New Mullet on Monday - Thompson Twins

Two of the three Thompson Twins were mullet wearers, progressing to turbo-mullet status by the end of the '80s, and so the group is more than qualified to be the subject of this week's New Mullet on Monday.

I tend to try not to go for the big hit, but this, IMO, is a fine tune, no matter how many zillions of times I've heard it: Hold Me Now, from 1984's Into the Gap.

Bassist Joe Leeway left the band in 1986, and the two remaining members, Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie, carried on, releasing a couple of more Thompson Twins albums, marrying in 1991, moving to New Zealand with their two children in 1992, and releasing a couple of albums as Babble in the '90s. They divorced in 2003, and now live in the UK.

Currie has founded the group Mothers Against Genetic-Engineering in Food and the Environment (MAdGE). Bailey, according to Wikipedia, continues to make music under the moniker International Observer. His albums Seen, and All Played Out both received positive reviews. He also performs with the Holiwater group from India.

Joe Leeway appears to now work as a hypnotherapist in California.

Links!
The Thompson Twins All Music Guide Entry
What May or May Not Be the Official Thompson Twins MySpace Page
An International Observer Web Page
International Observer on MySpace
The MAdGe Website
Joe Leeway's Hypnotherapist Page

Briefly...

From Billboard:

• News on R.E.M. (a review of the new album), Jane's Addiction, R.E.M. (shooting a video), The Lemonheads, U2, and Elvis Costello.
  

From NME:

• Items on Morrissey, The Charlatans, UB40, Björk, & David J.

From Pitchfork:

• A review of the new Buzzcocks album entitled 30.
  

From Rolling Stone:

• An update on the New York Dolls tour.
  

Lost and Found Video - Heaven 17

Our Lost and Found video for this week is from Heaven 17, a band hailing from Sheffield, England, that (as far as I can tell) is still together with all of it's original members.

From 1983's The Luxury Gap, this is Let Me Go.

Heaven 17 Links:
The Heaven 17 Official Website
Heaven 17 on MySpace

New Mullet on Monday - Duran Duran

I am pressed for time today, and so the quickest and easiest choice for this week's mullet is the namesake for New Mullet on Monday -- none other than New Moon On Monday...

And there could be no better representation of '80s mullets -- this video where each of the five Durans is sporting one. And these were no ordinary mullets, with plenty of hairspray, hair color, and of course, Andy Taylor's ponytail mullet.

The original members of Duran Duran reunited in 2001, and are still playing together, with the exception of Andy Taylor, who left in 2006, citing creative differences. Their latest album, Red Carpet Massacre, was released in November of 2007. The band is not currently on the road, but there are dates in Australia scheduled in March and April.

Lost and Found Video - Dumptruck

AllMusic summarized the career of the band Dumptruck quite nicely: Essentially a two-man project of Massachusetts natives Kirk Swan and Seth Tiven, with a rotating rhythm section, Dumptruck was, for a brief moment, among the favorites of U.S. college radio in the mid ’80s. They combined the jangle power pop sound of the Southern alternative scene with intelligent lyrics and a melancholy twist. Swan left late in 1986, leaving Tiven to carry on for one more album, "For the Country," before dissolving the band in 1988. The band re-formed after settling legal disputes with their label in 1995 with a small-scale club tour of the U.S. and a new record deal. "Days of Fear" followed that same year; "Terminal" was issued five years later and "Lemmings Travel to the Sea" appeared in early 2001.

From Positively Dumptruck, this is Back Where I Belong.

Although updated information is lacking, Dumptruck appears to remain in existence. A blog entry dated March 18, 2007 on their MySpace page revealed that the band played a short set at the 2007 South By Southwest kick-off party (with a link to video footage), and were also recording an album.

Rykodisc has reissued Dumptruck's three '80s releases, D is for Dumptruck, Positively Dumptruck, and For the Country, with bonus tracks.

Dumptruck Links:
The Dumptruck Official Website
Dumptruck on MySpace

New Mullet on Monday - The Fixx

It is difficult to think of a finer mullet specimen than that of Cy Curnin, circa 1983, although there were many other fine mullets in this band.

From Reach the Beach, this is Saved by Zero.

The Fixx is still together, and toured in Summer of 2007 with The Alarm and The Psychedelic Furs in the Rockin' the Colonies Tour. Although there are no tour dates listed on their MySpace Page, there is a blog entry dated January 8, 2008 that says: We'll be working through mid-February. Hope to have some surprises for you come May. We've planned another Rockin' The Colonies Tour in late-Summer. Expect a new album before the year is out (with any luck!).

The Fixx Links:
The Fixx Official Website
A Comprehensive Fansite Recommended on TheFixx.com and another...

Briefly...

From NME:

• Articles on Morrissey, Patti Smith and Tim Finn, The Kinks (a reunion!), and R.E.M.

From Pitchfork:

• Stories on The Breeders, Morrissey, Kim Gordon, & P.J. Harvey.

From Rolling Stone:

• Separate stories featuring Bono & U2.

Lost and Found Video - Bow Wow Wow

The return of Lost and Found Videos features a selection from Bow Wow Wow that you may have forgotten...

From the 1981 album See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy! (oh, the brevity), this is Chihuahua.

Bow Wow Wow disbanded in 1983, but there have been various reunions over the years, including the band's participation in a 2003 KROQ 25th anniversary show, which, according to Wikipedia, resulted in the band maintaining a touring schedule through 2006.

Bow Wow Wow Links:
The Bow Wow Wow Official Website
The links page at BowWowWow.org -- contains links to the websites of Anabella Lwin and many of the other band members, as well as many articles and other links pages.
Bow Wow Wow on MySpace
Annabella Lwin on MySpace

New Mullet on Monday - The Replacements

Our mullet(s) for today belonged to members of The Replacements, a Minneapolis band held in such high esteem by the Classic Alternative Blog, that it is somewhat painful to feature them. But they had mullets, and I need content, so they're fair game. I think Tommy Stinson could be considered the most mullety of the bunch, particularly during the Talk Show years. The rest of the band, at times, had shaggy near-mullets.

From Pleased to Meet Me, this is The Ledge.

Band Update:
The Replacements disbanded in 1991, reuniting in 2005 to record two new songs for their best-of collection, Don't You Know Who I Think I Was. Click on the Paul Westerberg search label below for some of his more recent exploits. Tommy Stinson has been playing bass for Guns 'n Roses since 1998 and has released a solo album, has played in a couple of other bands, and scored the soundtrack for the movie Catch and Release. Drummer Chris Mars has been working as a visual artist. Original guitarist Bob Stinson passed away in 1995 -- alas. Slim Dunlap, who replaced Bob Stinson after the 1985 release of Tim, is still making music and still based in Minneapolis.

Links:
The Twin/Tone Records Replacements Home Page
Man Without Ties - A great Paul Westerberg Fan Site
Tommy Stinson's Website
Tommy Stinson on MySpace
Chris Mars Publishing
Slim Dunlap's Website