Virtual stars: Go-Go's still got the beat

Still got the beat: The Go-Go's performed 'virtually' one of their 
hits from the early 1980s on The Today Show last week

They were one of the seminal US bands of the early to mid-1980s, and broke ground as an all-women group who wrote their own songs, played their own instruments and had massive commercial success.

The Go-Go's star shone bright and furious for a few years in the first half of the '80s, but the band has continued to regroup throughout the past four decades, and their early hits have remained memorable and fresh.

The full classic line-up returned two years ago when bassist Kathy Valentine resumed her role after a five-year absence.

And not even the Covid-19 pandemic has been able to keep them down. They've managed to perform songs "virtually" by hooking up online from their homes and gardens - and the results are a masterclass in rocking pop that transcends the passage of four decades.

Some would argue The Go-Go's contribution to popular music has been overlooked. It's certainly a mystery why they've not been inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. 

At their best it was always been about catchy, upbeat songs played in a rocking style. Last week, they performed a virtual version of We Got The Beat on The Today Show in the US. 

How many other groups, who had their heyday almost 40 years ago, can knock out performances like this even when the band members are miles apart? You go Go-Go's.

VIDEO: The Go-Go's perform We Got The Beat virtually on The Today Show

Tiffany is on song revisiting '80s hit

Joy reflected: Tiffany has re-recorded  I Think We're Alone Now,
which was a worldwide hit for her as a teenager 32 years ago

From the slightly unruly hair, to the worn and ripped denim jacket, Tiffany blends in with those around her as she strolls through the sand and along the promenade at Venice Beach, California.

Passersby go about their business seemingly unaware that in their midst is the former teenage pop star who recorded one of the most recognisable songs of the 1980s.

It is more than 30 years since she first shone. Now she is back with a re-recording of her smash hit, I Think We're Alone Now. The accompanying video shows her walking around Venice Beach and other parts of Los Angeles, and in England singing at the recording studio of The Kinks' Ray Davies.

The song, a bubblegum pop hit in 1987, is instantly recognisable to the older generation and even to some who were born later and have come across it in other places, such as in the 2012 movie Ted.

I Think We're Alone Now was written by Ritchie Cordell and dates back to 1967, but Tiffany's cover version is its most successful iteration.

Tiffany was very much part of the spirit of the second half of the '80s, and with the new recording and video she continues to exude positive vibes. The feelings are the same, but her voice is stronger.

Denim was her signature clothing back in the '80s and the video recalls this, although pointedly exhibiting the passage of time as she no longer wears crisp, fresh denim, instead it is a faded jacket complete with rips and frayed collar.

Tiffany appears happy and  comfortable revisiting the song from her youth. It is almost like a statement to old friends who have travelled through those same years and decades: "How are you doing? Hasn't life been a blast!"

Not only does it reflect the passage of time, this new version proves how this simple song has staying power.

Video: Tiffany's 2019 version of I Think We're Alone Now

Tom Petty's many moments of brilliance

Modern classic: Tom Petty at Ventura Boulevard, San Fernando Valley, in
the 1989 video for Free Fallin'. The song mentioned many "Valley" locations

Tom Petty was one of the great modern singer songwriters of America. His output around the late 1980s and early 1990s was stunning, and it is this period that I most associate with his music.

Petty, 66, died in Santa Monica on Monday after a heart attack. Here are two personal vignettes relating to Petty and his music.

The catchy melodies and lyrics of his biggest hits, particularly the two I rate most highly, Learning to Fly and Free Fallin', were firmly etched in my mind by 1995 - the year I enrolled for a semester of study at a Los Angeles college in the San Fernando Valley.

The relevancy of that is Petty's own connection to "The Valley." For many years he lived in the neighbourhood of Encino, and some of his songs and videos show or reference places in the San Fernando Valley - the vast metropolitan sprawl that is separated from downtown Los Angeles by the Hollywood Hills.

On my twice daily route to college through the neighbourhood of Reseda, or anytime I travelled along Ventura Boulevard (which passed one block away from the college), I could not help but hear Free Fallin' playing my head. Reseda, Ventura Boulevard and nearby Mulholland are all mentioned in the song, which was only a few years old at that time. The song's lyrics created a degree of comforting familiarity with my immediate surroundings, even though I was 7,000 miles from home.

Watch for the UFO: Tom Petty in the classic video for Learning to Fly

Rewinding eight years to 1987, and an October evening just outside the city of Birmingham, England. I was at the National Exhibition Centre to see a sell-out concert at the immense indoor venue.

Of the three artists on the bill I was familiar with two; the headliner Bob Dylan and the opening act Roger McGuinn, the former lead singer and guitarist of The Byrds. Sandwiched between the two was a group I'd never heard of called Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I was there to see Dylan. The fact that McGuinn was also on the bill was a bonus. And I figured if Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were touring with Dylan and had been given a higher billing than McGuinn, then they must be pretty good.

McGuinn was on form, although his short set barely allowed him time to play more than a few of the jangle pop hits that made The Byrds famous in the 1960s, one being a cover version of Dylan's Mr Tamborine Man. This contrasted with Dylan, who barely lit up the stage with his disconnected performance.

Which brings me to Petty. That evening I had no expectations and so the surprise turned out to be all the greater. He and his band gave a performance between McGuinn's set and Dylan's that turned out to be the most enjoyable of the night. The rock-pop songs soared with an energy that seemed to bounce off the walls. Petty was having the time of his life performing on the same stage as two of his musical idols, and he was doing all he could to share some of that zest and fun with everyone in the audience of 15,000 - and succeeding.

At the time, the songs I consider to be Petty's finest had yet to be recorded, but during the next few years he would release I Won't Back Down, featuring George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Starr was only in the the video), the aforementioned Learning to Fly and Free Fallin', and was a founding member of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, along with Dylan, Harrison, Roy Orbison and ELO's Jeff Lynne.

The Traveling Wilbury's two albums spawned hits such as Handle With Care and End of the Line. It is fitting that Petty became a founding member of that short-lived group filled with musical legends, because he came to the world of music first and foremost as a fan. Just before his eleventh birthday he shook hands with Elvis Presley, then two years later he watched the US television debut appearance of The Beatles, at which point he decided he wanted to pursue a career as a musician in a band. It wasn't until the late 1970s that Petty and the Heartbreakers secured a contract with a major record label, but they quickly rose to success and reached a creative pinnacle in the late 80s and early 90s.

Petty was on the cusp of his greatest success when I saw him in concert in 1987. In the years that immediately followed I watched out for his records, and that proved to be perfect timing to catch the richest treasures of his career. Many of his American rock-pop classics have endured for a quarter-century and will last much longer.

Farewell Mr Petty, and thank you for the music.

Below: The official videos for Free Fallin' and Learning to Fly.





Further reading: An interview with the girl from the Free Fallin' video (and what she is doing now), can be found on this blog