First of all, I’m rather silly for not asking any of the ladies if their group had an official name but no worries, they provided some good entertainment for a Saturday afternoon in Stroud, Gloucestershire in the UK. We went because Mrs. 80smetalman knows some of the group, particularly Sue (on the far left wearing the black hat). They share a granddaughter. So, we went and saw them perform at the venue where Mrs. 80smetalman and Sue play bingo together on Mondays. The show was pretty good and I’m including some snippets of the performance.
Opening song, Walking on Sunshine
Elsie, aged 10, blew a lot of minds, including mine. She has potential.
Singing Heart’s classic Alone. If they kept the guitar solo.
Sue singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird.” I wish people showed more consideration
Josie is 16 and pretty good too.
Playing a long to an instrumental
My biggest mistake this day was to put my mobile phone away too soon as they ended the day with Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Abba’s “Waterloo.” Both songs were done very well. In any case, I hope you enjoy the videos.
Main objective behind writing “Rock and Roll Children” was to remind people, especially metalheads, of heavy metal history. At the time I began writing, there seemed to be a push by mainstream media to downplay the role heavy metal played in during its golden decade, the 1980s and that decade, contrary to what the media was pushing was not all Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Like it or not, heavy metal was a dominant force in the 1980s. True, it got little radio play and minimal play on MTV but the most successful bands sold millions of albums and played to packed out arenas. So, we can safely say that the 1980s was the golden age of heavy metal and I wrote “Rock and Roll Children” to bring home that point.
With all that said, the 80s for me was a busy decade and there were a lot of events, both music related and not, which took place in the time period in the book, 1984-7. That is the purpose of today’s post, to give you a history refresher of the events, (sorry, it’s the teacher in me) and by some weird hope, more of you will buy the book.
Non- Musical Events
U.S. Marines in Lebanon- In the story, Bob’s older brother, Mitch, served with the US Marines in their ‘peacekeeping’ mission in Lebanon. Although, he wasn’t there when the big tragedy happened in October 1983, some of his friends were. He is clearly effected by his experiences there, getting wounded when a grenade went off near him.
McDonald’s Mass Shooting- In the summer of 1984, a man went into a McDonald’s in California and shot and killed 22 people. Before he left, the shooter declared he was going to hunt humans. In “Rock and Roll Children,” the main characters joke that if they go to McDonald’s, they’re going to get shot.
Famine in Africa- I make reference to this in the book because it led to one of the greatest musical events of the decade, which I will mention more further down.
Ronald Reagan’s Re-election: This is briefly mentioned because Mitch is upset that the country re-elected the man who sent him to Lebanon where he was wounded.
Super Bowls XIX, XX and XXI- All three of these super bowls get mentioned.
The Bombing of Libya- When the US bombed Libya in 1986, there was concerns for the safety of Americans travelling in Europe. Jeff had been accepted to the University of London and while he wasn’t worried, some others were.
Reagan’s Contra War in Nicaragua- Bob becomes an anti- Contra Aid protester in light of events. He saw what Lebanon had done to his brother and this is what drives him here.
Arthur Fowler’s Imprisonment- When I got to England, I became engrossed in the very popular soap opera, “East Enders.” (Today it holds no interest for me.) In one episode, the character Arthur Fowler gets sent to prison for stealing money from a Christmas Club. A couple of nights later, I saw stickers at one underground station saying, “Free Arthur Fowler.”
Herald of Free Enterprise Disaster- In March, 1987, a British ferry called The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in Zeebrugge, Belgium, killing 193 crew and passengers. This was a huge tragedy. One month after the event, Jeff and his roommate, Henry, take a ferry to France and this does worry them a little.
Music Related Events
Concerts- Every concert which takes place in the story actually happened and at the time they actually occurred.
Vince Neil’s Accident- This rocked the heavy metal community hard and gave plenty of ammunition to the anti-metal establishment. In case anyone has been living on Jupiter, Vince was more than twice over the drink-drive limit and crashed his car, injuring two people and killing Hanoi Rocks drummer, Razzle. It had an effect on the major characters in the story as after that, they made sure that they didn’t overdo it if they had to drive.
Rick Allen’s Accident- Rick’s accident happened about three weeks after Vince’s. While Rick and his girlfriend survived, Rick lost his arm as a result of the accident and the entire heavy metal world held their breath as to whether he would play the drums ever again.
Aerosmith’s Bottle Incident- The actual event happened seven years before it gets mentioned in the book, therefore, it’s told retrospectively. The character Tammy was at the concert in Philadelphia in 1979 when some moron threw a bottle on stage hitting Steve Tyler. She gives her full account of the incident and alludes to why Aerosmith seemed to holding back their best efforts when they played Philadelphia in 1986.
Live Aid- This was the musical event of the 80s I mentioned earlier. The concert was put on to raise money to help those in famine stricken Africa. Two concerts took place simultaneously, one in London, the other in Philadelphia. In “Rock and Roll Children,” I focused more on the two metal acts which performed that day, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
Farm Aid- This was a concert to raise money to help American farmers who were losing their farms. The main takeaway from that concert was Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar playing together for the first time. The rest of the story is history.
Jesus Freaks at Concerts- I wrote a post about this. Starting in 1986, whenever people went to a metal concert in America, there were the Jesus freaks all there telling people they were going to hell for seeing that band. It was a great source of entertainment.
Bon Jovi and Europe Being in the top 10 in the UK Charts- In November, 1986, Bon Jovi was at number nine in the UK charts with “Living on a Prayer” and Europe at number two with “The Final Countdown.” For many of us metalheads, it was a slap in the face to the mainstream music industry.
Prosecution of Jello Biafra- This made the news in England. Former Dead Kennedys singer, Jello Biafra, was prosecuted and fortunately acquitted on the charge of distributing pornographic material to minors on the DK album, “Frankenchrist.” While Jeff was reading about it on the train to the airport to return home, it gave him a wake up call about the society he was heading back to.
See, you do learn about history if you read “Rock and Roll Children.” One thing I was criticized for but make no apologies was how metalheads were discriminated against in the 1980s. Not that we let that stop us. Maybe I did over-pound the point but it was real. There were a lot of great and tragic events both musically and not throughout the 80s. I tried to bring history to life and maybe that was the problem, I wrote it too much like a history book.
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Let me begin the post by inserting another tired cliche but since I began writing 80smetalman more than 13 years ago, I have learned a few things about myself. My latest self discovery from listening to Tesla’s second album, “The Great Radio Controversy,” is that while listening to hour long albums with more than 12 songs is great for driving down the motorway or chilling after an exasperating day but not as fun when you got to write about them. The problem with “The Great Radio Controversy” is that there are so many good songs on this one-hour album that it has taken me longer than usual to give it the fair attention it truly deserved.
Listening to the album again, I’ve learned a few things about Tesla. Back when I reviewed their debut album, “Mechanical Resonance,” I was heavily influenced by my sister Dawn’s review that it was corporate produced metal. Maybe it was but I came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. So, coming to this album, if it was a corporate produced album, then the corporations got something write because it really kicks ass! It’s the album I forgotten about for a long time but when I played it again recently, realized how magnificent the album truly was.
Dawn stands by her claim that Tesla weren’t the most original metal band in the world and I can see where she’s coming from. It doesn’t overflow with originality, instead, it takes what has gone before and done those things very well. I love how the bass line opens the album on the first track, “Hang Tough” and that’s just the beginning. I won’t go through every song because I don’t think I can do all 13 songs justice. I will say that three singles were released from the album, “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out),” “The Way It Is” and the power ballad, “Love Song.” Each of these songs did pretty well in the singles market and got their share of airplay on MTV. So, the album was both brilliant and successful.
As always, it’s the deeper cuts which define an album for me and the hidden gem comes in on the fourth track, “Be A Man.” This is definitely a Southern Rock influenced type song with lots of Lynyrd Skynyrd or Outlaws type of swagger. On “Mechanical Resonance,” I sang the praises of guitar duo of Tommy Skeoch and Frank Hannon and that praise should be doubled on “The Great Radio Controversy.” They continue to be a formidable duo, especially on the middle section of the album which is the strongest part. Another song from this part of the album which is standout is the slightly blues influenced “Did It For the Money.” The change ups throughout the song definitely keep the listener interested.
Don’t get me wrong, the album doesn’t go downhill in any way towards the end. If anything, “The Way It Is” signals a change in direction of sorts. In fact, if I didn’t have the track listing in front of me and was listening to the album blind, I might have assumed that the song was the closer. It definitely has that feel to it. The melodic thumping makes me want to hold a cigarette lighter in the air. However, it’s not the end as there are some pretty good songs after. Another thing I can say about “The Way It Is” is that Tesla does here what they did on the debut, lure you into thinking it’s a power ballad before belting you with some power chords and some amazing guitar work. Then again, you could call “Love Song” a genuine power ballad and it’s a beauty. The remaining songs just follow on from their making me want to slap myself for ignoring the album for so long.
Track Listing:
Hang Tough
Lady Luck
Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)
Be a Man
Lazy Days, Crazy Nights
Did It For the Money
Yesterdaze Gone
Makin’ Magic
The Way It Is
Flight to Nowhere
Love Song
Paradise
Party’s Over
Tesla
Jeff Keith- vocals
Tommy Skeoch- guitar, backing vocals
Frank Hannon- guitar, piano, synthesizer, organ
Brain Wheat- bass, backing vocals
Troy Luccketta- drums
One of the ideas for post 1990 posts was a list of American artists who never really cracked the UK and vice versa. They’d be two separate posts but never mind. What “The Great Radio Controversy” has done is add Tesla to that list of American artists because if I hadn’t been in the UK in 1989, I would have eaten this album up.
Next post: It looks like another hour long 15 track album but hey ho. KISS- Hot in the Shade
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
If you picked up a copy of Kerrang anytime in the late 1980s, you would probably have seen a poster of Lisa Dominique inside its pages. She was a poster girl for the magazine back then and most males could most likely agree why. That leads to the obvious question as to whether she could sing. I discovered the answer to that question in 1986, when I saw her perform at a benefit for under 18’s drug abuse in London. She was part of an ‘all star’ band which featured a guitarist named Marino, on bass was a guy who was in a storyline in the British soap opera “East Enders” at the time, though I don’t know who played drums. Anyway, they played some excellent blues based rock and Lisa proved to me that night that she was a good singer. On a side note, after the show, Lisa brushed past me and that kind of cemented a good night.
My discovery of Lisa’s debut album, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Lady” came about in 1989, when I found the title track on a compilation album I’ll be visiting later on in our tour. The title track opens the album in a good old rocking way, which sucks you in straight away. If this was the intended single from the album, I’m a little surprised it failed to chart, at least in the UK. Saying that, the party continues with the party anthem, “All Fall Down.” It’s a great pick me up song after you’ve been knocked down, the music behind it adds to that feeling and Marino shows he can shred a bit here.
Great Marino riffs open “The Gamble” and Lisa’s vocals couldn’t be more natural when she joins in. This one is more head banger where you flash the horns and bang your head. Following on is the power ballad, “Somebody Special.” Unlike Ann Wilson, Lisa doesn’t scream the chorus, although no one can do that quite like Ann. Instead, she tones the vocals down and although she does a good job on the song, her bluesy style vocals suit it fine and Marino rips a cool guitar solo, it’s not one to break into my Top 30 power ballads.
One might be inclined to think that a song called “Holding On to Your Love” might be another power ballad but it’s a good steady rocker. Lisa’s vocals are much more suited to this style and she delivers. If that one wasn’t rocking enough, then wait till you hear “Time Bomb.” This song alone is why the album can be called metal. I love the droning guitar supporting Lisa’s vocals and the steady rhythm provided by Ian Spicer and P.J. The rocking level continues to rise on “Jealous Heart.” Again, some cool guitar work at the beginning, which provides the foundation for Lisa to come in. Now, some might hear that she doesn’t hit the high notes like some of her contemporaries but believe me, she doesn’t need to.
“Slow Down” goes into punk territory. While it’s not fast and furious, it’s one which is suitable for a mosh pit and I’ll praise Marino’s guitar skills one more time. The final two tracks are both covers. First up is Briar’s “One Foot Back in Your Door” and the closer is an old blues number, “Trouble,” which was once covered by Ian Gillan. Lisa does well on both, especially on the closer because it’s more suited to her blues based vocals.
Track Listing:
Rock ‘N’ Roll Lady
All Fall Down
The Gamble
Somebody Special
Holding On To Your Love
Time Bomb
Jealous Heart
Slow Down
One Foot Back In Your Door
Trouble
Lisa Dominique
Lisa Dominique- vocals, percussion
Marino- guitar
Ian Spicer- bass
P.J.- drums
Reading the history, it appears that “All Fall Down” might have been the single from the album and it was a good choice. Still, the question, which I’ve must have asked 1,000 times already: Why didn’t Lisa Dominique become a house hold name? At least in the metal world. I know a lot of British metalheads knew of her but she would have gone down well in North America as well.
Next post: Bad News- Bootleg
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Ronnie James Dio was doing a marvellous job as master of ceremonies for the New Year’s Eve festival but now he had to prepare for his own band’s performance. Therefore, after introducing Metal-Head, which consistied of Mike Howe on vocals, Jeff LaBar on guitar, Lemmy on bass and Joey Jordison on drums, he left to get ready. Fortunately, Elvis was more than happy to step in temporarily.
Bright spotlights shone down on the King as he walked to the centre of the stage. “Are we having a good time?” he asked the audience. The response was a raucous cheer. He continued, “Now, with Cozy Powell on drums, Jon Lord on keyboards, Jimmy Bain on bass, Criss Oliva on guitar and Ronnie James Dio on vocals, I’m delighted to give you, Deep Black Rainbow!”
Red lights slowly illuminated the front of the stage. As they rolled back, a mediaeval setting began to reveal itself. Two black knights holding two-handed swords stood as sentinels at either side of the stage. The lights continued to roll back further spotlighting Jon Lord’s keyboards and Cozy Powell’s drum kit before finally showing a painted castle at the very back of the stage. A foreboding thumping beat came over the intercom whetting the audience’s collective appetite.
Suddenly, riffs of a familiar song crackled through the air and in a flash, Ronnie James Dio appeared at front centre stage with Criss Oliva on his left and Jimmy Bain to his right. Jon and Cozy were in their respective places. Like all the bands who had played before them, the members of Deep Black Rainbow all looked las they did in their prime. Ronnie and Jimmy looked as if they had just recorded the “Holy Diver” album. Likewise, Jon looked like he did when Deep Purple made “Machine Head” and Cozy could have been in Rainbow in the late 1970s. The second Ronnie put his lips to the mic and let out the first words, the crowd went wild. The fervor carried on as he continued to sing:
“You got desire, so let it out.
You got the power, stand up and shout”
The instant Ronnie sang “shout,” floodlights lit up the stage and cast its beams out into the audience. A few might have had some apprehension when it came to the guitar solo as to how Criss Oliva would handle it. They weren’t disappointed. He didn’t stray from the original solo while at the same time, putting in his own style. It carried the song to the final chorus when Ronnie pointed the microphone out to the crowd who screamed back in unison, “Shout!” One song in and the band had the audience eating out of their hands.
The crowd had not time to catch their breath as Ronnie started singing:
“I’m a wheel, I’m a wheel
I can roll I can feel
But you can’t stop me turning.”
Ronnie’s voice and power chords brought the crowd back to life and when the time came, they roared back, “The man on the silver mountain.” The song illustrated how tight this band was as they were wowed by the Rainbow classic.
At the conclusion, Ronnie finally addressed the audience. “”How are we? Are we rocking out tonight?” I feel particularly priviledged to be on stage with these guys. It’s like old times with Jimmy and Cozy and I’m glad Criss and Jon were able to join us. Speaking of Jon, I think he should start the next song.”
Jon Lord needed no further encouragement as he immediately went to work dazzling the crowd with his keyboard wizardry. The audience showed their appreciation and then the rest of the band joined in treating everyone to “Black Knight.” That was followed by another Rainbow classic, “Tarot Woman” with Jon still doing on the keyboards what he did so well in the mortal realm.
“Thank you, thank you,” Ronnie showing his appreciation on behalf of the band. “This is a song Jimmy and I did when we were in our own band, it’s called ‘The Last in Line!”
Multicoloured lights flickered as Criss Oliva began on the guitar. Ronnie came in with:
“We’re a ship without a storm
The cold inside the warm
Light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah
We’re the laugh without the tear
Cold without the fear
We are coming,”
The entire stage lit up as he sang, “Home!” Once again, it sent the crowd into an hysterical frenzy. Criss’s power chords and Jon’s keyboards were supported by the rhythm section of Jimmy and Cozy and reminded all as to what a great song they were playing. Ronnie’s vocals spearheaded the fabulous song and when it came to its too soon conclusion, Ronnie sang, “We’re the last in, we’re the last in..” and then pointed his microphone out to the audience who screamed back, “Line!” He put the final stamp on the song with a very melodic, “We’re the last in line.”
Waiting for the thunderous cheers to die down a little. Ronnie addressed the audience. “As you know, I worked with Jimmy and Cozy while we were alive on Earth and I know Jon from when my first band, Elf, toured with Deep Purple, but none of us have ever worked with Criss here before and we are very fortunate that he agreed to join us. So, our next song is from the band you all know Criss from, Savatage, and the song is, ‘Hall of the Moutain King.’”
Criss responded by playing the opening notes with a renewed gusto and when the rest of the band joined in, it sounded just like it was meant to. Ronnie’s vocals when he sang the title sounded beautifully melodic. Furthermore, Criss’s guitar solo had everyone screaming in appreciation. At the very end, Ronnie put his own stamp on it when his unique voice sang out, “Madness reigns, in the hall of the mountain king!” before Cozy concluded with a spectacular drum roll.
Four members of the band abruptly walked off the stage leaving Criss on his own. He needcd no prompting as to what to do as the guitarist immediately began playing his guitar and overawing the crowd with his six string magic. Criss frantically moved his fingers up and down the neck of the instrument, pausing now and then so the audience could roar their approval. Those four minutes in the spotlight seemed like mere seconds as before anyone realised, the rest of the band came back ready to continue.
“Criss Oliva on the guitar!” Ronnie declared. His guitarist responded with some light acoustic notes. No one could be sure if the audience was expecting it but they still showed their delight at “Temple of the King.” The dimmed lighting and spotlight on Ronnie illustrated the somber mood of the song. When it finished, the next chords Criss struck set the entire venue into near madness as the next song just happened to be “Children of the Sea.”
After the final “look out” at the conclusion of the epic Black Sabbath number, Ronnie again had to wait for the crowd to finish voicing their approval. When it died down enough, Ronnie gave a cheerful, “thank you” before announcing, “This next song is a new one, written by all of us and you’re hearing it for the first time. It’s called ‘Decieve the Devil!’”
The intro was a subtle guitar backed up by the organ. Ronnie began singing in a ballad mode to this slow accompaniment. Suddenly, a power chord was struck along with a note from the bass and a brisk drum roll from Cozy and things suddenly began to speed up three tempos. The harder rock got the audience clapping along as Ronnie shifted his vocal style. For those listening closely, “Deceive the Devil” could have been the offspring between “The Last in Line” and the Savatage monster, “This is the Time,” but no one really cared, they just enjoyed the song. Two verses and chorus sung, Criss stepped into the spotlight and cranked out yet another killer guitar solo.
When one could have thought the song was winding down to its end, the stage suddenly came to life. The two knights on either side of the stage moved about ten feet into the middle. Lasers shot back and forth across the stage with small explosions when they hit. The warring knights caused such a spectacle that the audience hardly knew the song ended as the battle continued on for a few minutes more, delighting all. When the battle ceased, the two knights returned to their posts at the sides of the stage with the crowd still shouting their delight and American fans breaking out their cigarette lighters.
Four members of the band exited the stage leaving Jon Lord alone at his keyboards. Several spotlights shone down on him as he demonstrated his keyboard wizardry and those in the stands demonstrated their delight. Jon produced sounds that had many who were watching and listening scratching their heads wondering how he did it. However, it wasn’t just the sounds he was making which captivated the audience. Bright lights shot out of the keyboards and a florescent display on the back wall treated all to a marvellous light show. It was a wonder that Jon’s solo only lasted four minutes.
“Jon Lord on keyboards!” Ronnie called out when the rest of the band returned. Jon continued on his keyboard, but now he was playing more familiar notes. Jimmy joined in on bass and guitar and drums followed on and before anyone realized, Ronnie was singing “Woman From Tokyo.” When that Deep Purple classic ended, it was Cozy’s turn to show what he could do on the drums. He needed no encouragement as he hammered away on the skins with some amazing drum rolls. After wowing the crowd for five minutes, Jimmy came back on stage and joined him playing bass along with Cozy’s drumming. Again, the audience showed their appreciation.
When Ronnie, Criss and Jon joined the other two on stage, they unleashed their second original. “Fear in the City” was a slow, bluesy number done in a stoner rock style, much reminiscent of the band Ronnie was in before he left the mortal world, Heaven and Hell. Nevertheless, the audience ate it up, Criss’s blistering guitar solo might have helped.
“The next song describes of all us,” Ronnie declared. “We are all rock and roll children!” While the audience screamed their approval, the band launched into the song. The energy was felt all around. At the chorus, Ronnie again pointed his mic out to the crowd who shouted back, “Rock and roll children!”
Ronnie melodically responded, “Alone again.” He pointed the microphone back out the the crowd who again shouted back, “Rock and roll children!” To which he sang back, “Without a friend, but they got rock and roll.”
The back and forth happened again when the second chorus came around and then again after the guitar and keyboards solos, went back and forth with the audience until the song’s conclusion. However, Ronnie didn’t give the audience any time to recover, “Here’s an old one, ‘Rainbow in the Dark.’”
They didn’t need a breather as the audience bellowed their appreciation for the Dio classic. When it finished to raucous cheers, Ronnie addressed the crowd. “We might not be in the mortal plane any longer but rock and roll lives on! So, help us go out on a high, long live rock and roll!”
Both band and auidence were so full of energy there was no indication both had been fully engrossed in the show for an hour and a quarter. The Rainbow classic got the place jumping and Ronnie got the fans to sing along one more time. He would sing, “Long live,” and the audience screamed back “Rock and roll!” If the sing along, the light show and the efforts of the band wasn’t enough, Deep Black Rainbow had one more trick up their sleeves. Right after Criss’s guitar solo and while Ronnie repeatedly sang the title of the song, a mechanical dragon, much like the one from Dio’s “Sacred Heart” tour rose up from behind the drums and greeted the crowd, blowing smoke from its nose. Furthermore, it appeared to acknowledge everyone sitting in the audience. It remained with the band and even took the final bows with them before they left the stage.
There was absolutely no way the audience was going to let Deep Black Rainbow get away that easily. In one loud voice, everyone roared and screamed for the band’s return. This went on until throats began to get sore and even that didn’t stop many. It was only then the band triumphantly returned to the stage.
“You all rock!” Ronnie saluted as his bandmates got to their instruments. A few familiar keyboard notes from Jon and the band was all in. Then, Dio, beckoned to the side of the stage. “Come on!” he motioned. Then Elvis appeared, waved to the crowd, and grabbed a microphone. Chuck Berry returned to the stage, duck-walking to center stage as the crowd screamed in approval. Criss Oliva followed, plugging in his electric guitar so familiar from the Gutter Ballet album cover. He was followed by Randy Rhoads who plugged into another stack of amps. The final guitarist, Tee Bone Man himself, had the honour of standing between the two legendary axemen. His face was humble and his eyes were made of joy.
Eric Carr and Clive Burr emerged, carrying tambourines and shakers. Brian Connolly and Kelly Groucutt were behind them with microphones in their hands. Cliff Burton just had a beer, while the two Charlies weren’t quite sure how they fit in, but were just glad to be there. Paul MacLeod had returned, and simply grinned at all the rock majesty from the side of the stage.
A few familiar keyboard notes from Jon and the band was all in. The crowd roared as Ronnie sang, “Nobody’s gonna take my car, I’m gonna race it to the ground,” and when the appointed time came, the audience sang back, “I’m a highway star!”
Keyboard solo followed guitar solo behind floodlights which shone down on the audience. Each time the line would come up, the crowd continued to shout back, “I’m a highway star!” to the very end.
Nothing moved as Jon continued on the keyboards which played more notes which seemed very strangely familiar. With baited breath, everyone listened in anticipation for the guitar to kick in and then every head bobbed in unison to the rhythm and joined Ronnie in singing, “Holy diver, you been down to long in the midnight sea, what’s becoming of me?” Heads continued to bob and the crowd sang along even more as the Dio classic entirely lit the place up.
“We have time for one more,” Ronnie announced. The familiar guitar riffs of an all time classic sent all into mass hysterical frenzy. Criss and Ronnie led the procession as everyone joined in the party that was “Smoke On the Water.” An amazing light show accompanied the iconic hit and if Ritchie Blackmore had been there, he would have taken out a court injunction against Criss forbidding him to play it again, as he totally nailed the guitar solo. Jon followed on with one more amazing keyboard solo and then a brief drum solo from Cozy. Charlie Parker’s saxophone joined in for “Smoke”, while everyone sang along to the indelible chorus. The end came too soon as the audience screamed their heads off and cigarette lighters lit up the seating area. Ronnie graciously thanked everyone for coming and enjoying the show and being so wonderful. All of Deep Black Rainbow came together, took their final bows and exited the stage.
All of Deep Black Rainbow came together, took their final bows and a few heavenly hugs. The band glimmered bright, and faded away in a giant cascade of stars. Tee Bone remained alone on stage. Speechless, the man stood before them for an achingly long silence.
“Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, friends from near and far…I don’t know what to say!” He paused, unsure how to finish. Ultimately, he went with his guts. “People…let’s see the Kiss Avatars top that! You just witnessed the greatest rock show of all time! Let’s hear it!” The crowd screamed in eternal gratitude, for there would never be a show like this one. “Now let’s count, because it’s almost midnight!” A massive clock was projected on a screen behind him.
“10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…wooo!” screamed the rapturous attendees.
“Happy New Year!” screamed Tee Bone at the top of his lungs. “Welcome to 2024!”
* * *
80smetalman Note: For those of you who have read “Rock and Roll Children,” you may be wondering why the concerts in the story weren’t so intense as this one. After all, one critic slated the book calling the concert account ‘bare bones stuff.’ The answer is quite simple, when I wrote “Rock and Roll Children” I attended all but three of the concerts mentioned in the story and went strictly from memory from concerts I had seen 25 years prior. Furthermore, unlike Hollywood, I wanted historical accuracy. Therefore, everything that happened in those concerts, I actually witnessed. For the NYE, concert above, I had no such restrictions and therefore let my imagination go wild. I would like to thank Mike and everyone else for allowing me to contribute to this great story.
2023 is over and 2024 is about to begin. This past year has been interesting in several ways. It started early when, after living in Europe for over 36 years, finally went to Paris and visited Jim Morrison’s grave. However, that wasn’t the only good thing to come out of the Paris trip. While I was there, I discovered France’s best kept musical secret, Indochine, a band that has been around since the 80s and are virtually unheard of outside France but pack stadiums in their country.
Indochine
While I didn’t go to any major concerts in 2023, I did get to see a couple of tribute bands. Thin Lizzy tribute band Limehouse Lizzy totally rocked Gloucester and AC/DC tribute band, Hells’ Bells never disappoint. In addition, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland in June and saw a number of cool bands at a great rock bar known as the Banshee Labyrinth. The management liked my post so much, they said to come back again.
Limehouse Lizzy
Hell’s Bells
The Banshee Labyrinth
I must also thank Mike Ladano, John Snow, Harrison Klopp and the others for allowing me to contribute to the Tee-Bone Man and Superdekes Adventures. It has been a great opportunity to really stretch out my imagination and let it go wild. Spoiler alert: I will begin working on my next contribution, Satan’s attempt to take over Rock Heaven. So, 2023 has been a pretty eventful year.
Things seem set to continue for 2024. First, some non-music related news. On January 31, my daughter Rowena is getting married and of course, I’ll bore you with all the wedding photos. In musical news, my big discovery from 2018, Lebanese heavy metal outfit, Slave to Sirens, will be putting out an album called “Echoes of Silence,” which I’m looking forward to. Furthermore, America’s best kept secret, Hannah Wicklund, has also been active so we might get an album from her. A lot to look forward to. In the meantime, here’s a track from Slave to Sirens.
With that, I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year.
Next post: Deep Black Rainbow’s full performance
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
With my weird, wishy-washy mind, it is sometimes great when I prove myself right. A long time ago, I think it was on Mike’s blog, I stated that “Pump” was Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic” for the 80s. After multiple re-familiarizations to this all time classic, I stand by that statement. Now, I know some of you out there prefer their previous album, “Permanent Vacation,” and there isn’t much between the two but it was “Pump” which brought Aerosmith back to the garden of superstardom.
When I visited “Permanent Vacation,” I stated that Aerosmith had brought back the swagger which made so many of their 1970s albums so brilliant. With this one, they brought even more swagger. The first two tracks and I love the hidden meaning behind “F.I.N.E.,” are absolute groove-a-thon songs. They get the head banging and the blood pumping, yes pun intended. Then we get to their well known single, “Love in an Elevator,” which is my favourite Aerosmith song from the 1980s. Of course, if I was to do a top ten all time list, it would be on that for sure. I love the line, “Kiss your sassafras” and how Misters Perry and Whitford trade off guitar solos. I always said that Brad was a better guitarist than what he’s given credit for.
The party continues with “Monkey on My Back,” which if I’m right, talks about the band’s struggle with drugs a decade earlier. Then it goes to the second single, “Janie’s Got a Gun.” Now, I have always liked the song and I knew it was about a daughter killing her abusive father but what really gave it meaning for me was when they played it at Download in 2017. Steve explained that he got the inspiration for the song from a woman he met while he was in rehab. That explains why there is so much feeling in the performance of it.
Tracks six through nine are all candidates for hidden gem as they all have that potential. Rockabilly is brought in with “Dulcimer Stomp/Take Me to the Other Side,” at least at the beginning. The second half is the band doing what they do best. What I didn’t know was that it was the subject of a lawsuit where the song writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland claimed that the melody sounded like one of their songs. As a result, Aerosmith settled by giving them a song writing credit. On second thought, maybe not “My Girl.” It’s a decent track but maybe not as good as the others. Actually, the hidden gem award goes to “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even.” It has a blues stomp intro, which generates into a blues/hard rock tune. Steve’s vocals are just amazing on it and there is plenty of Aerosmith swagger. That doesn’t stop the party moving on “Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man.” “What It Takes” was the third single and it’s a great closer. I love the guitar solo.
Track Listing:
Young Lust
F.I.N.E.
Going Down/Love in an Elevator
Monkey on My Back
Water Song/Janie’s Got a Gun
Dulcimer Stomp/Take Me to the Other Side
My Girl
Don’t Get Mad, Get Even
Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man
What It Takes
Steve Tyler- lead vocals
Joe Perry- lead guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals
Brad Whitford- guitar, lead guitar on “Voodoo Medicine Man”
Tom Hamilton- bass, backing vocals
Joey Kramer- drums
When the likes of Motley Crue and Poison were ripping up the metal world, old timers Aerosmith came in and took over with “Pump.” This album put them back on top of the music world.
Next post: Nine Inch Nails- Pretty Hate Machine
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Oh damn my memory! I nearly left out a very important event in the metal history of 1989. Under the Glasnost era of Mikhail Gorbachev in what was then the U.S.S.R., the country became more open to Western influences. One example of that was they held a huge metal festival in Moscow calling it the Moscow Peace Festival. I was lent a video recording of the show and I remember it being really good.
The lineup was as follows, at least on my video:
Bon Jovi
The Scorpions
Ozzy Osbourne
Motley Crue
Cinderella
Gorky Park
Skid Row
My memories of the concert are very limited. Things I do remember is my ex wife having a go (not literally) at Sebastian Bach for telling the audience not to take shit off anyone. She pointed out that a few years earlier, Skid Row wouldn’t have been allowed to play there. I remember Motley Crue singing “Girls, Girls, Girls” and being rather impressed with Russian band, Gorky Park as well as The Scorpions kicking ass, especially because five years earlier, I saw Bon Jovi supporting The Scorpions and now it was the other way around. It was my first time seeing Zak Wylde playing with Ozzy and of course the end of the show where Bon Jovi invited everyone back to the stage, along with Jason Bonham for one big jam session. So, instead of me trying to rack my brain for more memories, I will defer to the Tubes of You and show you some live performances from that historic day.
There’s also a nice little guitar intro from Jeff LaBar
Thank God my memory came back and I remembered this amazing show. Metal final broke through to Russia and was graciously accepted. Proof that heavy metal could rule the world.
Next post: Steve Stevens- Atomic Playboy
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Normally, I blast Wikipedia for providing information I know to be incorrect, however, this time they might have saved my behind. After Fish left Marillion, I saw a video for his song, “State of Mind,” in late 1989. Naturally, I assumed that an album accompanied the song, which it did. Unfortunately, “Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors,” wasn’t released until early 1990. Therefore, I have decided to wait until the tour of that year to post about the album. In the meantime, since this song came out in 1989, I can post about it now.
At the time and sort of now, I felt the song sounded more like Marillion than the new Marillion. Like I said in the post, the Steve Hogarth era took the band in a slightly new direction. On this song, Fish does what he did in his former band and I forgot how good “State of Mind” was. It’s a good progressive rock song with some hard-hitting lyrics about the political state of Britain at the time. My only small criticism is at the guitar solo where Steve Rothery would have definitely come in handy. Still, it’s a great song, have a listen.
As far as I remember, there were no other significant one hit wonders nor were there any notable triumphs or tragedies in the rock world in 1989. Even the Donington Festival didn’t happen that year on account of the tragedy which occurred the previous year. Either 1989 was uneventful in these respects or I was too busy with fatherhood to notice.
Next post: Soundtrack to Shocker
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
After reviewing a Canadian artist who didn’t get the accolades he so truly deserved, I thought it right to review one who totally did get those just accolades. Yes, I’m talking about Rush, who, back in the 1980s and beyond, were known around the world. I personally know a good number of Rush fans here in the UK.
In 1989, Rush treated the world to a live album in the form of “A Show of Hands” and I’ll say right off the bat that it’s another reason for me to lament never seeing them live. True, the album focuses on their 1980s material and what a lot of persons out there often refer to as they “synth period,” but this doesn’t stop it from being a great live album.
Looking at the track listing, I should have been slightly disappointed at the absence of “Tom Sawyer” or any of their songs on the first side of the “Moving Pictures” album and some of their more harder rock songs. It could be said that Rush took a gamble of not having any of their material before 1977 but they pull it off. On the subject of “Moving Pictures,” the song from that album which appears here is the hidden gem, “Witch Hunt.” Therefore, that makes me happy.
What I find very amusing about this album is how they opened their show with “The Three Stooges” theme. For those not familiar, this particular theme was when Joe was one of the stooges as my favourite (and most people’s) stooge, Curly, had passed away a few years earlier. It’s my strange mind at work again here. But for the rest of the album, you get a good catalogue of their 1980s output and it all sounds good. You get both hits like “Distant Early Warning” and “The Manhattan Project” and the only pre-80s song, “Closer to the Heart,” which is definitely a favourite of mine and many more. Furthermore, you get some deep cuts like the mentioned hidden gem, “Marathon” and “Turn the Page.” In addition, you get “The Rhythm Method,” which sounds to me like a complete drum solo from Neil. Again, this will be the closest I will come to seeing Rush live and Neil doing what he did best on the drums.
I don’t know what more I can say about this phenomenal live album. It totally surprised me as it sounded so good despite some of my favourite Rush songs not being included. I hold this album up as a counter against those who rail on their 1980s material. They should have heard this songs live because this album makes them all come alive.
Track Listing:
Intro (A Show of Hands)
Big Money
Subdivisions
Marathon
Turn the Page
Manhattan Project
Mission
Distant Early Warning
Mystic Rhythms
Witch Hunt
Rhythm Method
Force Ten
Time Stand Still
Red Sector A
Closer to the Heart
Rush
Geddy Lee- bass, synthesizers, lead vocals
Alex Liefson- guitars, backing vocals
Neil Peart- drums, percussion
In 1989, Rush was the band many people here in the UK associated with Canada. Bryan Adams wouldn’t make his mark for a few more years. However, in Rush’s case, with albums like this live one, I can certainly see why.
Next post: Belinda Carlisle- Runaway Horses
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
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