A Shadow History of Rock Music in the 1980s

"I think in every era of music you can find stuff like this -- and sometimes you'll find that it's superior to the music that really was making it big commercially." --Michael Carmody In this episode of Deviate Rolf delves into a musical mystery -- tracing the fate of ten rock and pop albums (found in a thrift store record bin) that evoke the quintessential look and sound of 1980s music, even though -- for whatever reason -- they never made it big back in the day. Joining Rolf in this musical investigation is Jedd Beaudoin (@JeddBeaudoin), who hosts the syndicated music show "Strange Currency," and Michael Carmody (@Carmody68), a musician, record collector, and donut shop entrepreneur. Album art and show notes for each 1980s mystery album are listed below, in chronological order, by time-code.

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Sue Saad and the Next (Planet/Elektra), 1980

[4:05 - 10:56] Featured song: "I I, Me Me" Links:

• 1980 Grammy Awards winners
• 1980 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Sue Saad on The Hustle with Jon Lamoreaux
• Joan Jett (musician)
• John Cougar (musician)
• Sue Saad and the Next, "Young Girl"
• Sue Saad and the Next, "Gimme Love Gimme Pain"
• Rush, "Spirit of the Radio"
• Led Zeppelin, "D'Yer Maker"

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S·P·Y·S (EMI America), 1982

[10:56 - 20:25] Featured song: "She Can't Wait" Links:

• 1982 Grammy Awards winners
• 1982 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Al Greenwood (Foreigner and S·P·Y·S keyboardist)
• Mick Jones (Foreigner guitarist)
• Spooky Tooth (band)
• SAGA, "On the Loose"
• Rainbow (band)
• The Clocks, "Nobody's Fool"
• The Human League (synth-pop band)
• Warren Cuccurullo (Missing Persons guitarist)
• Cinemax (pay-cable TV network)

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The Breaks (RCA), 1983

[20:25 - 27:55] Featured song: "She Wants You" Links:

• 1983 Grammy Awards winners
• 1983 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Vini Poncia (record producer)
• Scandal (band)
• Patty Smyth (singer-songwriter)
• Harry Nilsson (singer-songwriter)
• Stevie Nicks (singer-songwriter)
• The Pretenders (band)
• Blue Angel (band)
• Village Sound, "Hey Jack (Don't Hijack My Plane)"

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Fury (New York Music Company), 1985

[27:55 - 34:15] Featured song: "In Her Arms" Links:

• 1985 Grammy Awards winners
• 1985 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Felix Cavaliere (producer)
• Young Rascals (band)
• Kenny Loggins (singer-songwriter)
• Yamaha DX7 (synthesizer)
• Former Fury fan club, current location on West 57^th Street
• La Blanc Brothers (post-Fury wedding band)

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Surgin', "When Midnight Comes" (EMI), 1985

[34:15 - 46:00] Featured song: "Shot Through the Heart" Links:

• Jack Ponti (musician)
• Jon Bon Jovi (singer-songwriter)
• Bon Jovi, "Runaway"
• Kevin DuBrow (heavy metal singer)
• Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne album)
• Master of Puppets (Metallica album)
• Reign in Blood (Slayer album)
• Cinderella (glam metal band)
• Stryper (Christian metal band)
• Judas Priest (metal band)
• Iron Maiden (metal band)

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Rough Cutt (Warner), 1985

[46:00 - 55:25] Featured song: "Piece of My Heart" Links:

• Mickey Ratt (rock band)
• Chris Hager (guitarist)
• Jake E. Lee (guitarist)
• Ronnie James Dio (musician)
• Ted Templeman (Van Halen producer)
• Paul Shortino (musician)
• Shortino as Duke Fame, in This is Spinal Tap
• MetalShop (radio show)
• Rough Cutt, "Never Gonna Die"
• The Choirboys (band)
• Y&T (band)
• Rough Cutt (current band website)

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Stone Fury, "Let Them Talk" (MCA), 1986

[55:25 - 1:06:00] Featured song: "Too Late" Links:

• 1986 Grammy Awards winners
• 1986 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Rutger Hauer (Dutch actor)
• Limhal (singer for Kajagoogoo)
• Lenny Wolf (vocalist)
• Kingdom Come (band)
• Bruce Gowdy (guitarist)
• World Trade (prog rock band)
• Elf (band)
• Stone Fury, "Stay"
• Glass Tiger (band)

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Le Mans (Columbia), 1986

[1:06:00 - 1:14:10] Featured song: "Chain Around Your Heart" Links:

• Derek Frigo (guitarist)
• Peter Marrino (singer)
• Mike Varney (founder of Shrapnel Records)
• Yngwie Malmsteen (guitarist)
• Guitar Player (magazine)
• Paul Gilbert (guitarist)
• Charles Bradley (singer)
• Journey (band)
• Arnel Pineda (singer)
• Steve Perry (singer)

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Envy, "Ain't It a Sin" (ATCO/Atlantic), 1987

[1:14:10 - 1:25:36] Featured song: "Ain't It a Sin" Links:

• 1987 Grammy Awards winners
• 1987 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Dee Snyder (singer-songwriter)
• Gina Stile (musician)
• Vixen (band)
• Heart (band)
• Lita Ford (guitarist)
• Fiona (singer)
• When in Rome, "The Promise"
• Headbangers Ball (MTV program)
• Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
• Hüsker Dü (band)

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Leatherwolf, "Street Ready" (Island), 1989

[1:25:36 - 1:30:45] Featured song: "Street Ready" Links:

• 1989 Grammy Awards winners
• 1989 Billboard Year-End Hot 100
• Leatherwolf (current band website)
• Armored Saint (band)

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Final comments

[1:30:45 - 1:45:20] Links:

• Sammy Hagar (musician)
• Matthew Wilder, "Break My Stride"
• Soundscan (sales tracking system)
• Captain Beyond (album)
• Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements, by Bob Mehr
• Lester Bangs (rock critic)
• Rodney Bingenheimer (radio personality)
• John Peel (radio presenter)
• Circus (rock magazine)
• Hit Parader (rock magazine)
• Creem (rock magazine)
• The Archies, "Sugar Sugar"
• Sammy Johns, "Chevy Van"
• Computer World (Kraftwerk album)
• Nothing's Shocking (Jane's Addiction album)
• The Joshua Tree (U2 album)
• Anton Corbijn (photographer)

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This episode was sponsored by the Paris Writing Workshop, an intensive one-month course in the artistic heart of Europe. Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at [email protected].