Perhaps realizing that “’80s music” has become a genre of its own, and that there’s no better way to grab dollars from the thirtysomething demographic than to remind them of the hits of their youth, Red Entertainment Agency has announced that this summer would mark the first Regeneration Tour, in which six artists from the synthpop age will tour the countryside. Those artists–The Human League, Belinda Carlisle, ABC, Dead Or Alive, A Flock of Seagulls, and Naked Eyes–will likely get to play short sets that are made up of mostly hits a la the UK’s Here and Now Tour. But what have they been up to in the years following their glory days? The answers are mostly pretty depressing, with the most sigh-inducing ones involving either reality television or showing skin.
The Human League
The linked MySpace page isn’t an official site because Philip Oakey doesn’t believe the band is “important” enough to have an Internet presence, which kind of makes me love them even more than I did before and also makes them stick out in this particular group for what will soon become obvious reasons, i.e. they seem to have some sort of dignity left in their tank. Which is why I predict them leaving the tour for “personal reasons” before its midpoint.
Naked Eyes
They were a duo, but keyboardist Rob Fisher died in 1999 following complications from stomach surgery.
A Flock of Seagulls
Did Bands Reunited. Lead singer Mike Score’s hair has apparently grown out to make up for it not being able to grow up anymore.
ABC
Also did Bands Reunited, although only two members got back together on the show. So they pulled in a dude from Kajagoogoo to perform with them. Teamwork!
Belinda Carlisle
“Oh, she hasn’t been on reality TV,” I thought when I checked out her IMDB page. “That’s nice, she still has some dignity.” And then I remembered the fateful events of August 2001. (NSFW photo shoot here.) And don’t even get me started on her Francopop-grunge album.
Dead Or Alive
Lead singer Pete Burns has been more famous for being a plastic surgery addict and going on the UK version of Big Brother than for anything music-related he might have done in the years since “You Spin Me Round” was a roller-rink hit. And I still think he’s scum for claiming that he was wearing a coat made from gorilla skin back in the day. (It was actually made from the skin of Colobus monkeys.) Which is why the needle on my schadenfreude-meter is being moved a bit over the fact that he’s apparently been financially forced to do this tour, since when his band’s big hit was re-released in the UK to capitalize on his reality-TV “fame” a few years back he complained about it feeling like “wearing a school uniform at the age of 46.”
’80s Pop Veterans Team For Regeneration Tour [Billboard]
Belinda Carlisle has actually done multiple music-related reality TV shows, such as “Celebrity Duets” and “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” She’s currently a judge on MTV’s “Rock the Cradle.” Her reality TV career is still more dignified than those pics though.
Also, bastardized or not, as long as Martin Fry sings “Poison Arrow,” I’m excited to see ABC.
@mike a: adding to that thought of the
league pre-dare, it would be great to drag adi out of the woodwork and
have him do some of that the future material with the boys!
Actually, the League can throw in a few Dare-era tracks, except for you-know-which-hit. I vote for “Mirror Man” and “Seconds.”
What, no double-bill with Heaven 17?
@mike a: sound of the crowd… please! or… ooh, ooh, seconds!!
“Louise”!
Human League rule!!
Tour schedule please!!!
I guess these guys didn’t get the original memo about 80’s retro back in 2001.
Pollstar is listing a few dates:
[pollstar.com]
Bands that are playing both Here and Now and Regeneration this year:
* ABC
* Belinda Carlisle
* Human League
I have to say, everyone else gets kind of a better deal.
[www.here-and-now.info]
Now if only Living Colour would get back together so I have an excuse to break out my skin tight yellow Body Glove outfit.
@loudersoft:
My excuse - CASUAL FRIDAYS!
The airbrushing on Belinda Carlisle in those photos is pretty out of hand. She looks like a Cars album cover…
not a real-life reenactment of one, by the way.
@loudersoft: That ship has sailed–but Corey Glover has a band going with Angelo Moore from Fishbone and the dude from 24-7 Spyz! (And he’s playing Judas in JC Superster!)
ABC and The Human League?! A jet-stream of urine just unexpectedly shot from my urethra.
@tigerpop: nuttmeg!!
Living Colour broke up again? I saw them a couple of years ago and they were fan-f-in’-tastic.
Lexicon = Greatest Album of All Time.
@NickEddy: Marry me.
I don’t know why the Human League and ABC keep playing the nostalgia circuit. I grant that it’s lucrative, but I think they both have much to offer beyond memories.
What I’d like to see: a Human League performance with pre-Dare material only. With the Heaven 17 guys. And the original equipment. And, what the hell, that movie they were going to display when they were supposed to open for Talking Heads. There’s a fine line between “nostalgia” and “influence,” and I think that falls on the latter sided.
@mike a: “a Human League performance with pre-Dare material only”. Yes yes yes YES. I don’t want to see a single guitar or drumset.
And really, ABC with a dude from Kajagoogoo? When Charlotte Gainsbourg recently proved that Jarvis Cocker, Air and Neil Hannon are all available for freelance work?
This is why I’m not a rock manager. All my artists would be critically lauded - and broke.