Totally 80s at the Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles, CA September 2, 2011 We had a totally rad 80s weekend in Los Angeles, including stops at famous 80s locales and interviews with awesome 80s rockers (more on those in separate stories). This was my first time in LA, and the weather did not disappoint. While it was 100 degrees with 80% humidity back in Birmingham, it was a cool 65 and dry at the Hollywood Bowl on the night of the Totally 80s concert. We started the evening...
Boy Bands of the 1980s
By Julie Anderson Precise choreography, just-so styling, and bouncy, danceable pop music combined with REALLY cute boys made boy bands irresistible to tween girls in the 80’s. Magazines like Tiger Beat gave us all the lovable personality quirks of each boy so we could pick our favorite crushes, in addition to sweet fold-out posters for our walls. Often, boy bands were assembled by managers or record producers with an eye toward the...
Rock Star / Model Couples of the 80s
By Julie Anderson A Tale as Old as Time… She’s a devastating beauty, paid big bucks to wear expensive clothes and be photographed. It’s fun being gorgeous and all, but she’s looking for some excitement and romance… He’s a successful rock star, whose face and music are known the world over. He’s had his share of groupies, but he’s ready for a steady girlfriend, the younger the better… They meet. Birds sing, shutters...
Interview with original MTV VJ, Alan Hunter
June 28, 2011 Alan Hunter, one of the original five VJs on MTV, talks with Like Totally 80s about his time on MTV, favorite interviews, weighs in on the state of today’s MTV and shares what he’s up to now. Sharp-witted with a slightly off-kilter sense of humor, Alan would call it like it saw it, and we love that about him. Thanks so much to Alan Hunter for agreeing to talk with us! You can connect with Alan on Facebook at...
Just You and Me, Babe: Romantic Duets of the 80s
The music of the 80s wasn’t just about hair bands, wailing sax, and stalker music. We had our share of songs that celebrated the tenderness and angst of true love, too. I am so in love with these romantic duets from the 1980s. First off, we have the best selling single of Diana Ross’s entire career: “Endless Love”, her duet with Lionel Ritchie. It was for the movie of the same name starring Brooke Shields, but the movie was nowhere...
80s Rebellion Songs
We’re Not Gonna Take It: When Authority Gives You a Bad Reputation, You Have Fight for Your Right to Smoke in the Boys Room June 13, 2011 Nothing feels quite like the exhilaration of letting your rebel flag fly. The thrill of doing the thing that you know you’re not supposed to do is timeless and not at all unique to one generation or another. I am sure there is some philosophical or more likely psychological theory that explains our...
Interview with Nadine Loren
May 27, 2011 Nadine Loren has joined up with producer Peter Asher to create a new album celebrating the music of the 80s. To be released on May 31, 2011, “The Naked ‘80s” features 11 covers of 80s songs and two original songs. The covers represent a wide range of music from the early 80s art/alternative rock of Nik Kershaw (“Wouldn’t It Be Good” off the “Pretty in Pink” soundtrack), Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music and Alison Moyet to...
The Joy of Sax: Sax Solos in 80s Music
By Julie Anderson When I signed up for seventh grade band in the fall of 1984, I desperately wanted to play the saxophone. Forget flute or piccolo or clarinet, the girly instruments: I wanted to wail on a tenor sax. They seemed mature, expressive, and totally sexy. Something a girl might play in a smoky jazz bar, sporting a slinky black dress and dark Wayfarers. Alas, my parents put the kibosh on my saxophone dreams and insisted on...
Interview with original MTV VJ, Martha Quinn
May 16, 2011 Among the original 5 VJs on MTV when it launched in the Summer of 1981 (almost 30 years ago!), Martha Quinn charmed music fans everywhere with her adorable style and upbeat attitude. At 52, she is still charming us on the radio with the 80s music we love. We’d like to thank Martha for taking the time to answer our questions about the early days of MTV, her Fountain of Youth secrets, her take on 80s music and what she’s up...
Interview with “St. Elmo’s Fire” singer, John Parr
May 12, 2011 We are so pleased to have had the opportunity to interview 80s hit maker and all around cool guy, John Parr. He hit the 80s music scene in 1985 with the very awesome “Naughty Naughty” which went to #23 on the US charts. He followed it up later that year with his highest charting song, the #1 hit, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion).” In this interview, John talks about touring England in his early teens with his first band...
Interview with Corey Hart
We are excited to bring you a Like Totally 80s interview with mega-star Corey Hart. Corey hit the music scene in 1983 with his debut album, “First Offence,” which included the hit song “Sunglasses at Night.” He was just 21. He went on to release eight other albums between 1985 and 1998 and continued to top the charts in Canada throughout the 90s. This multi-talented 48 year old singer-songwriter speaks four...
Mixing up an Awesome Summer, 80s Style
It’s almost Summer. You’re going to be doing some laying out in your Wayfarers with your trusty Walkman. You’re going to be driving around with the windows down and the volume up on your car’s cassette player. You’re going to want to listen to some rockin’ tunes on your jambox. You’re going to want to impress a special someone with your musical taste and generosity. You NEED a good mix tape. But what to put on it? A perfect mix tape...
10 Things You Might Not Know About Olivia Newton-John
We need very little prompting to write about Olivia Newton-John. Her place at the top (tied with Debbie Harry and Joan Jett) of the Like Totally 80s list of Most Awesome Ladies of the 80s is secure. My hopeless devotion to all things Olivia started in 1978 with the release of Grease. I received the double LP soundtrack for my 6th birthday. That was it; I was hooked. All homemade dance routines and subsequent hairstyles in my life...
Women Declaring (and Singing About) Their Independence in the 80s
In the 80s, American women were enjoying some hard-won equality battles. Many women were feeling strong, independent, and bold. They were ready to bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan (after misting themselves with some Enjoli.) Women in the 1980s were feeling empowered. Of course, women wanted to sing about it, too. We related to songs about how we worked just as hard as men, about how we had personal goals that didn’t...
Review: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida February 20, 2011 In a word, it rocked. To say that she looked and sounded great for 52 years old doesn’t do her justice. That indicates that she was great in some sort of qualified way, which simply is not the case. She was fantastic without qualification for age and by any standards. The day was perfect – sunny and 75 degrees, a perfect reprieve from winter as much of the rest of the country is still...
