Alternative channel for around an hour, and here's what I heard:
New Order - Love Vigilantes U2 - Gloria The Church - Under the Milky Way Depeche Mode - A Question of Time 10,000 Maniacs - Like the Weather Berlin - Sex The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again Faith No More - We Care a Lot The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go R.E.M. - The One I Love Devo - Whip It The Jam - Town Called Malice The Psychedelic Furs - Until She Comes
Not a lot of surprises or deep cuts, but a decent listening experience.
Here's an hour worth of the New Wave Channel: The Fixx - One Thing Leads to Another The Human League - Human A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran Split Enz - Six Months in a Leaky Boat Howard Jones - What is Love David Bowie - Blue Jean Gary Numan - Cars Romeo Void - Girl in Trouble New Order - Thieves Like Us Depeche Mode - Strange Love Naked Eyes - Promises Promises Duran Duran - Is there Anyone Out There The Smiths - This Charming Man
I was a little surprised by this one -- was expecting it to be more consistently mainstream.
Just a few other details -- this is a beta version (has worked fine at all times I have listened), and is an application that needs to be downloaded (available for Mac users, too). If you already have an AOL IM screen name/password, there is no need to register to use it. There are commercials, but they seem to be few and far-between. There is also a pop-out panel on the application window that I assume is meant to display ads, but so far, I have only seen an AOL logo.
Hopefully this info will come in handy. Happy listening!
It is time once again for some British mullets, this time from The Members, known for their hybrid punk/reggae style. The band produced four albums between 1976 and 1984.
From 1981, this is Working Girl.
These days, singer Nicky Tesco is writing for Music Week Magazine and, according to Wikipedia, regularly appears on 6Music'sRoundtable as a commentator on new releases.
In January of this year, the band played a reunion show in London.
Members of the The Romantics have filed a lawsuit against Activision over the use of their song What I Like About You in the game Guitar Hero Encore, Rocks the 80's.
Members of My Bloody Valentine have reunited, are working on an album, and have live dates planned in the UK and possibly at the at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California this April.
From NME:
Bono and The Edge surprised an audience at London's Union Chapel Friday night with a four-song-set.
Members of INXS paid tribute to Michael Hutchence on the 10th anniversary of his death.
Better late than never, I suppose. I hope my readers in the United States had an excellent Thanksgiving (if inclined to celebrate). Sorry for the delay in posting.
This week's lost and found video is one that had slipped off my radar quite a few years ago; another song I remember first hearing on Salt Lake City radio station KCGL. The tune was brought back to memory recently when reading the Retro Music Snob blog. BTW, the Snob thinks he is unable to continue writing his blog. Gary, if you're reading this -- I think your fans would be quite satisfied with a couple of posts a week.
Anyway, there isn't a whole lot out there about the Passion Puppets. Here's the band's All Music Guide Bio:
Passion Puppets were a British new wave band that caught radio listeners with one clever single, "Like Dust," before abruptly vanishing. Seemingly an ode to Italian Western films, "Like Dust," a cult hit on Canadian radio in the '80s, is more often remembered than the group that actually performed it. Formed in 1983 in Camden, England, Passion Puppets featured Ray Burmiston (vocals), MikiScreene (bass, vocals), Andy P. (guitars), Dave Rollins (guitars), and Simon Langford Godfrey (drums). Passion Puppets released three singles, "Like Dust," "Voices," and "Beyond the Pale," on Stiff Records in the U.K. between 1983 to 1984. In 1984, the band released its only album, Beyond the Pale, distributed in the U.S. by MCA Records. The LP didn't sell well and the group split up soon thereafter. Burmiston embarked on a career as a photographer, snapping pictures of pop stars for record companies and British teen magazines. In 1994, an extended version of "Like Dust" appeared on Hardest Hits, Vol. 1, introducing the out-of-print record to a new generation of fans; it was the first time the band had ever been heard on CD. In 2000, Burmiston recorded an album called Miniworld under the name Kicking the Moon.
From Beyond the Pale, this is Like Dust. Sorry for the bad quality -- I am just amazed that the video is available all.
Beyond the Pale has been reissued by Stiff Records, and is available at Amazon, as well as on iTunes.
The only links I have found are for the MySpace Page and website for David Rollins, who now works as an instructor and session guitarist.
Something that seems to have escaped my memory -- plenty of women were sporting mullets in the '80s. It is possible that I had blocked it out, having briefly worn one myself. Oh, the pain...
Anyway, our first female New Mullet on Monday is Jane Wiedlin, the cute-as-a-button rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for The Go-Go's, and singer in her own right, having produced five solo albums. The mullet was one of the many hairstyles seen on Wiedlin over the years.
After spending some time apart in the latter half of the '80s, the original members of The Go-Go's reunited in 1990 and have been playing together ever since. The band also released an original album, God Bless the Go-Go's, in 2001. 2006 found the band touring together to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Beauty and the Beat.
Jane Wiedlin, either with a mullet or a pinned-back illusion of one, with Sparks. Sharing in the mulletdom, Russell Mael of Sparks.
As for Sparks, they are still together, and released their 20th studio album, Hello Young Lovers, in 2006.
Duran Duran sold out a December 3 show in London in five minutes. The band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre, was released in the U.S. on November 13, and is due out in Europe tomorrow.
Peter Hook spoke of the logistics of planning a New Order box set and expanded reissues, now that the band has broken up.
Evan Dando tentatively revealed plans for a new Lemonheads album, slated for release in April of 2008.
From NME:
A short film featuring a track from the upcoming reissue of U2's album The Joshua Tree will be available for previewing on Facebook.
Morrissey will return to UK and plans to reside in London as he finishes a new album. A six-night concert stint is scheduled at London's Camden Roundhouse in late January. Also on the agenda, a singles compilation, slated for release sometime in 2008.
Since last week's lost and found video was from Fine Young Cannibals, why not have General Public this week, since both bands featured former members of the English Beat.
From the 1984 album All The Rage, this is Never You Done That.
General Public disbanded around 1986, then reunited in 1994, with Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger recording I'll Take You There for the soundtrack of the movie Threesome, then an album, Rub it Better.
For many years, Dave Wakeling has been living in California and actively performing, mostly in the United States, as Dave Wakeling of the English Beat, Dave Wakeling of General Public, or, more recently, as The English Beat.
Regarding Ranking Roger, according to Wikipedia: The Beat has re-formed, counting Roger, (Dave) Blockhead and (Everett) Morton of the original line-up (of the Beat), with Ranking Junior (Ranking Roger's son Matthew Murphy) also on vocals. The Beat performed at Glastonbury 2005 with new material written by Ranking Junior and with a special guest appearance from Neville Staples of the Specials. The band is sometimes referred to as The New Beat. Check out the entry itself for a list of the many projects Ranking Roger has been involved with over the years.
In the band Gene Loves Jezebel, headed up by Welsh twins Jay and Michael Aston, many, uh, attractive hairdos could be found.
From the 1996 album Discover, this is Sweetest Thing.
In 1989, Michael Aston left Gene Loves Jezebel, reportedly because he didn't like the poppy direction being taken by his brother and the rest of the band. Jay Aston and co. went on to release two more albums under the name Gene Loves Jezebel. In 1995, the Aston twins reunited and recorded a couple of songs for a best-of compilation, and a subsequent reunion tour. Post-tour, Jay Aston left the band and sued his brother for the rights to the name. According to Wikipedia, after a protracted court battle, Jay eventually dropped all charges "with prejudice" meaning Michael can never be challenged for the name again and consequently Michael owns the exclusive rights to the mark.
Michael Aston and his band, as Gene Loves Jezebel, have released four albums, the most recent being 2003's Exploding Girls. You can check up on Jay Aston via the links below.
Okay, so this isn't as obscure as many of the lost and found videos posted here, but it's not one you run into too much -- seems like if you're going to come across anything from Fine Young Cannibals, it's She Drives Me Crazy.
Fine Young Cannibals, formed in 1984 in Birmingham, UK, was comprised of Roland Gift (vocals) and former members of the English Beat, Andy Cox (guitar) and David Steele (Bass). The band released two albums before disbanding in 1992.
According to Roland Gift's official website, since the break-up of FYC, Gift has "dabbled in acting, modeling and hibernating, but excelled only in the later." He released a self-titled solo album in 2002, and is said to be working on another.
In 2002 Andy Cox along with singer Yukari Fujiu formed the band Cribabi, and released an album entitled Volume on his own record label.
Regarding David Steele, Wikipedia says "After the end of his work with Fine Young Cannibals, Steele went on to play a variety of other roles in the music industry. He produced Gabrielle's album Find Your Way, which reached #8 on the UK Albums Chart in 1993, as well as the soundtrack to the movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs in 1996. He has appeared on more than two dozen other albums, most commonly as a backing singer, but also as a guitarist, drummer, and mixer. In summer 2004, he released the album Fried, on which he collaborated with the New Orleans Louisiana vocalist Jonte Short." The band Fried released a second album, Things Change, in July of this year.
In 1985, Classic Alternative Blog favorite Peter Hook had a wicked mullet to go along with his wicked bass lines...
From New Order's fabulous Low Life, this is The Perfect Kiss. BTW, this video was directed by Jonathan Demme.
You can keep up with Peter Hook via his always-interesting MySpace Blog. The New Order and Joy DivisionMySpace blogs are also excellent places to keep up with all things relating to his bands.
You are cordially invited to visit the Classic Alternative Blog MySpace Page! Come be our friend and link to the MySpace pages of nearly all the bands and artists featured on this very blog.
About the Contributors
Mel, primary writer of the Classic Alternative Blog, was an announcer, program director, and general manager of a college radio station from 1985-1995, and can't quite seem to shake her affection for the music.
Jeff is the host of the 80s Underground, a weekly terrestrial and podcasted radio show devoted to resurrecting the best (and most forgotten) gems of underground music from the 80s. An unapologetic music geek, Jeff has a particular fondness for the 80s – a decade that spawned his transformation from slave to bloated corporate rock to aficionado of post-punk, college rock, new wave and punk. His first concert was the band X at San Diego State University gymnasium in the Spring of 1987. His fondest memory of the decade was having his ears bleed for four days following aforementioned concert. He also relishes his vast fan club memorabilia from such bands as Guadalcanal Diary, Drivin n’ Cryin, The Darling Buds, and The Primitives (among many others).
Matthias lived though the 80s in various punk and new wave bands, hoping to never make it big…and didn't. He knows there are good songs produced today, but wonders where are the Train In Vain, the Dancing on Hard Tiles or the Just Like Heaven of today.
, as well as on 
, in July of this year.
