Slayer have announced their only headlining North American show of the year.
The thrash metal aggressors will play at the 16,000-capacity Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on September 20. Support will come from Grammy-nominated hardcore firebrands Knocked Loose, plus a host of thrash favourites: Suicidal Tendencies, Power Trip, the Cavalera brothers (playing 1993 Sepultura album Chaos A.D.) and Exodus (playing debut album Bonded By Blood).
Tickets go on general sale on Friday (April 11) at 10am Eastern Time, although pre-sales start from Tuesday (April 8) at 10am Eastern Time.
As well as the performing bands, Slayer’s Hersheypark show will feature WWE wrestler Damian Priest, who’s emceeing the event. Priest is a known metalhead who uses a finishing move called the “South Of Heaven”, named after Slayer’s 1988 album. Slayer guitarist Kerry King plays guitar on the wrestler’s entrance theme.
Of the upcoming gig, King comments: “Last year, Slayer played only two shows, and those shows affected me like playing The Big Four shows [with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax in 2010 and 2011] did.
“When we played our first show last year in Chicago, I figured it was going to be great for the fans, maybe there would be some people who had never seen us play before, but the reaction was just completely overwhelming. The fans reacted to us like I’d expect them to react to the biggest band on the planet. It was amazing.
“So, for the Hershey concert, we’ll play a Slayer show, we’ll have all of our big fire effects, and just burn everything like we used to.”
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Slayer returned from a five-year retirement in February 2024 and announced a string of US festival shows for later in the year. Although King said afterwards that fans shouldn’t expect the band’s concerts to become a “yearly event”, they’ve already announced a number of dates for 2025. They include the first Slayer headline concerts since 2019, taking place at Blackweir Fields in Cardiff on July 3 and Finsbury Park in London on July 6. Support will come from Mastodon, Anthrax, Hatebreed and death metal newcomers Neckbreakker.
In between the Cardiff and London shows, Slayer will perform at Black Sabbath’s farewell show, Back To The Beginning, at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5. Also on the bill will be Metallica, Mastodon, Alice In Chains and many more, plus a “supergroup” composed of Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Papa V Perpetua (Ghost) and others.
Rounding out Slayer’s live schedule for the year so far is a headline spot at FEQ festival in Quebec on July 11 and a set at Louder Than Life in Kentucky on September 18. The band were set to play the US festival last year but had their day cancelled due to adverse weather.
Burke’s death, following a battle with cancer, was announced by his bandmates on social media this afternoon, April 7.
The statement reads:
“It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.
“Clem was not just a drummer; he was the heartbeat of Blondie. His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable. Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
“Clem’s influence extended far beyond Blondie. A self proclaimed ‘Rock & Roll survivalist’, he played and collaborated with numerous iconic artists, including Eurythmics, Ramones, Bob Dylan, Bob Geldof, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett, Chequered Past, The Fleshtones, The Romantics, Dramarama, The Adult Net, The Split Squad, The International Swingers, L.A.M.F., Empty Hearts, Slinky Vagabond, and even the Go-Go’s. His influence and contributions have spanned decades and genres, leaving an indelible mark on every project he was a part of.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Clem’s family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the countless lives he touched. As we navigate this profound loss, we ask for privacy during this difficult time. Godspeed, Dr. Burke.
The statement is signed by Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and the entire Blondie family
Born Clement Anthony Bozewski in Bayonee, New Jersey on November 24, 1954, Burke joined Debbie Harry and Chris Stein in Blondie in 1975.
He played on every album by the legendary New York punk/new wave group, from their self-titled 1976 debut,. through to 2017’s Pollinator.
When Blondie broke up in 1982, Burke played and recorded with Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, Blondie’s Gary Valentine and Frank Infante, Tony Sales (Igyy Pop) and Michael Des Barres in Chequered Past. The group’s sole album was released in 1984.
Funk legend Nile Rodgers is among the musicians who have paid tribute to Burke on social media.
“RIP Rest in power brother Clem,” Rodgers posted in reply to the news. “My sincerest condolences go out to your fam and friends. It was an honor to play with you.”
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Producer Butch Walker also expressed his condolences.
“My heart is crushed for this one,” he wrote. “I honestly had no idea. He was the coolest fucking guy in the room even in 2025. One of the best rock ‘n’ roll drummers on the planet, and I was lucky enough to grow up being inspired by him and the rest of you, and later in life, call him a friend and be able to play shows with him behind me on the drums a couple of times. I will shed a tear or two today and be listening to his greatness on my speakers.”
A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
Clem Burke, Blondie‘s drummer since their first album in 1976, has died. He was 70.
According to a statement released by the band, Burke died “following a private battle with cancer.” “Clem was not just a drummer; he was the heartbeat of Blondie,” they wrote. “His talent, energy and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.
“Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Burke was born on Nov. 24, 1954, in Bayonne, New Jersey. He played in local bands during the late ’60 and early ’70s.
He then joined Blondie in 1975, shortly after Deborah Harry and Chris Stein formed the band in New York City. He played drums on all their albums, starting with 1976’s self-titled release, their 1978 breakthrough Parallel Lines, 1999’s reunion record No Exit and 2017’s Pollinator, their most recent LP.
You can see Blondie’s statement about Burke below.
Blondie broke up after their sixth album, The Hunter, in 1982. Harry launched a solo career before the band resumed in 1999 with a new album.
Who Has Clem Burke Played With?
Bruke spent the ’80s and ’90s playing drums with other bands, including a regular gig with the Romantics. In 1987, he performed with the Ramones as Elvis Ramone.
Let’s face it, as old-school long-time Elton John fans, we all long for the old days when Elton John released albums like Honky Château, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, and of course, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Elton and Bernie Taupin crafted some of the greatest pop songs of all time during that period between 1970 and 1976. First and foremost, those songs were fueled by Elton’s high tenor – he was able to reach notes and sing melodies that were so creatively original that fans simply fell in love with his music and Bernie’s words.
Something happened to Elton’s music in the post-’70s era. He still continued to write and release great songs, although there were some albums that were a bit of a letdown. But there was a difference, and for the most part, even Elton has admitted that a change occurred due to the shift in his voice. Elton John could no longer sing those high melodies; his voice grew deeper, and with his changing range, he had to compensate in his compositions. This is not a put-down; it’s just a significant difference from the music he released in the seventies.
Elton John’s new album, Who Believes in Angels?, was just released yesterday, April 4, 2025. The album’s opening track, “The Rose of Laura Nyro,” is a wonderful tribute to Bronx native Laura Nyro, one of our favorite musical artists here at ClassicRockHistory.com. She is, in fact, a much-overlooked artist and often forgotten when people talk about the great songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s. She had her hits, but her albums were deep collections of heartfelt, emotionally epic pieces filled with rhythmic time changes and spectacular musical performances. It was no wonder that bands like Blood, Sweat & Tears covered her music.
The tribute to Laura Nyro, which opens the album, also echoes in many ways the opening track “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It’s the first Elton John album since then that opens with a long instrumental featuring fiery guitar work in an adventurous musical performance.. It’s simply spectacular. The moment the vocals come in and listeners are presented with the duo of Brandi Carlile and Elton singing together, that old Elton John magic begins to occur.
The collaboration between Brandi Carlile and Elton John on his heavenly new album is significant for many reasons. What really hit me hard was the fact that the melodies on many of these songs shift up into a register where Elton John used to sing but no longer can. With Brandi Carlile standing next to him, he was able to write those melodies again and have her sing them. He sings them with her but, of course, in harmony, where he doesn’t have to hit those high notes. Brandi Carlile sounds just gorgeous singing these melodies. On the album’s first single, “Who Believes in Miracles,” I was constantly reminded of the chorus on the single “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” It’s very similar, not in a copycat kind of way, but in a stylistic way. It’s as if Elton John had the freedom once again to write melodies that his voice had restricted him from doing.
Of course, it’s not all about just the melodies; it’s about the collaboration with Brandi Carlile. She brings a modern sense to his music, even though Elton has continued to release music and collaborate with other artists that has always sounded modern. Brandi Carlile is a very special artist. She’s a wonderful songwriter, a stunning singer, and she just seems like a really special human being. I mean, of course, one would have to be all of that to release an album and collaborate with Elton John. She has her own fan base, but hopefully, for her, this will help her develop an older fan base. What she brings to this recording within her lyrics, her vocal performances, and just her spirit really helps make this a special album.
It’s interesting and very impressive that Elton John has never sounded old; for a man in his seventies, his spirit, at least in his music, has always sounded fresh. Yes, we do miss the days of songs like “Daniel,” “Tower Of Bable,” “Blues for Baby and Me,” and all those gorgeous songs he used to write. But in all honesty, I’m just really happy that Elton John is still releasing new music.
The new album also showcases Elton John’s piano playing. It’s a shame that Elton is not often talked about enough in regard to just his piano playing. Of course, any of his old fans who wore out 11-17-70 on their turntables knew very well just how hard he could rock the piano. On his new album, he brings that old rocking piano playing back front and center on the tribute to Little Richard called “Little Richard’s Bible.”
You have to hand it to him—this man has never really left. He’s had his ups and downs; he’s been through rough times just like all of us. But every couple of years, he comes back and releases something new. If you don’t like it, then go fu*k off. I have to tell you, I’m happy that I still live in a world where Elton John lives, and ten times happier that I still live in a world where I can go out and buy a new Elton John album every couple of years.
Perhaps the album’s most emotional moment occurs on the recording’s final song, “When This Old World Is Done with Me.” While we’ve been discussing Elton’s high tenor that no longer walks alongside him, the man has compensated over the years by developing a rich, soulful low voice reminiscent of Ray Charles, and it’s very present on the closing track. As many of us have seen lately, when our rock and roll heroes have aged and released albums toward the end of their lives, they have written songs that reflect an acceptance of moving on from this life. Elton touches on that acknowledgment beautifully in the song “When This Old World Is Done with Me.” In his singing, I could feel the cold front coming, and the listener feels just as chilled. It’s hard to hear your heroes say things like that, to sing those words, because as we all know, we’ve lost many of them in recent years. But Elton is one we just don’t want to let go of.
Check out more Elton John articles on ClassicRockHistory.com Just click on any of the links below……
Chappell Roan might well just be one of the biggest popstars on the planet right now. Last month, she performed alongside legend – and close friend – Elton John at his annual Oscars viewing party, and now it appears that even Corey Taylor has some love to share for the Missouri singer.
This weekend, the Slipknot frontman made an appearance at Spookala, a biannual horror convention in Florida, to offer signings for fans and to perform a solo acoustic set of mostly covers.
The event took place at Expo Hall from April 4 – April 6, and hosted a number of horror icons including Saw actor Tobin Bell, The Lost Boys star Kiefer Sutherland, and of course, Corey Taylor himself, who is a longtime horror enthusiast.
Towards the end of his performance, Taylor played through a snippet of Roan’s huge hit Pink Pony Club to a cheering crowd. Elsewhere, he performs takes on huge anthems, including Foo Fighters classic Everlong, Incubus track I Miss You, Nine Inch Nails’ Something I Can Never Have and Violent Femme’s Add It Up, as well his well-loved cover of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.
He additionally plays a handful of Stone Sour and Slipknot tracks, including Song #3, Taciturn, Bother, Through Glass and Snuff, before ending on Spit It Out.
Back in February, Taylor featured in a gorgeous duet with Bad Omens frontman Noah Sebastian. The pair of metal heroes performed a rendition of Kansas’ Dust In The Wind for a new wrestling film titled Queen Of The Ring.
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In June, Slipknot will hit the road across Europe for numerous festival dates, including Sweden Rock, Germany’s Rock Im Park, NovaRock, Resurrection Fest and more. In July, they’ll headline Inkcarceration in Mansfield, Ohio on July 19. For the full list of dates, visit the band’s website.
“Abba were in matching white fur coats, looking like polar bears. Sid went running over. ‘Abba!’ Then he vomited. They were horrified.” John Lydon on the day Abba met the Sex Pistols
(Image credit: Universal Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images | Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
In July 1977, the Sex Pistols embarked upon their first Scandinavian tour, a 12-date trek taking in two shows in Denmark, two shows in Norway, and eight shows in Sweden, culminating in two nights at a Stockholm club called Happy House. The tour gave the London punk quartet an opportunity to do something they were struggling to do on home turf due to their notoriety – play live – and ended up providing bassist Sid Vicious with a career highlight, a meeting with his favourite band, Abba.
In truth, Vicious wasn’t the only Abba fan in the Pistols. Famously, Vicious’ predecessor Glen Matlock was inspired to write the bass line for Pretty Vacant after hearing Abba’s hit single SOS (“I didn’t pinch it note for note,” he insisted in 2017, “but the structure of that song gave me the idea”), and, according to a Norwegian journalist who covered the quartet’s July tour, the band listened to nothing but the Swedish band: “They had one cassette and it was ABBA,” she recalled. “They played it 24/7, all the time.”
That the Pistols ended up meeting Abba at an airport in Sweden was sheer coincidence, however.
“We’d been drinking all day in Scandinavia because flights were cancelled but Sid couldn’t handle alcohol,” John Lydon recalls in a new [paywalled] interview with The Irish Independent. “As soon as he’d seen Abba, all in matching white fur coats, looking like polar bears, he went running over. ‘Abba!’ Then he vomited.
“They were horrified,” the singer tells journalist Pat Carty. “I think we got carted off. There was a police wagon involved.”
Writing in his 2016 autobiography Lonely Boy, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones described the tour as “mental.”
“It seemed like – between the media, the police, the fucking bastards at the GLC, every other local council in Britain, and Malcolm [McClaren] getting bored – there was some kind of conspiracy keeping us from playing live in the UK,” he wrote. “So we fucked off to Scandinavia and did a tour there instead.”
“It was true what they said about Sweden,” Jones continued. “It wasn’t just how good looking the birds were, they were really into sex, as opposed to what we were used to, which was grudging Northern slags with big ankles and spotty backs. I’m sorry if the truth hurts.”
Charming.
You can watch footage of the Sex Pistols playing in Stockholm on July 28, 1977 below.
The Sex Pistols live in Stockholm 1977. 20min footage. – YouTube
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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
April 7, 1990 is a day Steven Adler would probably like to forget – and one Tommy Lee is lucky he survived.
On that night the two drummers were performing 797 miles away from each other – Lee with Motley Crue in New Haven, Connecticut and Adler with Guns N’ Roses at Farm Aid 1990 in Indianapolis. One lost his job and the other could have lost his life.
Motley Crue were in the midst of a massive 168-date tour in support of 1989’s Dr. Feelgood album. By this point, Lee had become known for his gravity-defying drum solo stunts. Always eager to top himself, the new tour’s stage show featured Lee performing on a moving drum kit that hung just below the roof of the arenas the bands were playing at the time – then making a dramatic bungee jump back to the main stage to start the next song.
But on that night at the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, things went wrong. Apparently concerned that the brake wouldn’t be pulled in time, the drummer uncoupled himself mid-drop in order to “reach his foot strap, hanging him upside down.” The result was a 20-foot fall and a painful head-first landing.
The second half of the show was cancelled, and Lee was hospitalized with a mild concussion, but luckily escaped the incident without permanent damage. When Motley Crue returned to the road three days later in Poughkeepsie, New York, he was reportedly performing a modified, safer version of the bungee drop. The incident didn’t stop him from dreaming up more and more inventive high-flying drum stunts on future tours.
The Controversy Behind Steven Adler’s Last Guns N’ Roses Show
For Adler, the night wasn’t about sudden danger but rather a boiling over of long-simmering troubles. Farm Aid was the only show Guns N’ Roses played in 1990, as they spent most of the year working on their massive Use Your Illusion double albums.
In the eyes of his bandmates – none of whom claimed to be angels in this regard – Adler’s substance abuse issues had gotten out of control to the point where they were severely affecting his in-studio and on-stage performances.
Farm Aid marked the first time Guns N’ Roses had performed together since a drama-filled four-show stint opening for the Rolling Stones at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum six months earlier.
Things in Indianapolis didn’t get off to a great start. Slash recalled Adler missing a show-opening leap onto his drum kit by about four feet before struggling during their first live performance of the track “Civil War.”
“If his playing had been fine, I don’t think anyone would have cared what he was doing to himself – at least I wouldn’t have,” the guitarist later claimed in Slash: The Autobiography. “We weren’t really concerned for Steven’s health as much as we were pissed off that his addiction was handicapping his performance and therefore the rest of us.”
Things got worse when the band attempted to play a song Adler didn’t even know, a cover of the U.K. Subs’ “Down on the Farm.” Looking back on the show in his book My Appetite for Destruction, Adler contends he was set up to fail.
“I believe their strategy was to make my playing sound like this,” he wrote. “I believe they wanted me to fuck up on live TV; that would be their evidence. By branding me as an ill-equipped, crappy drummer, they’d be armed with a sound reason for kicking me out.”
Regardless of who was right and to what degree, the Farm Aid show was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and also the last time Adler performed as a member of Guns N’ Roses.
When the band returned to the road at Rock in Rio in January 1991, Matt Sorum had replaced Adler as their drummer. It would be the first of a series of lineup changes that would leave singer Axl Rose as the sole founding member of Guns N’ Roses from 1993 until his 2016 reunion with Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.
Phil Collins has long been known as someone who is very serious about his work, both solo and with Genesis. As Chester Thompson would learn, he wasn’t afraid to take matters into his own hands.
The drummer, who’d played previously with Frank Zappa and Weather Report, received a phone call from Collins himself. The band was looking to fill the empty slot left by the departure of Bill Bruford. Phil was familiar with Thompson’s work and in fact, had seen Chester’s last gig with Weather Report. There would be no audition necessary, the gig was his if he wanted it.
Once he said yes, he had a short time to get ready for the first show, which was happening on New Year’s Day in 1977 in London at the Rainbow Theatre, where the prog legends were booked to play three nights. The initial gig was “pretty rough,” as Thompson recalled during an interview for an upcoming episode of the UCR Podcast. “The second day wasn’t bad and the third night was really locked in. Between nerves and [how much there was] to remember and just trying not to mess up, [because] you know, you just want to try and get it right, that was the tension.”
Touring in support of 1976’s Wind & Wuthering, which had been released at the end of that year, the group had more than just a new band member to break in. They were also debuting a revolutionary light show and with barely 8,000 tickets available for the trio of gigs, it had been a tough ducat to acquire. The band’s former frontman, Peter Gabriel, was one of the witnesses as they began the tour and had positive feedback regarding Thompson’s performance. “Chester was really driving the band and all of the material was working,” he shared with the Los Angeles Times. “It was really exciting.”
“The third night was very rewarding to listen to,” Thompson remembers now. “The first night, because I’m probably my worst critic, it was not good. I can’t remember which guy, but one of the big rock critics over there….man, I mean, he just shredded me to no end on that first show. He gave me just a horrendous review, so bad to the point that the first time we played L.A. maybe a year later, Phil grabbed the guy by the collar and made him apologize to me.”
Why Phil Was Unique as a Drummer
Though Collins has a distinctive and instantly recognizable sound, Thompson is able to pinpoint what made the drummer stand out. “In my mind, everything he played was really unique, especially the early days when Peter was there. It was like, man, this stuff was just very different than anybody else you hear,” he says. “Well, it turns out, in some cases, it was him trying to play like an American. But because of his background and everything he’s around, it gave it a very unique twist and that explained a lot. We listened to a lot of the [same players], especially the jazzers. We both listened to Elvin Jones and Tony Williams. He was very well-read on all of the jazz players as well as all of the rock heroes over there.”
Thompson, a Nashville resident, has continued to stay busy behind the kit in the years since he stopped playing with Collins in 2010. Fans of progressive music will be happy to learn that he’s part of a new supergroup featuring Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic), Phil Keaggy (Glass Harp) and Byron House (Robert Plant, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton). The quartet, collectively known as Cosmic Cathedral will release Deep Water, their debut album, on April 25.
The Best Song From Every Genesis Album
As personnel came and went over the decades, Genesis shape-shifted through prog, folk and (more than once) pop.
The Pretenders will release a new live album entitled Kick ‘Em Where It Hurts on June 13.
The 17-track collection was recorded on the band’s 2024 theater tour, and if it all sounds as great as the three tracks the band has released from the album so far it’s going to knock your socks off.
“Over these past years, people often ask why we aren’t playing in bigger venues i e. arenas? The simple answer is: Clubs and theatres are better venues for the audience and for the band.
Personally, I have never stayed for a three hour show, and I like to see the band on stage rather than on screens if I’m in the audience. And if I’m on stage, I like to see every audience member right up to the back of the balcony.
So yes, we could be playing bigger places, making more money, and in some people’s eyes, garnering more prestige…… but we really don’t give a shit about that stuff.
We have loved supporting Stevie Nicks, Phil Collins, Guns N’ Roses, and now the Foo Fighters in huge venues, but for our own shows we like to keep it reined in.
You can see the complete Pretenders Live – Kick ‘Em Where It Hurts track list below, and here the album’s versions of “Thumbelina,” “Time the Avenger” and “You Can’t Hurt a Fool.”
The Pretenders will launch a Latin American tour on May 7 in Mexico City. The trek is currently scheduled to conclude on May 24 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Prior to that trip they will play May 1 in Las Vegas and at the Beachlife Festival in Redondo Beach, California on May 3rd. Complete information is available from their official website.
Hear the Pretenders Perform ‘Thumbelina’
Hear the Pretenders Perform ‘Time the Avenger’
Hear the Pretenders Perform ‘You Can’t Hurt a Fool’
Pretenders Live – Kick ‘Em Where It Hurts Track List:
1. “Losing My Sense of Taste” 2. “Turf Accountant Daddy” 3. “Talk of the Town” 4. “The Buzz” 5. “Thumbelina” 6. “The Losing” 7. “Private Life” 8. “You Can’t Hurt a Fool” 9. “Don’t Cut Your Hair” 10. “Let the Sun Come In” 11. “I Think About You Daily” 12. “Biker” 13. “Boots of Chinese Plastic” 14. “Back on the Chain Gang” 15. “Time the Avenger” 16. “Hate for Sale” 17. “Middle of the Road”
Pretenders and Chrissie Hynde Albums Ranked
From punk beginnings to middle-of-the-road balladry to Dylan covers.
New wave got its start in the late ’70s with flinty records by Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and Joe Jackson, then was refined into the new decade by forward-thinkers like the Cars, Roxy Music, Gary Numan and Talking Heads. As the ’80s dawned and MTV followed, they joined a string of freshly crowned stars.
But like radio before it, MTV had a way of creating one-hit wonders. The novelty of music videos perhaps inevitably led to a novelty approach to the process. Some of the songs and many of the clips – and, quite frankly, a few of the acts – were overly jokey. Others haven’t aged well.
In the record-label rush to sign, record, tour and (most importantly back then) push new video from the Next Big Thing onto the airwaves, some very promising performers were left behind. That mirrored the previous era of radio, too.
We’ve returned to five new wave acts that should have been bigger, if it weren’t for fate – and, in some instances, the giant divide created by the Atlantic Ocean. Several had success in the U.K., while being largely ignored in America. Others just had bad luck. One proved far more influential than anyone would have guessed back then. It just took time (and Radiohead) to make their impact known.
5. Missing Persons
YouTube / Evangeline Aces
YouTube / Evangeline Aces
Missing Persons went missing after consecutive singles “Words” and “Destination Unknown” both stalled outside the Top 40 in 1982. Singer Dale Bozzio’s outlandish style in the accompanying videos may have made them seem like a novelty act. The truth, however, is that Missing Persons had a deep well of musical talent – and some highly recommended deep cuts. Four of its five members had previously worked with Frank Zappa, including Bozzio and her then-spouse, the audacious drummer Terry Bozzio. Secret-weapon guitarist Warren Cuccurullo was later a member of Duran Duran, co-writing the quite gorgeous “Ordinary World.”
4. Lloyd Cole
You Tube / Philscreen
You Tube / Philscreen
He spun off four consecutive Top 20 LPs in the U.K. But following a trend with underrated new wave acts, Lloyd Cole’s biggest Billboard single was 1987’s somewhat jokey “My Bag,” released after some of his very best albums had been largely ignored in the U.S. Every song from Rattlesnakes, his 1984 debut with the Commotions, was better. Cole went solo, did orchestral music, launched another band, tried soundtrack work and even electronica. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work – well, in America anyway. Standards, an absolute gem from 2013, recalled his original glories but never got trapped in the past.
3. Siouxsie and the Banshees
David Corio / Redferns, Getty Images
David Corio / Redferns, Getty Images
Siouxsie and the Banshees emerged from the punk scene, but were never defined by the genre. Or, really, any genre. That may have initially made them too hard to pin down for American audiences, even as Siouxsie’s first nine albums went Top 20 in the U.K. They finally began making fleeting Billboard appearances toward the end of the ’80s (“Peek-a-Boo” and “Kiss Them for Me” topped the alt charts in 1988), but only after smoothing out the edges considerably – at least musically. Siouxsie continued as one of the era’s most daring and inventive performers, and that was no easy feat in the technicolor ’80s.
2. Prefab Sprout
YouTube / Prefab Sprout
YouTube / Prefab Sprout
British audiences embraced them, as Prefab Sprout soared into the Top 40 album charts nine times. “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” was a (well-deserved) Top 10 hit in the U.K., too. An early association with Thomas Dolby should have helped in the U.S. They probably expected more momentum after 1985’s “When Love Breaks Down” just missed the Top 40 on the college-rock charts. But that was as close as Prefab Sprout ever got to mainstream notice in the U.S., despite writing some of the catchiest, strikingly literate and deeply compassionate music of the era. Frontman Paddy McAloon eventually just packed it in.
1. Talk Talk
Martyn Goodacre, Getty Images
Martyn Goodacre, Getty Images
Talk Talk was pigeon-holed into synth-pop after the artfully introspective title track from 1984’s It’s My Life reached the Billboard Top 40 and went platinum in the U.K. But the late Mark Hollis‘ restless imagination defied categorization. By the time Talk Talk got to the ’90s Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock had invented the post-rock movement now widely associated with Radiohead. The shift actually started immediately after It’s My Life, when Talk Talk stirred jazz and art rock into 1986’s The Colour of Spring. Their new MTV fans began running for the exits, but Talk Talk clearly had larger aspirations – and they achieved them.
Top 40 New Wave Albums
From the B-52’s to XTC, Blondie to Talking Heads, a look at the genre’s best LPs.
