80's Rewind - Boy George and the B52s

A lot of people, including me, love the music from the 1980's and last night was a prime example of that. With 6700 fans reminiscing about the MTV decade, three popular artists graced the stage and each has a very interesting backstory so I'll try and divert about equal time to each of them. Tom Bailey began his career as a member of the British band the Thompson Twins. Named after a Belgian comic, the group formed in 1977 and were led by Bailey as lead singer and instrumentalist. The band released a few records to minimal success and in 1982, the group decided to reduce to a trio and accept two new members. The famous lineup of Bailey, Joe Leeway and Alannah Currie gained worldwide success with their new wave pop sound. Along with fellow British star Boy George. they were a part of the 2nd British Invasion of the 1980's that took the US by storm. Songs like "Hold Me Now" and "Doctor! Doctor!" were hits on both sides of the Atlantic and the band even performed with Madonna at Live Aid in 1985. Leeway left the band in 1986 and although the duo continued, their success dwindled as the music landscape changed. For many years, Bailey refused to sing Thompson Twin songs and its been only recently that he has returned to the stage to recreate the hit sounds of the synth-pop band. A contemporary with the Thompson Twins, the B52s formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. Led by singers Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider, they found underground success with their single "Rock Lobster" that quickly brought them to the forefront of new wave culture. With their crazy hairdos, flamboyant fashion, and dance/surf music, the B52s embraced their 80's lifestyle and were favorites of people from Michael Stipe to John Lennon. Guitarist Rick Wilson died of AIDS in 1985 and the band took a hiatus before changing styles and releasing their biggest record to date, Cosmic Thing. Supported by singles "Roam" and "Love Shack", the album brought them mainstream success and they continued to tour around the world. After their 1992 album Good Stuff, they would not release new music for 16 years but still appeared on stage. Wilson, Pierson and Schneider remain on the road and the band has sold over 15 million records worldwide. The last act in this show was Boy George and the Culture Club. Like the Thompson Twins, Boy George and the Culture Club were a British band who were part of the 2nd British Invasion. The and formed in 1982 and were met with immediate success when their first album singles all made the UK and US top 10. Their 2nd album, Colour By Numbers. was their commercial height and the song "Karma Chameleon" gave the band a #1 single. They won the 1984 Grammy Award for best new artist and were one of the preeminent British groups in the US. George's androgynous style and flashy wardrobe gained them increased popularity and although further albums were less successful, the band were still popular until they disbanded in 1986. After over 25 years of inactivity, the band reunited in 2014 and began touring and releasing music again.

This show could've gone both ways in terms of quality and happily it went the better of the two ways! Phillip Bailey's electronic music wasn't too flashy but his music still has a catchiness to it and he presented them quite well. The B52s are one of my favorite bands from that era and they did a great set. Although the Wilson's and Peirson's voices aren't as good anymore, they were never straight up crooners anyway and the band made up for any vocal difficulties. Boy George closed the stage and the it was his personality that really punctuated his set that may have been a little too long. Nonetheless, he supplied a couple great covers in there and his voice is still strong despite a hard lifestyle and 35 years of performing. Although some 80's music has aged quite badly, there's no doubt its influences are still felt today and to see these quintessential 80's stars take the stage was a joy for any music fan!

My favorite part of the show was when the B52s performed "Love Shack". It's of my favorite songs ever and it got everyone on their feet!

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC

Boy George 

B52s

Tom Bailey