This Week In The 80’s: Then I got my first ticket…
It’s March 7, 1986. Three days prior to this date I turned 16. First thing that morning, my dad took me to take my drivers license test. After I passed my drivers test, I drove myself from the test office back to school in my Matador Red 1971 Chevelle Malibu. I was a KING, baby. Windows down, music blaring, police lights in my review view. <record scratch> Wait…what? Police lights?
Yep. I got my first ticket driving from the testing office to my school. The cop said I was doing 45 in a school zone (which I don’t doubt). He even sniffed my brand new licenses and commented “this is brand new, isn’t it?” Yeah, that got me grounded for a while. What’s that got to do with music? Well, the song that was blaring out of my windows was this weeks #1 song, “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister.
I was a huge Mr. Mister fan. Even though it doesn’t stand up very well now because of the keyboard sounds, this album is severely underrated and overlooked. Guitarist Steve Farris has some very tasty guitar nuggets on this offering (Farris contributed guitar parts to Kiss’s Creatures of The Night album and was even considered as a replacement for Ace Frehley but was ultimately passed over for not have the right “look”). In a departure from what most bands did on their albums, Mr. Mister’s three singles are on the “B” side of this album (typically, the first single of an album came from the first two or three songs on an album). Even without a single, the “A” side holds it’s own just fine.
This week’s chart is full of great songs that tend to get overlooked: “Day By Day” from the Hooters (this whole album is grand), “Sanctify Yourself” by Simple Minds (years ago, I was in a band that covered this song. So fun to play), “Stages” by ZZ Top (probably my favorite ZZ song), and “Beats So Lonely” by Charlie Sexton (who was 16 years old when he recorded this song/album). Go give all those songs a listen immediately if not sooner.
Your bonus video this week is a song that is spending it’s second week in the Top 40, on it’s way to the number one spot in just a few weeks. One of the stranger videos to come out of the 80’s, “Rock Me Amadeus” from Falco.
This Week In The 80’s is a weekly look at the Top 40 charts with Eric Vardeman. His Twitter handle is @ericvardeman.
Getting pulled over like probably sucked at the time, but definitely makes for a great story still all these years later. I grew to appreciate Mr. Mister over time. I do agree that the Hooters are fantastic and “Day By Day” is great as is “Sanctify Yourself” by Simple Minds. 2 of my favorites from that year.