All technical difficulties have been rectified; the podcast is back in service. Thank you for your patience.
The podcast version of our March 27, 2009 Revenge of the 80s Radio show is up and available at the bottom of this post.
This week’s show features a track from Seona Dancing, the UK Alt-Pop duo that showcased the vocal prowess of Ricky Gervais, creator of the international hit TV series, The Office. The band only lasted for around a year, but was better than given credit for and might have become more prominent had they been developed a bit better. While new wave fans can listen to the music and argue that point, the breakup allowed Gervais to learn his true calling as a comic genius.
We also showcased a 2008 track from Australian legends Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and and deeper cuts from The Proclaimers, Kim Wilde and Wang Chung.
On tonight’s Revenge of the 80s Radio show we will, as always, play some of your favorite Classic Alternative tracks from the 1980s. Among the special features is a track from “The Office” creator Ricky Gervais’ band, Seona Dancing. The duo was better than music history gave them credit for, but Gervais soon realized his true calling after Seona’s short life. Check out our short tribute post here.
Other artists on tap for tonight include The Little Girls, Madness, Love & Rockets and Nick Cave.
Revenge of the 80s airs live on Friday nights 7-9ET on Q99.1FM in the Hudson Valley (www.wtbq.com) and on Wednesdays 12noon Melbourne, AUS time on Radio 80s 87.6FM. Podcasts are available on Saturdays after the live show.
Friends and fans of former Plimsouls singer and band founder Peter Case have put together a fund and are working on a benefit concert to raise money for him as he recovers from his emergency heart surgery in January. The Hidden Love Relief Fund has been established to help pay for Case’s heavy medical bills as he is one of the millions of Americans without health insurance. Donations can be made on the Hidden Love Relief Fund’s website.
The concert is still in the organization phase and its date, location and lineup are yet to be determined. .
Case was best-known for forming The Plimsouls, whose fame elevated through airtime on the legendary KROQ-FM in Los Angeles and after “A Million Miles Away” was featured in the move “Valley Girl.” He also formed The Nerves, whose single “Hanging on the Telephone” became a classic after being covered by Blondie. After the Plimsouls broke up, Case re-established himself as a singer/songwriter, releasing several albums as a solo artist.
Donation information for the Hidden Love Fund can be found here.
While Revenge of the 80s Radio plays both well-known classic alternative tracks and deeper cuts from both popular and less-remembered artists, new wave history has had some interesting brushes with destiny. I am reminded of one after receiving an e-mail news clipping from the great photographer Stan Shaffer and recently watching a short marathon of “The Office” on cable television channel TBS: the show’s creator, Ricky Gervais, might have had enough success in music if things fell right for him that we may never have been able to enjoy his comic genius.
Gervais was a member of the alt-wave duo Seona Dancing with Bill MacRae. The two school friends managed to get a recording contract and put out a couple of minor hits with “Bitter Heart” being their most successful, hitting #79 in the U.K.
Musically, the keyboard-oriented partnership was good by pop standards (judging from the few tracks that were released). Gervais’ vocal stylings could be compared as a cross between Phil Oakey of the Human League (that shows in “Bitter Heart”) or a more sedate David Bowie-esque singer, but there was not much that made the men stand out from other artists of the era — a fact that likely led to Seona Dancing’s lack of commercial success. They were virtually unknown in the U.S. as well.
While it would be hard to tell if the duo would have fared better had they worked on more material, the fateful end of Gervais’ music career was best for all around. He gradually rose to become one of Great Britain’s top comic minds and created the international hit series “The Office,” which was remade to exponential success in the U.S. and turned Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson into two of America’s most recognizable stars.
Seona Dancing may not have had enough time to develop, but the British new wave scene was built on virtually instant success and relatively unfriendly to development with a few exceptions. There are some recordings and footage floating around the internet; below is a clip done by a fan for the song “Bitter Heart:”
A website with a short synopsis on the band can be found here.
While Mr. Gervais’ music career was a mere blip, had he not since moved toward the path of his true destiny we may never have been able to see the humor in our most annoying co-workers.
The podcast for the March 20th Revenge of the 80s Radio show is up and available at the bottom of this post.
For this week’s show, we mix in a bit more new music from artists of the 1980s with the alternative classics. We feature new creations from Adriana Kaegi, Gorevette (Nikki Corvette’s band), Louise Robey, Martin Fry, Andy Prieboy and Stan Ridgway.
As always, we have the classic tracks and deeper cuts from singers and bands of the era including the B-52s, Haysi Fantaysee, Missing Persons. Voice of the Beehive and Trio.
For tonight’s Revenge of the 80s Radio show, we will not only feature classic alternative tracks from the 80s, we will play a bit more than usual of some of the artists’ newer music.
We will feature new music from Andy Prieboy, Stan Ridgway, Adriana Kaegi (whose TAG album will be out soon), Louise Robey, Martin Fry and ABC (from last year’s Traffic album) and Nikki Corvette‘s band Gorevette as well as some other post-80s work from the era’s great performers. The podcast version of the show will be available on Saturday morning.
As always, we will play some of the e-mailed requests. To hear us play some of your favorites, e-mail Revenge of the 80s at radio@revengeofthe80sradio.com.
Revenge of the 80s airs live on Friday nights 7-9ET on Q99.1FM in the Hudson Valley (www.wtbq.com) and on Wednesdays 12noon Melbourne, AUS time on Radio 80s 87.6FM. Podcasts are available on Saturdays after the live show.
Former X leader John Doe has had one of the more diverse careers of anyone borne from the L.A. punk scene of the late 70s/early 80s and this new effort looks to be another musical gem from him. While Doe’s post-X career has included acting and solo work, his collaborative efforts include working with acts as diverse as Mojo Nixon (the Otis album) and 90s grunge icon Eddie Vedder. A new CD due out on April 14th will feature John Doe with Canadian indie rockers The Sadles, who similarly specialize in teaming up with different artists.
According to Yep Roc Records, the CD will feature several classic country songs by the likes of Merle Haggard, Roger Miller and Tammy Wynette as well as some Sadies tunes and a track written by Doe and X-bandmate (and ex-wife) Exene Cervenka
The album, Country Club, is available for pre-order. Here is the track list:
“Stop the World and Let Me Off” (made famous by Waylon Jennings)
“Husbands and Wives” (made famous by Roger Miller)
“‘Til I Get It Right” (made famous by Tammy Wynette)
“It Just Dawned on Me” (by Exene Cervenka, John Doe)
“(Now and Then) There’s a Fool Such as I” (made famous by Hank Snow)
“The Night Life” (made famous by Ray Price)
“The Sudbury Nickel” (by The Sadies)
“Before I Wake” (by The Sadies)
“I Still Miss Someone” (made famous by Johnny Cash, Roy Cash Jr.)
“The Cold Hard Facts of Life” (made famous by Porter Wagoner)
“Take These Chains from My Heart” (made famous by Hank Williams)
“Help Me Make It Through the Night” (made famous by Kris Kristofferson)
“Are the Good Times Really Over for Good” (made famous by Merle Haggard)
Devo is offering a special one-of-a-kind bicycle for an online auction to help raise money to fight cancer.
According to the band’s website, the Devo Bicycle was created by Mike Hammond as a piece of “rolling artwork” complete with song lyrics and high-quality parts. The auction is part of the South by Sunset Valley 2009 event.
This will be the only bike of its kind and 100% of the proceeds will benefit Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Cancer Foundation. To place a bid, go to DevoBikeAuction.com. The bidding period will end on March 23rd; the winner will be notified by e-mail.
March 14, 2008 was the official launch date of Revenge of the 80s Radio. Since that initial broadcast, we not only played alternative classics from the 80s (give or take a few years for some tracks), we also interviewed some of the great artists of the era and showcased their new music and programs. We also added features to the news, information and podcasts on the Revenge of the 80s blog. There will be more exciting things happening with Revenge of the 80s in Year 2. Our first anniversary show is now available in a podcast at the bottom of this post.
I would like to thank you for listening to the radio broadcasts and podcasts as well as visiting our blog and making Revenge of the 80s one of the fastest-growing shows in the U.S.
To celebrate our first anniversary, we re-aired our first-ever interview on the program: a conversation with Tracey and Missy Belland of Voice of the Beehive. They are incredibly talented ladies who who grew up in California, moved to London and formed one of the most unique and memorable bands of the late 1980s. Our discussion leads off the second hour. They both are extremely nice and I was honored to have them on to help Christen the show; Tracey and Missy will always have a special place in the heart of Revenge of the 80s and, of course, mine.
These days, Tracey shares her talents with youngsters as a music teacher and Missy creates hand-crafted faeries, which are available at the Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival and through her website for Made In Heaven by Missy.
We also featured classic alternative tracks from artists including Altered Images, Devo, EBN-OZN and ABC.
It was one year ago when Revenge of the 80s aired on the radio for the first time. Since then the show, the website and podcast have grown thanks to all of you who listen to us and read our blog.
While next year we have some exciting things planned for Revenge of the 80s Radio and the B.C. Eagle Radio Network, we want to celebrate our first anniversary by re-airing the first interview we did fro the show: a conversation with Tracey and Missy Belland of Voice of the Beehive. It was fun talking with them and finding out more about the band that still has a strong following to this day. Our discussion leads off the second hour of the show.
Also, be sure to check out Missy’s website for Made In Heaven By Missy, where she hand-crafts fairy figurines and accessories. VOTB’s former bassist, Martin Brett, is now a part of I, Ludicrous in London and Daniel Woodgate is still with Madness.
In the first hour, we play classic alternative favorites from artists including Devo, Altered Images, ABC and The Clash.
Revenge of the 80s airs live on Friday nights 7-9ET on Q99.1FM in the Hudson Valley (www.wtbq.com) and on Wednesdays 12noon Melbourne, AUS time on Radio 80s 87.6FM. Podcasts are available on Saturdays after the live show.
