'New Wave' Bands' 2nd Ride : '80s-Era Pop Acts Are Jumping on the Nostalgia Bandwagon

By JOHN ROOS

Oct. 28, 1998 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The B-52’s and the Pretenders joined hands for a moderately successful concert tour last summer. So did Culture Club, Howard Jones and the Human League. Even Blondie, led by 53-year-old Deborah Harry, has decided to re-form after 16 years on the shelf.

Now, a slew of ‘80s-era pop acts--among them Jones (“What Is Love?,” “Things Can Only Get Better”), Men at Work (“Who Can It Be Now?,” “Down Under”), Wang Chung (“Everybody Have Fun Tonight”), the Alarm’s Mike Peters and the Babys’ John Waite--will hit Orange County nightclubs in the next three weeks.

What’s going on?

The quick answer is a new wave of nostalgia.

After all, with the push of MTV and radio airplay, these one-time “new wave” bands were indeed major commercial players in their day. Now, with nostalgia-driven reunions and modern-rock radio’s “Flashback Lunches” all the rage, the timing is near-perfect.

Of course, some of these old new-wavers are making new music, too. But fans’ interest in new material is typically lukewarm, and in a twist of fate, the same media outlets that once embraced and even shaped them have turned a cold shoulder.

“A band like Depeche Mode can still fill arenas, but for most older groups, it’s tough to reemerge when you’ve been out of the public eye for years,” said longtime KROQ-FM disc jockey Richard Blade, who recently organized six ‘80s-rock compilation albums for Torrance-based Oglio Records. “It’s tough for program directors to take a chance on new material. These hitmakers from the ‘80s are, in a way, burdened by their own success.

“In all honesty, they’re competing against themselves. What the programmers have to decide is ‘Do I play the new Paul McCartney single or go with ‘Live and Let Die’ or ‘Yesterday’? Another example is Howard Jones. . . . How can his new stuff compete with ‘Things Can Only Get Better?’ ”

That thorny issue is not news to Jones, who performs with his four-piece band Thursday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. Since the height of his mid-’80s popularity, the one-time techno-popper has released six albums that have been virtually ignored by radio and MTV.

“People want to associate you with a certain period of time and categorize you as this or that, but that’s not something I can concern myself with,” Jones said. “I just have to keep plugging away . . . and try to change and evolve with each new record I make.

“Radio won’t play my new material, but that won’t sour me or turn me into a nostalgia act. I’m lucky, because I have my constituency . . . a core audience that will buy my records and stick by me,” he said. “That means a great deal more.”

Jones once was characterized as a lite version of Thomas Dolby, immersing himself in banks of keyboards, synthesizers and other technical gadgetry. But he turned his focus to the tunes when he scaled back the hardware to perform with percussionist Carol Steele for 1996’s “Live Acoustic America” tour and album.

“I may change the approach and the form of my music, but the essential thing is the songs,” said Jones, who wrote material for his new album, “People,” last year in France.

“I do not want to become a caricature of myself . . . playing all these old hits in the same old way. On this tour, for example, “Life in One Day” has this African-Brazilian groove that really stretches the pop tune. I just don’t want to get bored, you know?”

Colin Hay, the singer-songwriter of Men at Work, has stayed active since the Aussie pop band disbanded in 1986. He has released five solo albums, including the new “Transcendental Highway.”

Released on his own Lazy Eye Records, it’s a thoughtful, acoustic-driven pop record with pleasant if not particularly striking melodies.

Hay knows the commercial potential of his solo work is limited.

“I got very used to radio not playing any of my songs,” said Hay, who joins original member Greg Ham for Men at Work’s performance at the Coach House on Saturday. “They tend to play only new material from new bands . . . the one-hit rock acts appealing to 20-year-olds.”

Perry Michael Simon, operations manager and acting program director at modern-rock station Y-107 (KLYY-FM), claims there’s no premeditated blackout on old new-wavers.

“We take it on a case-by-case basis,” Simon says. “If it’s compelling new music, we’ll play it. But everyone with new songs thinks that what they’ve got is the best there is. Well, most of the time, that’s just not the case.”

Next year, Hay will embark on a six-month solo tour in support of “Transcendental Highway.” In the meantime, Men at Work--which re-formed two years ago and recently released “best of” and live albums--will play a monthlong U.S. tour.

So what drove the men, which sold million of records worldwide, back to work?

“When we first split up, it was quite emotional and mainly negative,” Hay said. “Frankly, there were some guys in the band that I didn’t get along with . . . and that weren’t very good musicians, either. Greg and I have talked about getting back together for years--there’s just been something niggling at us. So a reunion was a way of either closing the book or seeing if we want to keep it going.

“The new guys in the band are terrific, and if the vibe is good on this tour, we’ll talk about maybe making some new music together. I mean, this is a project . . . not a monster that’s taken over our lives.”

Whatever its artistic merits, this nostalgia-fueled ‘80s resurgence remains music for the masses--or at least, for a chunk of it.

“Whenever an opportunity arises to book these bands, I’ll do it,” said Ken Phebus, the booking agent for Folgner Productions, which operates both the Coach House and Galaxy Concert Theatre. “There’s a solid demand for these new-wave type of groups. Believe me, they have no trouble filling open dates for me.

“What’s surprising, though, is how cross-generational their audience has become. There are concert-goers not just in their 30s and 40s, but in their late teens and early 20s. I guess we have radio and their ‘80s flashbacks to thank for that.’

Does it matter that they’re drawing but a fraction of the audience they once had?

“For a lot of the groups, it’s just a matter of adapting,” added Blade, who hosts KROQ’s “ ‘80s Flashback Lunch’ each weekday at noon. “Just because a Howard Jones or Wang Chung aren’t selling out the Forum, it doesn’t mean they’re not viable today. Musicians have their peaks and valleys . . . that doesn’t mean they should quit and find a day job.”

Some might even surprise you, too.

“When it’s purely a case of nostalgia, the passion is lost,” adds Flipside magazine editor Patrick “Pooch” DiPuccio. “Then again, there’s something to be said for professionalism and [hard work]. Occasionally, re-formed acts need to prove something to themselves--and maybe their fans, too.

“Even though I don’t care for them, I heard Bauhaus was better this year than they ever were. And bands like Bow Wow Wow, Stiff Little Fingers and X looked really good lately, too. Hey, there’s still a high that comes from breaking a sweat and winning over a crowd.”

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‘80s POP REEMERGES

At the Coach House

* Oct. 29: Howard Jones with Bliss. $19.50-$21.50.

* Oct. 31: Men at Work with Jaded and Dry Season. $19.50-$21.50.

* Nov. 6: Wang Chung with Charlotte’s Bionic Blimp and Satellite. $21.50-$23.50.

* Nov. 8: Mike Peters, singer-songwriter of the Alarm, with White Lies and Telecast. $8-$10.

33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Information: (949) 496-8930.

At the Galaxy Concert Theatre

* Oct. 30: The Dickies with the Pushers, the Crowd and the Hiders. $15-$17.

* Nov. 11: Soul Brains (a Bad Brains reunion) with Bonafide and Rocket Air. $17.50-$19.50.

* Nov. 19: Ex-Babys front man John Waite. $26.50-$28.50.