Chapter 72: Back in Black (May - December 1982)

21 May 1982

Smile - Fun in Space

Released: 21 May 1982

Recorded: June 1981 - March 1982

Producer: Smile, Reinhold Mack and David Bowie

Track listing[1]

Side A

Staying Power

Dancer

Future Management

Back Chat

Action This Day

Side B

There Must Be More to Life Than This [w/ Michael Jackson]

Calling All Girls

Las Palabras de Amor

Soul Brother

Under Pressure [w/ David Bowie]

Smile's first post-Paul McCartney album was preceded that October last year with "Under Pressure", a duet with David Bowie that reached #1 in the United Kingdom. Following that was another duet in April, "There Must Be More to Life Than This" (#10 UK, #4 US) with Michael Jackson, who was already starting work on what would later become the greatest selling album of all time. Smile's resultant album, Fun in Space, topped out at #3 in the United Kingdom and #16 in the United States, and received generally mixed reviews from critics who called it no better or worse than their last album with Paul McCartney (1980's Coming Up). However, many hoped that Smile could find their footing in a world in which the Beatles were together again.

BRIAN MAY: "We did end up finding our footing after Paul got back together again with the Beatles and Denny [Laine] having passed on. Fun in Space was something of a transitional album for Smile in a lot of ways." (2007)

ROGER TAYLOR: "Freddie's integration into the band wasn't really that hard since Brian, Deacy [their nickname for bassist John Deacon] and I were basically backing musicians for him. A lot of people felt that as the 70s progressed, we gelled better with Fred than we did with Paul, and it wasn't hard to see why." (1998)

Smile's Fun in Space Tour began on 9 April, shortly before the release of the album, and lasted all the way up to 3 November, spanning sixty-nine shows across Europe, North America and Asia. During the tour, the album's third single, "Las Palabras de Amor" (#17 UK, #56 US) was released in June. The tour was generally well received, even including many pre-1982 hits from Freddie Mercury such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Somebody to Love", as while as Paul McCartney-era Smile cuts like "Sheer Heart Attack" and "Now I'm Here", showing promise for Smile to continue into the 1980s. Though it would be a while yet before the world heard from Smile again or saw them play live.

16 July 1982

Roger Waters - Spare Bricks

Released: 16 July 1982

Recorded: 1981 - 1982

Producer: Roger Waters and Bob Ezrin

Track listing[2]

Side A

In the Flesh (Film Version)

When the Tigers Broke Free (Full Version)

Bring the Boys Back Home (Film Version)

Another Brick in the Wall (Drugs) (Film Version)

Mother (Film Version)

Side B

Have a Cigar [ft. Roy Harper]

The Last Few Bricks

Even before he recorded the album, Roger Waters had always planned to make a film of The Wall. His dream would come to life thanks to director Alan Parker, with Gerald Scarfe directing the animated sequences as seen in musical numbers such as "Goodbye Blue Sky". Waters himself was originally going to play the role of the story's anti-hero Floyd Pinkerton, but screen tests were not so successful. Instead, Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats would play the role.

While the film was being made, Waters set about making a soundtrack to accompany the film, featuring some songs he had written in mind for The Wall, but he left off in order to put out a double album rather than a triple. However, at the last moment, rather than recording new songs that would likely have not ended up in the film, it was decided that the soundtrack album Spare Bricks (#7 UK, #10 US) would mainly feature alternate versions of songs from The Wall, including "In the Flesh", "Bring the Boys Back Home", "Mother" and "Another Brick in the Wall (Drugs)", as well as the full version of "When the Tigers Broke Free". The only new songs were "Have a Cigar" (an outtake from the Pink Floyd/Hunky Dory collaboration Wish You Were Here, featuring Roy Harper on vocals) and the instrumental suite "The Last Few Bricks".

Roger Waters' The Wall (sometimes released with the accompanying captions Alan Parker and Gerald Scarfe Present... and ...Starring Bob Geldof) was released to a generally positive reception under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, although it barely broke even at the box office due to stiff competition against E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and An Officer and a Gentleman. As for the leftover songs, Waters would find a new use for them following a lengthy, undeclared war between the United Kingdom and Argentina...

August 20, 1982

Al Pacino, early 1980s. He portrayed Leonard Snart (Captain Cold) in The Flash.

The fourth entry in the DC Appleverse was not the planned Batman adaptation, (although it would eventually come out in time for a Christmas release) but rather, an adaptation of The Flash, directed by James Cameron in his theatrical debut[3], and with a score by Jerry Goldsmith, starring newcomer Thomas F. Wilson as the titular hero[4], Michelle Pfeiffer as Iris West and Al Pacino as the villain Captain Cold. Freddie Mercury's "Don't Stop Me Now" played during a sequence in the film. Reception towards the film was generally positive, but not quite as strong when compared to the Superman and Wonder Woman films.

The Flash concerns a young forensic chemist known as Barry Allen, living with a single father in Central City and having the unfortunate reputation for constantly running late, although he does everything possible to impress his crush, Iris West. One night, Barry gets drenched with unspecified chemicals due to a lightning bolt strike and he gains the ability to run at super-human speeds. Meanwhile, a man by the name of Leonard Snart lives in an ice truck and learns about the new superhero called The Flash in a newspaper article, wondering how he could stop the young superhero in his tracks - literally. He breaks into a cyclotron lab and designs a weapon to harness the power of freezing, donning the identity of Captain Cold.

Captain Cold then commits a series of crimes across Central City - fortunately, no one is killed - and tries to take Iris as his bride, but Barry comes to her rescue and sends his archenemy to prison. Both Barry and Iris fall in love, and some time after the attack, Iris meets up with fellow reporter Lois Lane (with Margot Kidder reprising the role), and the latter asks the former if she knows of anyone with super abilities themselves, having heard of the Flash vs. Cold battle from Metropolis. Once again, this appears to be hinting towards a future big project...

November 2, 1982

Tom Petty & Mudcrutch - Long After Dark

Released: November 2, 1982

Recorded: 1981 - 1982

Producer: Jimmy Iovine and Tom Petty

Track listing[5]

Side A

A One Story Town

You Got Lucky

Keep a Little Soul

Deliver Me

Change of Heart

Keeping Me Alive

Finding Out

Side B

We Stand a Chance

Straight into Darkness

The Same Old You

Turning Point

Between Two Worlds

A Wasted Life

By the end of 1982, Mudcrutch's lineup had consisted of mainstays Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Mike Campbell (guitar, bass, backing vocals) and Benmont Tench (keyboards, backing vocals), as well as drummer Stan Lynch (having replaced Randall Marsh in 1976) and bassist Howie Epstein (replacing Ron Blair, who had been part of the group since 1976 following Charlie Souza's departure). Long After Dark (#38 UK, #4 US) was the first album to feature this slightly revamped lineup. The first single off of the album was "You Got Lucky"/"Between Two Worlds" (October 22; #8 US), followed up by "Change of Heart"/"Mudcrutch Beach Party"[6] (February 11; #63 US), released the following year.

December 10, 1982

Martin Scorsese (center) and Robert de Niro (right) on the set of Raging Bull, 1980. The former would later direct Batman under Apple Films while the latter portrayed the villainous Joker.

Originally slated for release in 1981, Martin Scorsese's Batman was released just two weeks before Christmas, despite some scripting issues. The fifth entry of the DC Appleverse starred John Travolta as the caped crusader himself, Robert de Niro as his most well-known archenemy the Joker, and a young Tom Cruise as Dick Grayson. Also starring were Harvey Keitel (Commissioner Jim Gordon), Peter Cushing (Alfred Pennyworth) and Diane Keaton (Vicki Vale), with a cameo role by Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, having played Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars trilogy (Return of the Jedi would later come out in May 1983). Vangelis composed the score for Batman, having also done so for Chariots of Fire under Apple Films.

In Gotham City, vigilante Batman stops a bank robbery orchestrated by a criminal known as the Joker, but he manages to escape before Batman can catch him. Later, billionaire Bruce Wayne - also Batman - attends a circus performance by the Flying Graysons, but a bomb is detonated, killing John and Mary, but their son Dick survives and Bruce takes him in under his wing, emphasizing with the young boy's plight over losing his parents. It's later revealed that it was the Joker who detonated the bomb unless Batman revealed himself. At that time, photojournalist Vicki Vale is investigating to see who Batman really is, and starts dating Bruce Wayne.

The Joker continues to wreak havoc across Gotham City as it approaches its bicentennial, including putting district attorney Harvey Dent out of commission and vandalizing the Museum of Art. Police Commissioner Jim Gordon teams up with Batman to stop the Clown Prince of Crime in his tracks, and Dick learns what it means to be a hero, taking on the identity of Robin. While the celebrations go on, Batman and Robin confront the Joker on the top of a cathedral where he holds Vicki Vale hostage; the villain attempts to get Robin to kill him so he could "avenge his parents", but the young boy resists, and the Joker is arrested and sent to Arkham Asylum, leaving the door open for a potential return.[7]

John Travolta, 1981. He rose to fame starring in Carrie (1976), Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978) prior to portraying Batman in the DC Appleverse.

Batman was released to wildly positive reviews from both critics and fans alike, and it is confirmed in a press release that a sequel was already in production, with some scenes having been filmed already. Not only that, with the success of the Wonder Woman and Flash films, it gave Warner Brothers confidence that DC heroes outside of Superman and Batman could be profitable, and the green light was given to expand upon this cinematic universe. Alongside the Batman sequel, plans were being made for a third Superman film, a second Wonder Woman film, as well as a film starring Green Lantern and a film that brought all five superheroes thus far together.

Meanwhile, Marvel Comics had begun making plans for their own cinematic universe, beginning with their own equivalent to Batman, Iron Man, due for a release next year starring Michael Keaton.

Footnotes

1. All tracks are sourced from Hot Space ("Back Chat" is the single remix), excluding "Future Management" from Roger Taylor's Fun in Space and "There Must Be More to Life Than This", which is a fan remix no longer available online.
2. All tracks from Side A are from the bootleg The Wall Film Soundtrack Fan Edit, excluding "When the Tigers Broke Free", sourced from The Final Cut. For Side B, "Have a Cigar" is from Wish You Were Here, and "The Last Few Bricks" is an edit of both parts one and two from The Complete Another Brick in The Wall suite.
3. This butterflies away Piranha II: The Spawning; James Cameron would later cite The Terminator as his true first film.
4. For those who are wondering, Jeffrey Jay Cohen will take over the role of Biff Tannen in Back to the Future, as well as other family members in the sequels. This is because Michael J. Fox is chosen as Marty McFly outright.
5. All tracks from Long After Dark are utilized. "Keep a Little Soul" and "Keeping Me Alive" are both sourced from An American Treasure. "Turning Point" is from disc five of Playback, Through the Cracks.
6. "Mudcrutch Beach Party" is OTL's "Heartbreakers Beach Party".
7. The synopsis for Martin Scorsese's Batman draws rough parallels to Tim Burton's Batman in OTL, with the Robin subplot lifted from Batman Forever.

Author's Comments

Not much I can say here regarding the music side of things; the Smile lineup has been finalized, Roger Waters has put out a companion piece to The Wall, and things are normal for Mudcrutch. Each of them will be touched upon at least one final time before we get to Live Aid. And of course, the DC Appleverse will continue for at least five more films over the next three years.

This isn't related to the story, but I couldn't help but notice that a fair number of alternate history timelines have gone either on hiatus or have been abandoned altogether (and a couple of which are actually completed); I'm genuinely amazed that Strawberry Peppers has lasted as long as it did despite its rather sporadic schedule as of late.