MuchMusic introduced me to Sword when they premiered the white hot “F.T.W.” back in 1987. When Rick Hughes stopped by the Pepsi Power Hour a few months later, I was ready to record!
With sometimes-host Christopher Ward, Rick discussed touring with Motorhead and what Lemmy’s really like. He also touches on the long awaited second Sword album, on-stage injuries, and what the metal scene was like in Montreal at the time.
Check out this smashing live interview with the always cool Rick Hughes!
I found this ad in the commercials as I was fast-forwarding a tape. In 1987, MPI Home Video released The Beatles movie Help! on VHS for the first time. But wait, there’s more! Order now, and get Sixties Headlines for free! Regular price: $74.95? Holy shit! The 80s were expensive!
I was going to put this video online myself, but a more complete version already exists. No point in duplicating it, but I still wanted to make a post for it. I had this in my VHS collection on one of my 1985 tapes.
I didn’t know what show this was from, since it came from the “Balasz Tapes” recorded off my next door neighbour. I watched and treasured it, because it was the only video I had of Peter Criss as a kid. My only Catman footage. Not to mention it was Kiss! Kiss in makeup too, and there wasn’t much of that in the mid-80s.
This was from a TV show called 3-2-1 Contact, and it’s a pretty cool demonstration of what goes in to putting on a Kiss concert.
George used to complain about one detail. The sound tech shows how he can use a harmonizer to create the Gene Simmons “God of Thunder” monster voice. “He does that with his own voice!” protested George. As for me, I’m more upset that the sound tech thinks it was Darth Vader who says “My the Force be with you”.
From way back on the Dynasty tour, check out this really cool Kiss clip.
I always liked this interview clip. Jeff Pilson seemed so friendly and enthusiastic. Don, meanwhile, didn’t even know how many songs were slated for the Back for the Attack album! I think he forgot “Mr. Scary”.
Back for the Attack wasn’t out yet, so Laurie Brown asked Dokken about Under Lock & Key. Check it out!
This public service announcement from Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider mostly likely aired on an episode of Toronto Rocks’ Midweek Metal Mania show, the prototype for the Power Hour. It’s probably from 1984 or 85. I don’t know its exact origin because this comes from one of the “Balasz Tapes” — stuff originally recorded by next door neighbour George and then taped by me in one of our childhood recording sessions.
It’s lower quality because it’s a tape of a tape, but I think it’s still pretty cool.
MuchMusic’s Laurie Brown took over the Pepsi Power Hour in 1988, and for me personally, a lot of their best shows were from her era.
This interview with the young rockers named Duff McKagan and Slash (from some band called Guns N’ Roses) is definitely an anachronism. Cigarettes lit, the guys seem fairly sedated though refreshingly authentic. Their naivete is interesting in hindsight. They clearly did not see themselves becoming the mega-phenom that they are. “Guns N’ Roses is five kids, who pretty much don’t have a whole lot of influence on the rest of the world, as far as we know.”
Duff and Slash offer insight about their early years, getting signed, and touring with Iron Maiden. It’s quite obvious they are not having a good time with Iron Maiden! Laurie also asks them about the original cover to Appetite For Destruction. “We didn’t see any rape thing going on,” insists Duff. “Her bra fell off, what?” laughs Slash. Slash mockingly relents. “OK, alright fine. We were generally promoting rape…I mean come on.”
What do you think of this old Guns interview?
Speaker’s Corner was a place where anyone could get on TV! You would step into the recording booth, pop in some coins, and record a brief video. If you were lucky, you’d be chosen for the Speaker’s Corner TV show.! The Barenaked Ladies got their start by playing a song on Speaker’s Corner (“Be My Yoko Ono”). There were lonely people looking for love, there were eccentrics and even LeBrain and his pals (though I don’t know if our video was ever broadcast). There were also recurring people, like Brie.
Funny thing. A guy I used to work with at the Record Store named Joe Perry once said to me “I know a girl with a Poison tattoo.” He was shocked when I answered, “Is her name Brie?”
“How, how the hell do you know that?” he asked.
How could Joe have known that I was taping Speaker’s Corner the day she showed off her Poison tattoo!
You gotta give the girl credit for getting a Poison tattoo in the 1990s.
Once upon a time, John Roberts was J.D. Roberts. He wasn’t a political pundit on Fox News, he was the host of the Pepsi Power Hour! The year was 1986 and Yngwie J. Malmsteen was in the studio.
J.D. asked him about his Classical influences, and then a dumb question about turning Bach into Rock. Check it out.
While out promoting 1987’s Dream Evil, Ronnie James Dio and Craig Goldy sat for an interview with MuchMusic’s Erica Ehm. She asked him about Satanism in rock lyrics and videos.
“I had to mark the singer from a band called Glass Tiger who was quite useful. Sadly for him the pitch was in poor condition and after I chased him round for 45 minutes, he twisted his ankle and was stretchered off. I never touched him ref — honest!’ Stretchered off with ‘undisclosed injuries to his testicles’ was I believe the newspaper quotation that tells you all you need to know about the match.” — Bruce Dickinson
This video clip of a football match between Iron Maiden FC and Toronto’s finest singers and media is surely a rarity. It’s a shame that more wasn’t broadcast. On a personal level, this match meant to lot to me. My heroes (Iron Maiden) were facing off against my sister’s (Glass Tiger). And of course Glass Tiger and Co. were pummelled. I loved holding that over her head!
Look for Frew and MuchMusic alumni including Master T (Tony Young) and Kim Clark Champniss in this fun clip.
It must have been cool to be at this game. I wonder what it was like? Wait it a minute — why don’t I just ask a guy who was there?
“I was at that game. Covered it for the newspaper at U of T [that] I wrote for. Keith Sharp (then of Music Express magazine, later my boss at ACCESS) was friendly with the band. As a kid he was a goalkeeper for the Manchester City youth squad, so he had some skills, and he’d organize a match with the Maidens, who were all soccer fiends, whenever they were in town. Alan Frew (Glass Tiger) went down with a knee injury during the match… Others on the Music Express squad that I can recall were Mark Holmes (Platinum Blonde) and Maria Del Mar (National Velvet). I even got some Maiden sideline quotes for my story… And it was the first time I met Keith.” — Jamie Morrison, friend and former journalist
Check it out below!
mikeladano.com 