Time is Golden

Often times, a band, or a solo singer, who has been around for a while, will make a re-appearance and the latest generation would see it as a brand new band.

Of course that has happened to me on numerous occasions. Not knowing that Slade had been around since the 70s, when they broke through the American charts with "Run Runaway" in 1983, I thought that it was cool that this band of "old guys" was coming into the music scene and sounding great.

It's a good thing when bands stretch from decade to decade and generation to generation. Kids hear for themselves the similarities between the stuff their folks listen to and the latest hits, which both expands the music world, and brings everything together.

That's it? vs. That's it!

Howard Jones. Very plain name but became big in the mid 80s. Jones was own synthesizer one-man-band and he rocked!

When he first started touring, people were excited to see him, but they tended to go home from the concerts a bit underwhelmed. Not that the music wasn't as great live as it was on the radio, for he did a superb job, but it was the show itself. He was it. Just him surrounded by his synthesizers illuminated by some pretty lights. The visual for the "concert experience" was just kind of lacking.

With some extra musicians and backup singers thrown in, Jones' later concerts had the excitement they deserved and the audiences responded most positively.

Europop

While growing up in the 80s, listening to the United States radio, it was easy to forget that rock and pop music is not exclusively made in the North America and the United Kingdom. I have had the pleasure of finding some lovely pieces from other parts of Europe that have sadly been ignored in the states.

Kraftwerk was known for it's electronic sounds. In 1983, they made a song called "Tour de France" about their passion for bicycling. Although the song did well, the moment was bittersweet due to one of the band members, Ralf Hütter, being seriously injured in a cycling accident during recording. He recovered and went right back to biking.



The lovely Lena Lena d'Água was a Portugal sex symbol and pop singer of the late 70s and early 80s. Although her beauty did not make her immune to heroin addiction, her resilience pulled her through rehabilitation.



Boy bands are nothing new, even in The Netherlands. There was a darling band of teen boys called The Shorts who made it big with a hit with "Comment Ca Va" and were never heard from again.