Chapter 78: Jump (September 1984 - April 1985)

September 14, 1984

Tom Petty & Mudcrutch - Southern Accents

Released: September 14, 1984

Recorded: 1983-1984

Producer: Tom Petty and Jimmy Iovine

Track listing[1]

Side A

Rebels

Trailer

The Image of Me

The Apartment Song [ft. Stevie Nicks]

Crackin' Up

Southern Accents

Side B

Walkin' from the Fire

Big Boss Man

Spike

Dogs on the Run

Mary's New Car

The Best of Everything

The seventh album by Tom Petty & Mudcrutch was a concept album focusing on life in the Southern part of the United States; this was further emphasized with cover versions of Wayne Kemp's "The Image of Me" and Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man", also previously covered by Elvis Presley and B.B. King, as well as Nick Lowe's "Crackin' Up", which contained some country influence. Southern Accents (#16 UK, #1 US) was released to positive reception with the lead single "Rebels" reaching #15 in the United States.[2] During the sessions, Tom Petty wrote a few tracks with Eurythmics member David A. Stewart, resulting in the non-album single "Don't Come Around Here No More"/"Make It Better (Forget About Me)" (February 28, 1985 - #22 UK, #5 US) that had a music video inspired from Alice in Wonderland.

November 6, 1984

President George Bush, 1984.

To say that George Bush struggled to live up to the legacy left behind by Ronald Reagan prior to his assassination would be putting it mildly. Reagan had been hoping for the 1980s to be a decade of Conservatism - his British counterpart, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, seemed to have had similar thoughts, but her ambition was cut short when the Grand Hotel in Brighton had been bombed on 12 October that year (one day before her 59th birthday), and she was was one of the unfortunate victims.[3] Following Thatcher's death, de facto Deputy Prime Minister William Whitelaw would serve as intern Prime Minister until the next election took place.[4]

Since Reagan's death, things seemed to go badly for President Bush despite his best efforts to lead America. What would become known as the Great Recession in the United States seemed to have had its origins with the 1979 Oil Crisis in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Recession further accelerated within Bush's first year in office, and people blamed Bush for what was happening in America.

To make matters worse, Vice President Paul Laxalt - a close friend to Reagan, often referred to as the "First Friend" - was under investigation. Headlines reported embezzlement at the Ormsby House, a hotel and casino in Carson City, Nevada owned by the Laxalt family, suggesting Laxalt himself was tied to organized crime.[5] Laxalt denied these claims greatly, feeling that he had enough to worry about with his duties as vice president, but it didn't stop the public from calling Laxalt "the next Nixon".

Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, 1984.

As the 1984 election grew closer, Bush announced that he would not be running for a second term as President of the United States. This announcement was met with divided opinions; some were happy at not having to deal with a "failed" president for another four years, while others felt that, had it not been for the Great Recession, Bush could've had a chance to mold his own legacy as President. The Republican Party ended nominating Laxalt as their candidate for the election against Democrat Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts. Their respective running mates were Senator from Indiana Dan Quayle (Republican) and Senator from Arkansas Dale Bumpers (Democrat).[6]

Despite Laxalt agreeing to a presidential debate, Dukakis declined to participate despite his lead in the polls. Amazingly, this turned out to be a smart move, as there were swarms of reporters asking Laxalt questions about skimming profits from the Ormsby House and the vice president yelling at them, even using the F-word on them. This verbal altercation only served to further harm Laxalt's chances of election.

Come Tuesday, even before all polls nation wide had closed, Michael Dukakis, age 51, was declared the President-elect, with Dale Bumpers, age 59, as the Vice President-elect. The Democratic Party had won in a landslide election for the first time since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson trounced Barry Goldwater 486 to 52, although this margin (442 to 96) wasn't as big, but still sizable.[7] Exhausted, the Republicans knew that they were going to have to do some soul-searching after the last four years, and reshape themselves for the 1988 election.

George Bush congratulated Dukakis on his victory in the election, and come January 20, 1985, Bush would return to a private life with his wife Barbara until her death on April 17, 2018, aged 92. George would also die that same year on November 30, aged 94, as would, coincidentally, Paul Laxalt on August 6, four days after his 96th birthday.

16 November 1984

Kim Beacon - Prospect Road

Released: 16 November 1984

Recorded: July - August 1984

Producer: Phil Collins

Track listing[8]

Side A

Only You Know and I Know

Tell Me

Naked

I Don't Wanna Know

Easy Lover [w/ Phil Collins]

Side B

So Inspired

Let Me Be the One

Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore

Free to Love Again

Prospect Road

Kim Beacon's third solo album was his first collaboration with Phil Collins since the latter's departure from Genesis in 1978. Collins served as the producer for Prospect Road and even played drums on a couple of songs, even singing on "Easy Lover" as part of a duet with Beacon. The sessions took place while Collins was working on his follow-up to Hello, I Must Be Going! (shortly following his marriage to Jill Tavelman) and shortly following Genesis' Shapes Tour, which had ended that February. Since its release, Prospect Road (#1 UK, #5 US) has gone on to be one of the most popular albums of Kim Beacon's solo career, with "Easy Lover" (#1 UK, #2 US) becoming a huge hit. A non-album single from the sessions, "Shine Your Light on Me"/"Those Eyes" (14 January 1985 - #7 UK, #16 US), also charted fairly well.

31 December 1984

RICK ALLEN: "It was absolutely terrifying, with me and Miriam [Barendsen] being involved in that accident on the A57. Everything happened so quickly, and yet I'm very grateful the both of us managed to get out of it with just a few cuts and bruises." (2004)[9]

8 April 1985

Pink Floyd - Identity

Released: 8 April 1985

Recorded: September 1984

Producer: Pink Floyd, Bob Ezrin, Tim Palmer and Rick Fenn

Track listing[10]

Side A

Yolanda

Lie for a Lie

Private Person

You Know I'm Right

Blue Light

Amber and the Amberines

Side B

Yet Another Movie (Round and Round)

How Do You Do It?

Cruise

Let's Get Metaphysical

Seems We Were Dreaming

Pink Floyd's About Face Tour was relatively short compared to others, albeit still quite successful, with shows in the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States and Canada. It was also their first to feature Pete Townshend and Dave Harris as support players. That September, the band returned to the studio to record their follow-up to About Face.

DAVID GILMOUR: "Identity was something of a soft reboot for Pink Floyd. While About Face did well commercially, it didn't really feel like we had any sort of direction. Identity was where we seemed to get back on track again." (2017)

Indeed, Identity managed to reach the #1 spot in both the United Kingdom and the United States, becoming Pink Floyd's most successful album of the 1980s, being compared to a Dark Side of the Moon for said decade. Most of the album had been written during the band's About Face Tour, barring "Lie for a Lie", which was written during the sessions by Nick Mason along with Danny Peyronel and Rick Fenn, the latter of whom also co-produced the album. Although Identity was well-received by fans, critics were more mixed in their opinions, with some even thinking that Pink Floyd had sold out.

Footnotes

1. Six of the tracks are sourced from OTL's Southern Accents. The remaining tracks are sourced from Playback, excluding "Walkin' from the Fire", sourced from An American Treasure. In addition, the track listing is based upon AEC's reconstruction of Southern Accents but with "The Apartment Song" moved to Side A and "Walkin' from the Fire" opening Side B.
2. In OTL, while mixing "Rebels", Tom Petty got frustrated and punched a wall, which resulted in surgery on his left hand; this was one of several reasons the band didn't think very highly of the album. In TTL, the "broken hand" incident does not happen.
3. In OTL, Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped the blast, and she lived until 8 April 2013, aged 87.
4. William Whitelaw served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 (the year Thatcher became Prime Minister) to 1988, when that position was taken over by Sir Geoffrey Howe, who maintained the position until Thatcher's resignation in 1990. Michael Heseltine was the first official Deputy Prime Minister, serving 1995 to 1997. As of 2021, the position is currently not in use.
5. In 1983, the Sacramento Bee published two articles about Paul Laxalt's business dealings in the early 1970s. This is not going to help Laxalt much in the presidential election in TTL.
6. Michael Dukakis went against George Bush in the 1988 election and lost. Dan Quayle was Bush's running mate (and eventual Vice President) while Dukakis' running mate was Lloyd Bentsen.
7. In OTL, Ronald Reagan beat out Walter Mondale 525 to 13, with Mondale winning only Minnesota and Washington, D.C.. This electoral vote total has not been matched before or since.
8. "Only You Know and I Know", "I Don't Wanna Know" and "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" are all sourced from Phil Collins' No Jacket Required. "Easy Lover" is sourced from Philip Bailey's Chinese Wall, a duet with Collins in OTL. The remaining tracks come from a live performance at The Outhouse in Glasgow in 1989.
9. In OTL, Rick Allen lost his left arm, which meant that Def Leppard would not perform onstage until August 16, 1986 (they declined to play at Live Aid as they were still waiting for him to recover). That was when Allen could play the drums live with only one arm for the first time at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington. In TTL, as Allen walks away with both arms intact, this means that Def Leppard's Hysteria will be released earlier.
10. Tracks are sourced from Robert Wyatt's Work in Progress (also found on the compilation album Mid-Eighties), Nick Mason and Rick Fenn's Profiles, Zee's Identity and David Gilmour's About Face. "Yet Another Movie (Round and Round)" is sourced from A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the only true Pink Floyd track on Identity.

Author's Comments

At last, we've reached the chapter which shares the same number as vinyl records running at 78 rotations per minute. :P All jokes aside, we're rounding up more story arcs for the first draft before I finally start work on The Second Coming. Tom Petty and Mudcrutch's was probably the least eventful out of the story arcs given that very little changed apart from adding more songs on their 1976-1985 output (plus creating a pre-1976 album), but hopefully I've managed to make them better by adding in the outtakes which are hopefully just as good as those that made the cut.

However, we're not quite done with the Genesis and Pink Floyd story arcs; there's one more album to go through with Genesis (I think you can guess what it is), and even though we've covered the final Pink Floyd album of the first draft, this is not the last time we'll see them. Admittedly, Identity was not in the original plans, but after looking at what was leftover, plus dipping a little into Robert Wyatt's solo career, I decided there was enough material for another album. For those wondering about their post-1985 discography, Learning to Fly is OTL's A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell is unaltered from OTL, and On an Island is their last album before the death of Richard Wright, with The Endless River being a Wright solo album.

As for that little vignette with Rick Allen, I did consider having him killed off and Def Leppard would break up after releasing Hysteria, but I decided against it. I don't think it would've made that much of a difference as the first draft is drawing to a close anyway with two chapters to go (and maybe an extra scene or two).

Chapter 77: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (January - October 1984)

20 January 1984

Roger Waters - The Post War Dream

Released: 20 January 1984

Recorded: May - October 1983

Producer: Roger Waters, James Guthrie and Michael Kamen

Track listing[1]

Side A

The Post War Dream

Your Possible Pasts

One of the Few

The Hero's Return (Part 1)

The Gunner's Dream

Paranoid Eyes

Side B

Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert

The Fletcher Memorial Home

Southampton Dock

The Hero's Return (Part 2)

Not Now John [feat. David Gilmour]

Two Suns in the Sunset

Roger Waters had finished the Spare Bricks project in time for the release of the film adaptation of The Wall, and shortly after doing so, Argentina had invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, shortly followed by invading South Georgia. Mother England was outraged, and Margaret Thatcher's government had dispatched a naval task force to engage with the Argentine Navy and Air Force before launching an assault on the islands. Britain had won the battle by 14 June, but not everyone was happy about the actions of the Conservative Party, among those included John Lennon and Roger Waters.

ROGER WATERS: "The Post War Dream was about how, with the introduction of the Welfare State, we felt we were moving forward into something resembling a liberal country where we would all look after one another … but I'd seen all that chiseled away, and I'd seen a return to an almost Dickensian society under Margaret Thatcher. I felt then, as now, that the British government should have pursued diplomatic avenues, rather than steaming in the moment that task force arrived in the South Atlantic." (2008)[2]

Roger Waters (left) and David Gilmour (middle) during the recording sessions for The Post War Dream, 1983.

A few tracks that were intended for The Wall - "Your Possible Pasts", "One of the Few", "The Fletcher Memorial Home" and "The Hero's Return" - found themselves a new lease of life when they ended up on The Post War Dream, and Waters called up David Gilmour to help with some guitar parts. Although he would be committed to working on Pink Floyd's About Face in August 1983, Gilmour accepted the invitation, even singing some vocals on "Not Now John". Both would recall the sessions with fondness, with Waters feeling like it was being a part of Pink Floyd again prior to Syd Barrett's unfortunate passing in 1977.[3] He would even attend a few of his former band's shows during their About Face Tour, thinking about playing with them again, even if it was just for one show.

The Post War Dream finally came out on 20 January 1984, quickly topping the charts in the United Kingdom and peaking at #4 in the United States. It received mixed reviews upon initial release due to how personal the themes were, but has since gone on to become a critical favorite, being cited as one of the greatest examples of "anti-war rock", inspiring artists like Bad Religion and U2. The album's sole single, "Not Now John"/"The Hero's Return", managed to reach #30 in the United Kingdom but did not chart in America.

6 April 1984

Smile - Radio Ga Ga

Released: 6 April 1984

Recorded: August 1983 - January 1984

Producer: Smile and David Richards

Track listing[4]

Side A

Radio Ga Ga

Tear It Up

Love Kills

It's a Hard Life

Let Me In Your Heart Again

Side B

I Want to Break Free

Man on Fire

Star Fleet

Man Made Paradise

Hammer to Fall

Is This the World We Created...?

Needing a change of scenery, the members of Smile - Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon - went over to America along with new producer David Richards (per Taylor's suggestion) and keyboardist Spike Edney to record their follow up to Fun in Space. Around fifteen songs were considered for inclusion, although some would later turn up on future albums. During the sessions, the band had also worked on music for a couple of films - Freddie recorded "Keep Passing the Open Windows" for The Hotel New Hampshire which later ended up becoming a solo B-side. The other film, however, was a actually a reconstruction of a German film from 1927 - Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

DAVID BOWIE: "I'd had this big vision about bringing Metropolis back to life for the new generation. I wanted to bring in people I was familiar with over the past fifteen years or so - Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, to name a few - to work on a soundtrack that would retell the iconic story about a dystopian, terrifying future. Some brought in new material, whilst others reworked older songs to fit the narrative." (2011)[5]

Smile in the music video for "Radio Ga Ga", 1984. The video was famously interspersed with footage from Metropolis.

Bowie's vision for Metropolis included psychedelic effects to make the audience believe that they were the ones who were stoned, and not the director, and the soundtrack was made to feel contemporary with the times rather than using orchestrated music. Smile contributed three songs to the soundtrack, all of which would later end up on Radio Ga Ga - the title track, "Love Kills" and "Is This the World We Created?". David Bowie's Metropolis came out under the Apple Films banner and received a polarizing reception among critics and audiences alike. Some praised the music featured while others criticized Bowie for ruining the original, to which he responded, "This wasn't the original. I've no bloody idea where that is." It wouldn't be until 1998 that Apple would revisit Metropolis by creating a more "definitive" restoration of the film with the assistance of Martin Koerber, eventually being released in 2001.

BRIAN MAY: "There were two ideas we had in mind for 'Break Free' - Roger suggested Coronation Street, and Freddie wanted The A-Team. There was a lot of debating behind the scenes over which one we should film." (1989)

The Coronation Street parody, a British soap opera show, would star Freddie as a frustrated housewife, Deacy as a conservative grandmother, Brian as a contented housewife, and Roger as a naughty schoolgirl. During their stay in the United States, Mercury had become fascinated with The A-Team, an action-adventure show focusing on four ex-members of a fictitious US Army Special Forces unit tried by court martial for a crime they had not committed. Freddie thought that he would portray B. A. Baracus with Brian as Hannibal, Roger as Howling Mad Murdock, and Deacy as Peck.

Freddie Mercury as a housewife in the British music video for "I Want to Break Free", 1984.

A compromise was reached so that the United Kingdom (Coronation Street) and the United States (The A-Team) would each have their own music video - Freddie believed that the Americans would not have accepted a group of men in drag in a music video; indeed, men in drag was British humor, something that would easily have been lost on American viewers.[6] There was criticism, however, over alleged "whitewashing" of Mr. T's character B. A. Baracus. Both music videos included a sequence with the band in a coal mine and another parodied the French ballet L'après-midi d'un faune (Freddie was sans mustache in that sequence, having kept it for the Coronation Street parody).

Radio Ga Ga (#1 UK, #2 US) was received positively by critics and fans, as were the singles from the album. There were two covers for the album; in the United Kingdom, it was the band dressed up as their Coronation Street characters, while the international cover would feature a regular band shot. For the 1991 re-release and onward, the Coronation Street cover became the standard, becoming one of the most iconic album covers of the 1980s. Smile would embark on a worldwide tour beginning in August.[7]

Summary of single releases from Smile's Radio Ga Ga

• "Radio Ga Ga" / "Let Me In Your Heart Again" - 6 February 1984 (#2 UK, #6 US)
• "I Want to Break Free" / "Love Kills" - 2 April 1984 (#3 UK, #10 US)
• "It's a Hard Life" / "Killing Time" - 16 July 1984 (#1 UK, #6 US)
• "Hammer to Fall" / "Man Made Paradise" - 10 September 1984 (#5 UK, #8 US)
• "Thank God It's Christmas" / "Is This the World We Created...?" - 26 November 1984 (non-album release; #9 UK, #10 US)

15 May 1984

A shot from the first episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Thomas, Edward and Gordon, in which Thomas teases Gordon by waking him up with his whistle, 1984.

"Thomas is a tank engine who lives at a big station on the Island of Sodor. He's a cheeky little engine with six small wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome." Those were the words told by Ringo Starr on 15 May 1984, the day that the adaptation of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry's Railway Series books first premiered.[8] With thirteen episodes at running at ten minutes each, plus a Christmas special at fifteen minutes, Britt Allcroft Presents The Rev. W. Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Starring the Beatles was a smash hit with critics and fans.

The episodes utilized stories from the first eight books - from The Three Railway Engines to Gordon the Big Engine - but they were strung together to form a narrative between the stories. The voices for the engines were provided by the Beatles, with Britt Allcroft, David Mitton, Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell providing additional voices such as the coaches, trucks and engine crews. For marketing purposes, the title was shortened to Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, but the diehard fans would recite the full title as if it were a mantra. There have been attempts at simply shortening the full title to BAPTRWATTTEAFSTB - pronounced Bapt Rewa Totte Anfstb - but these simply didn't catch on.

The Beatles put out a non-album single on 27 August - "No More Lonely Nights" backed with "We All Stand Together". Both were penned by Paul McCartney, with the latter sung by Ringo Starr.[9] Alongside the positive publicity with their involvement in Thomas the Tank Engine, the power ballad on the A-side was well acclaimed, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and even reaching #3 in the United States, likely due to the kid-friendly B-side akin to "Yellow Submarine".

The voice cast of Britt Allcroft Presents The Rev. W. Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Starring the Beatles

• John Lennon as Thomas and Gordon
• George Harrison as Edward, James and Terence
• Paul McCartney as Henry, Percy and Bertie
• Ringo Starr as Toby and the Fat Controller
• Britt Allcroft as Annie and Clarabel, Henrietta, the Queen, Mrs. Kyndley and additional voices
• David Mitton as additional voices
• Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell as the Troublesome Trucks

Episode list for the first season of Britt Allcroft Presents The Rev. W. Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Starring the Beatles[10]

1. Thomas, Edward and Gordon - adapted from "Thomas and Gordon" and "Edward and Gordon" (15 May 1984)
2. The Sad Story of Henry - adapted from "The Sad Story of Henry" and "Edward, Gordon and Henry" (22 May 1984)
3. Trouble for Thomas - adapted from "Thomas' Train" and "Thomas and the Trucks (29 May 1984)
4. Thomas and James - adapted from "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", "James and the Top Hat" and "James and the Bootlace" (5 June 1984)
5. On Your Guard - adapted from "Thomas and the Guard" and "Troublesome Trucks" (12 June 1984)
6. Fishy Situations - adapted from "Thomas Goes Fishing" and "James and the Express" (19 June 1984)
7. Strike Out! - adapted from "Tenders and Turntables" and "Trouble in the Shed" (26 June 1984)
8. Runaways and Tractors - adapted from "Percy Runs Away" and "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" (3 July 1984)
9. The Fall and Rise of Henry - adapted from "Coal" and "The Flying Kipper" (10 July 1984)
10. Pride Before a Fall - adapted from "Gordon's Whistle", "Off the Rails" and "Henry's Sneeze" (17 July 1984)
11. Toby the Tram Engine - adapted from "Toby and the Stout Gentleman" and "Thomas in Trouble" (24 July 1984)
12. Buses and Mines - adapted from "Thomas and Bertie" and "Down the Mine" (31 July 1984)
13. Tar Wagons and Queens - adapted from "Dirty Objects" and "Paint Pots and Queens" (7 August 1984)
14. Mrs. Kyndley's Christmas - adapted from "Mrs. Kyndley's Christmas" and "Thomas' Christmas Party" (4 December 1984)

July 6, 1984

Barbara Bach and Ringo Starr, 1983. Similarly to her husband's role as narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine, Bach would gain a career revival with her performance as Catwoman in Batman and Robin in 1984.

Similarly to the first two Superman movies, Batman and Robin was shot alongside Batman, hence both films were directed by Martin Scorsese and scored by Vangelis. The eighth entry to the DC Appleverse introduced Barbara Bach as new love interest/antiheroine Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Donald Pleasence as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin, with John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Harvey Keitel and Peter Cushing reprising their respective roles as Batman, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred. Batman and Robin was the first entry in the DC Appleverse to be rated PG-13[11] while the previous films were all rated PG; the PG-13 rating had been created to indicate a higher level of intensity after Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins, both rated PG, contained violence that was too graphic for said rating.

Taking place a year after the original film, a relationship between billionaire Bruce Wayne and journalist Vicki Vale had not worked out, with Bruce putting his attention on looking after ward Richard "Dick" Grayson. However, the pair meet with a young woman by the name of Selina Kyle who becomes enamored with Bruce, much to Dick's disgust, which puts a strain on their relationship. Unknown to either of them (although Dick finds out first), she is actually a burglar who goes by the name of Catwoman, and is working under a mobster by the name of Oswald Cobblepot, who goes by the moniker "Penguin".

Donald Pleasence in Halloween, 1978. Six years later, he would star as the Penguin, the villain of Batman and Robin.

Bruce and Dick's relationship gets strained to the point that they argue over whether or not Selina should be trusted or not. In a desperate attempt to prove himself right, Robin goes off to hunt Catwoman down and have her arrested, only to be held at ransom by the Penguin and his goons. When Bruce hears of Robin's capture, he goes after his ward as Batman, leading to a final battle that ends with the Penguin being killed by Catwoman as revenge for turning on her. It is there that Batman unmasks himself in front of Catwoman, revealing himself to be Bruce Wayne and that Robin is Dick Grayson. Bruce and Selina part ways (but not without sneaking in one final kiss) while the former repairs his relationship with Dick. At the end of the film, Batman encounters a man in a blue suit with a red cape, wondering what his purpose is here on Earth.[12]

Despite being in stiff competition with the likes of Ghostbusters that summer, Batman and Robin was able to become a success both critically and commercially, with acclaim going to Barbara Bach's performance as Catwoman, who later stated that it sparked a revival in her film career. Madeline Kahn had originally been considered for the role, but due to her pregnancy with Alice Lennon, she asked Barbara to take the role instead. However, Maddy did not rule out the possibility of appearing in a future film as Poison Ivy. Meanwhile, fans were excited about the upcoming Justice League film following Christopher Reeve's cameo appearance at the end.

October 26, 1984

Sharon Stone, 1983.

Three and a half months following the release of Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman II was released with Tom Mankiewicz taking over for Ivan Reitman as director due to the latter's commitments with Ghostbusters and the soon-to-be-released Justice League. The ninth entry of the DC Appleverse saw Elizabeth Peña again reprising her role as Wonder Woman, this time playing off against rising star Sharon Stone as Priscilla Rich, also known as the supervillain Cheetah.

Over thirty years have passed since the end of World War II, and Diana Prince has taken up residency in Washington, D.C., becoming roommates with a dancer and philanthropist with a split personality by the name of Priscilla Rich. At first, the two women get along well with each other, but when Priscilla sees Wonder Woman (unknown to her, actually Diana) save a child from getting hurt at a charity event, she becomes envious and wishes that she was as good as Wonder Woman. Over time, Priscilla becomes increasingly disheveled before she finally becomes the Cheetah.

Priscilla Rich discovering her other persona Cheetah in a mirror in Wonder Woman issue #6, published October 1943. This served as the basis for the plot line of Wonder Woman II in 1984.

Cheetah frames Wonder Woman for a bank robbery and tips off the police before setting fire to a warehouse that Wonder Woman is in, but she manages to survive and escape because of her fireproof armor. She manages to follow Priscilla to Paradise Island where the villain holds Queen Hippolyta hostage. Cheetah and Wonder Woman battle for control of Paradise Island, with the former defeated when Hippolyta's magical girdle is taken off of her. Priscilla requests to remain on Paradise Island until she can control her split personality while Diana returns to Washington, D.C., where reads a news article about Superman sealing the San Andreas fault line after Lex Luthor's hijacking of a nuclear missile to detonate in it, as depicted in the 1978 film. This piques Diana's interest, wondering how many other super heroes are in man's world.

Reception towards Wonder Woman II was generally positive, but not quite as strong as that of the original, with some critics lamenting the absence of Steve Trevor (played by John Schneider), noting that their chemistry is what made the original film. However, there was still praise for the dynamic between Peña and Stone as the hero and villain, respectively, and the film was to serve as an appetizer for fans waiting the main course - Justice League.

Footnotes

1. All tracks are sourced from Pink Floyd's The Final Cut. "The Hero's Return (Part 2)" is sourced from the "Not Now John" single.
   
2. Actual quote said by Roger Waters for Comfortably Numb - The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, but slightly altered to accommodate the album title change.
3. In OTL, tensions were high amongst Pink Floyd due to Roger Waters' domineering behavior.
4. Tracks are sourced from The Works, Queen Forever, Roger Taylor's Strange Frontier, Brian May's Star Fleet Project and Freddie Mercury's Mr. Bad Guy. "I Want to Break Free" and "Hammer to Fall" are the single edits found on Greatest Hits II. "Love Kills", "Let Me In Your Heart Again", "Man on Fire" and "Man Made Paradise" were all auditioned for The Works in OTL, but did not make the cut for various reasons. "Star Fleet" was a separate project altogether, although Roger Taylor did play drums on it, making it an honorary Queen track.
5. Giorgio Moroder had to pay $200,000 for the rights to make his own restoration/re-edit of Metropolis, outbidding David Bowie. Goodness knows what Bowie might have done with the film if he had won the rights...
6. In OTL, the music video for "I Want to Break Free" was banned on MTV, killing the single's chances of success in America, and by extension, killed Queen's popularity in the United States until the appearance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World in 1992. Sadly, that was three months after Freddie Mercury's death from AIDS.
7. In TTL, with the success of the A-Team version of "I Want to Break Free", Smile ends up touring in the United States instead of Sun City in Bophuthatswana, South Africa. In OTL, Queen never toured North America for their Works Tour, and their appearance at Sun City was controversial because of the apartheid policy of South Africa in place at the time. United Nations requested entertainers to boycott the country and the Musicians' Union disallowed any of its members from performing in Sun City. Queen strongly defended their stance by saying they "play to anybody who wants to come and listen" and were "a very non-political group." They donated to a school for deaf and blind people to prove their philanthropic values.
8. In OTL, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends debuted on October 9, 1984, John Lennon's 44th birthday.
9. Ringo Starr did not sing "We All Stand Together" in OTL. In addition, Paul had written the song for Rupert and the Frog Song, which still got made in TTL under Virgo-Libra Studios.
10. Most of these stories were adapted for the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine in OTL. Paint Pots and Queens would not be adapted into an episode until 1995 for the fourth series, and Mrs. Kyndley's Christmas was never considered for adaptation save for a brief flashback sequence in Thomas' Christmas Party.
11. In OTL, the first film rated PG-13 was Red Dawn, released one month after the modified rating system was introduced.
12. The synopsis is loosely based upon OTL's Batman Returns, with the romance subplot influenced from Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.

Author's Comments

At long last, we've reached the home stretch for the first draft of Strawberry Peppers! We're now into 1984, and quite a lot has happened thus far - Roger Waters' The Post War Dream is now a proper solo album (The Final Cut was basically a solo album in all but the name anyway), the world's now going gaga for Smile with Freddie Mercury on board, Thomas the Tank Engine has finally reached the small screen, and the Appleverse is now getting closer and closer to its climax. But of course, the Beatles are still recovering from the disappointing reception of War and Peace; rest assured, things will turn out better for them in the end.

I'm amazed at how much I've written for in the past two and a half years, and to those who've continued to read during that time, I can't thank you enough for your support. There's only three more chapters to go, so hopefully I'll be able to end this draft on a high note.

"The Magic is Here Again" - The Missing George Harrison Album

With the recent release of All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary, I'm sure a lot of people will be wondering, "What if George Harrison had released a studio album between that and Living in the Material World?" I'm one of those people who have thought that, and I wonder why George didn't release an album to serve as a stop gap before he began work on Living in the Material World. So now, here's my take on this question, to which I have called, The Magic is Here Again, after a working title for Material World.

George Harrison on The Dick Cavett Show, November 23, 1971.

Within the first few years (1970-1973) of the Beatles' breakup, Paul McCartney put out his eponymous debut solo album, a lo-fi, folksy album that he performed entirely by himself, save for backing contributions from his wife Linda. The couple then recorded a solo album together, Ram, and another album as part of a band that Paul dubbed Wings, Wild Life, both released in 1971. They then spent the entirety of 1972 recording for Red Rose Speedway and going on tour, and concluded 1973 with Band on the Run. Save for Band on the Run, Paul's solo work was slammed by critics, many lamenting that this used to be the same Beatle who gave us Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road. While Paul wanted to prove that he was the genius behind the Beatles' later-period albums, it was obvious he needed the others to help him out.

John Lennon, meanwhile, had found a new artistic partner with Yoko Ono. His debut solo album (ignoring three noise albums), John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was greatly influenced by his primal therapy sessions with Arthur Janov and he infamously denounced the Beatles in "God". His follow-up, Imagine, was considered to be on par with Plastic Ono Band, sometimes even surpassing it. However, John couldn't follow up on this success with Some Time in New York City, which charted even lower than Wild Life in the United States, and was considered to be one of the worst Beatle solo albums at the time, and that opinion seems to have held up nearly fifty years later. Mind Games, released the same year John began his "lost weekend" period, was considered a return to form, but it wouldn't reach the same heights as Imagine had.

Ringo Starr had released two albums in 1970 - Sentimental Journey (an album of jazz standards) and Beaucoups of Blues (a country album) - but it wasn't until 1973 that he put out his first "serious" solo album, Ringo, which featured contributions from the other three Beatles, being the closest we got to a Beatles reunion prior to John's murder in 1980. In between, Ringo had put out two non-album singles, one per year in 1971 ("It Don't Come Easy") and 1972 ("Back Off Boogaloo").

But what about the Quiet Beatle, George Harrison? After stockpiling songs that had been rejected by the Beatles even as far back as Revolver, he kicked off his solo career with a bang with All Things Must Pass, a triple album which contained two discs of regular songs and a disc worth of jam tracks known as "Apple Jam". George continued his success with The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, and he finally put out his sophomore album, Living in the Material World, in 1973, competing with Paul's Red Rose Speedway for #1 in the United States.

But even before then, George had demoed enough songs to fill out a fourth disc for All Things Must Pass, but they were pushed to the side and, save for bootleg releases, were left in the vaults for nearly fifty years, being released twenty years after he had died. Is it possible to fill in a gap in his discography by presenting what could've been an album released between All Things Must Pass and Living in the Material World?

The Magic is Here Again (February 11, 1972)

Side A (19:17)

1. Nowhere to Go - 2:44 (Harrison/Dylan)

2. I Live for You - 3:26

3. Dehra Dun - 3:39

4. Let It Be Me - 2:56 (Bécaud/Curtis)

5. Mother Divine - 2:45

6. Deep Blue - 3:47

Side B (20:16)

7. Going Down to Golders Green - 2:24

8. Mama You've Been on My Mind - 3:04 (Dylan)

9. Tell Me What Has Happened to You - 2:57

10. Cosmic Empire - 2:12

11. Miss O'Dell - 2:33

12. Window, Window - 1:53

13. Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna) - 5:13

In order to make this "missing link" between Pass and Material World, we'll have to start with some ground rules. Among them being that they had to have been recorded or at least written around the 1970-1971 period, as if it was being released in early 1972. "Miss O'Dell" was written in April 1971, but not recorded until October 1972; still, I think it's fair game for inclusion and it fits right at home. Another rule is that I'll have to use the May 1970 demos as my backbone; seventeen of the tracks were all used for the official album, and they can be another disc altogether as All Things Must Pass... Naked. I ended up excluding four tracks out of the demo tapes - "Sour Milk Sea" (previously recorded by Jackie Lomax), "Everybody, Nobody" (melody re-used for "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp"), "Beautiful Girl" (later recorded for Thirty-Three & 1/3) and "I Don't Want to Do It" (later recorded for Porky's Revenge).

So that leaves me with four empty spots, but thankfully, there's just enough material to fill up the album to around 35-40 minutes. I've thrown in "Deep Blue" and "Miss O'Dell", non-album B-sides sourced from the 2014 remaster of Living in the Material World, and George's cover versions of "Let It Be Me", popularized by the Everly Brothers, and Bob Dylan's "Mama You've Been on My Mind", both from Early Takes Volume 1. I don't know when the latter two were recorded, but they seem to fit right in. I also ended up excluding "Bangla Desh" as a gospel rock song would have sounded out of place amongst a bunch of country/folk songs. Maybe it'd be kept as a bonus track.

And now, onto the album itself! All Things Must Pass began with a writing collaboration with Bob Dylan - "I'd Have You Anytime". I figured I'd start off similarly with the ironically titled "Nowhere to Go", a piss-take at George's status as the Quiet Beatle, for which a similar theme had been included with "Wah-Wah", "Run of the Mill" and, later on, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues". The Dylan influence continues with "I Life for You" - I used the demo version rather than the version found on the 2014 remaster of All Things Must Pass as I didn't want to use an overdubbed version. "Dehra Dun" follows before we slow things down with a cover of "Let It Be Me" - coincidentally, this takes the same position as "Bye Bye, Love" on Dark Horse, also previously recorded by the Everly Brothers. The spiritual "Mother Divine" comes next before the first side concludes with the B-side to "Bangla Desh", "Deep Blue", recorded July 1971.

Side B kicks off with the jaunty, Elvis Presley-influenced "Going Down to Golders Green" before being followed up with a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Mama You've Been on My Mind", taking the place of "I Don't Want to Do It". We slow things down again with "Tell Me What Has Happened to You" before delving into the spirituality of "Cosmic Empire" and then the cheeky nature of "Miss O'Dell", in which George laughs during the performance and lists Paul's old phone number at the end. "Window, Window", an outtake from the Get Back sessions, serves as the penultimate track and is the shortest song on the album at just under two minutes. What can follow that up? Why, with the longest track, of course! This being "Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna)", running at a little over five minutes, it serves as the finale to the album.

All that's left is the album title. I settled upon The Magic is Here Again as George had jokingly suggested it for Living in the Material World, and I think it works very well for the bridge between that and All Things Must Pass. How does it stack up against either of them? Sonically, it's not as big as All Things Must Pass, and it feels closer to Living in the Material World in terms of production. In terms of songwriting, however, I'd say it's just about on par with them, and could probably be right up there as one of George's greatest albums. It's a bit like John and Paul in reverse, where they put out more raw-boned albums before following them up with a more polished sound; George puts out a grandiose album before going for something that's more laid back and folksy. I'm surprised it took his estate this long to have these songs officially released, but at long last, we can finally fill in a gap in the Not-So-Quiet-As-You'd-Think Beatle's discography.

Sources

All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary (2021)

Early Takes Volume 1 (2012)

Living in the Material World (2014 remaster)

Chapter 76: Africa (January 1981 - December 1983)

General Affairs for Apple Corps Ltd.

Matthew Broderick as David Lightman and Ally Sheedy as Jennifer Mack in WarGames, released 1983. Sheedy was part of the Brat Pack, a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s, and the group became well known following John Lennon's appearance as Dr. Stephen Falken in WarGames.

Apple Films had made a big boom during the early 1980s, what with successes away from the DC Appleverse such as John Mackenzie's The Long Good Friday and A Sense of Freedom, Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire, Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits, Terry Jones' Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, and John Badham's WarGames. That's not to say that every film they picked up would be a bit hit; Tattoo and Yellowbeard were regarded rather unfavorably while Venom and Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I were each given a mixed reception. The Burning, however, while not a success initially, would grow a cult following over the next few decades.[1]

With the growth of film projects would come about the growth of television projects under Apple Television. Outside of Thomas the Tank Engine, there was an influx of situation comedies such as David Croft and Jeremey Lloyd's 'Allo 'Allo!, Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder[2], Ben Elton and Rik Mayall's The Young Ones, and most famously, John Sullivan's Only Fools and Horses. After fifteen years since first forming, Apple Corps really was becoming everything for everyone as first envisioned by the Beatles.

Apple Corps Executives, December 1983

Managing Director and Chairman of the Board: Brian Epstein

Vice Presidents: Peter Brown, Lord Beeching

Director Communications: Derek Taylor
General Counsels: Lee and John Eastman

Apple Records

President: Ron Kass

Vice President: Jack Oliver

Directors of A&R: Jake Riviera, Trevor Horn

Directors of Promotion and Marketing: Jill Sinclair, Paul Morley

Director of Design: Josh Kosh

Studio Manager, Apple Studios: Geoff Emerick

Other Notable Figures: Mal Evans, Roy Thomas Baker, Tony Bramwell

Apple Films and Apple Television

President: Denis O'Brien

Other Notable Figures: Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Mel Brooks, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Richard Donner, John Lloyd, Rowan Atkinson, George Harrison, John Mackenzie, David Mitton, Britt Allcroft

Apple Management

Director: Neil Aspinall

Associate Director: Mal Evans

Apple Publishing

Director: Alistair Taylor

Highway 61 Records

President: Jack Oliver

Vice President: Chris O'Dell

Directors of A&R: Pete Ham, Dennis Wilson

Swan Song Records

President: Peter Grant

Vice President: Alan Callan

Director of A&R: Dave Edmunds

The Artists of Apple Records

Old Signings

The Jam, 1982, the year that they broke up.

Crosby, Stills & Nash put out Daylight Again on June 18, 1982, the album of which also spawned the Top 10 hit "Wasted on the Way". This would be the group's last album for seven years. Eric Clapton's first album since the Dark Horses' breakup and rehabilitation from alcoholism was Money and Cigarettes (February 1983; #13 UK, #16 US), with lukewarm critical reception. On the other hand, Elton John continued to reach commercial success with The Fox, Jump Up! and Too Low for Zero, with hits such as "Nobody Wins", "Blue Eyes", "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" and "I'm Still Standing", the latter of which served as his biggest hit from the 1981-83 period.[3]

Vangelis released three soundtracks; Chariots of Fire (an Apple Films production), Batman and Antarctica. In between, he was kept busy with Yes. Splinter, meanwhile, had left the label at the start of 1981, eventually breaking up in 1984. The 1976 signings from Jake Rivieria were faring decently during the 1981-83 period; Elvis Costello (Trust, Almost Blue, Imperial Bedroom, Punch the Clock) continued to achieved Top 10 success while The Damned's Strawberries reached a rather modest #12 in the United Kingdom. The Jam, however, topped the charts there with The Gift in 1982 before breaking up that same year. Following Rockpile's breakup, Nick Lowe put out two more solo albums - Nick the Knife and The Abominable Snowman. Motörhead continued achieving Top 20 success with Iron Fist and Another Perfect Day.

Michael Jackson dancing amongst a zombie horde in the famous "Thriller" music video, 1983.

In 1982, Madness put out their first #1 hit single "House of Fun" that also made an appearance in The Young Ones episode Boring while the lads are visiting the local pub. (They would later appear in Sick performing "Our House".) 7 and The Rise & Fall were both Top 10 hits. Tenpole Tudor also achieved a Top 10 hit with "Swords of a Thousand Men" from Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary. Their follow-up, Let the Four Winds Blow, didn't achieve the same level of success, and they would leave Apple at the start of 1982.

But the biggest success from an Apple Records veteran during 1981-83 was Michael Jackson's Thriller. The first single was a duet with Paul McCartney, "The Girl is Mine" (this was later followed up with the standalone single, "Say Say Say"), followed up by six more hits - "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Human Nature", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" and the title track, the latter of which featured a music video directed by John Landis where Jackson becomes a zombie and performs a dance routine with a horde of the undead. The music video has since then had a lasting impact on popular culture and would be cited as the greatest video of all time.

New Signings

Annie Lennox (left) and Dave Stewart (right) of Eurythmics, 1983.

Eurythmics, formed by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of the Tourists, were Apple's first signing of the 1980s, Denny Laine and Wings notwithstanding, as they had formed while Laine was contracted under Apple prior to his death in 1981. Their first single, "Never Gonna Cry Again" charted at #49 in the United Kingdom, but In the Garden did not chart there. However, the follow up album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), managed to reach #1 there (as did the title track), even topping out at #11 in the United States. Touch also hit #1 in the United Kingdom while the singles "Who's That Girl", "Right by Your Side" and "Here Comes the Rain Again" also reached the Top 10.

1983 saw four new signings under both Jake Riviera and Trevor Horn - Art of Noise, Tracey Ullman, Dead or Alive and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the latter two of which also originated from Liverpool like the Beatles. Art of Noise debuted with an extended play, Into Battle with the Art of Noise, and Ullman's You Broke My Heart in 17 Places debuted in November of that same year. The respective debut albums of Dead or Alive and Frankie Goes to Hollywood would not come out until next year, although reach released a single to tide listeners over until then (DOA's "Misty Circles", FGTH's "Relax"). During that time, Horn would gradually take over for Riviera as Director of A&R, and become a prominent figure for Apple in the 1980s.[4]

Apple Artists, as of December 1983

• Art of Noise (since 1983)
• The Beatles (since 1968; contracted to EMI from 1968-1976)
• George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr as The Ladders (1970-1976)
• George Harrison and Ringo Starr as The Dark Horses (1977-1980)
• Paul McCartney (1971-1980; affiliated with Smile 1972-1980)
• David Bowie (since 1971; member of The Rolling Stones 1969-1976)
• Eric Clapton (since 1968; member of Cream 1968-1971, member of the Dark Horses 1977-1980)
• The Clash (since 1976)
• Elvis Costello (since 1976)
• Crosby, Stills & Nash (since 1968; with Neil Young 1969-1977)
• Stephen Stills & Manassas (1971-1973; solo albums released on Highway 61 Records 1975-1976)
• Neil Young (1971; solo works released on Highway 61 Records since 1973)
• David Crosby and Graham Nash as Crosby & Nash (1972-1976)
• The Damned (since 1976)
• Dead or Alive (since 1983)
• Electric Light Orchestra (since 1970)
• Eurythmics (since 1981)
• Fleetwood Mac (since 1968)
• Stevie Nicks (as a solo artist; since 1981)
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood (since 1983)
• Michael Jackson (since 1971; contracted to Motown from 1971-1975)
• Elton John (since 1969)
• Nick Lowe (since 1976)
• Madness (since 1979)
• Freddie Mercury (since 1973; member of Smile since 1980)
• Motörhead (since 1976)
• The Rolling Stones (since 1970; on hiatus)
• Bill Wyman (1974, 1976)
• Smile (since 1969; affiliated with Paul McCartney 1972-1980)
• Tracey Ullman (since 1983)
• Vangelis (since 1972; member of Aphrodite's Child 1967-1972, member of the Dark Horses 1977-1980, member of Yes since 1980)

Departed Apple Artists

• Aphrodite's Child (1970-1972)
• Badfinger (1968-1975)
• Brute Force (1969)
• Delaney & Bonnie (1969-1972)
• Cream (1968-1971)
• Chris Hodge (1972-1973)
• Mary Hopkin (1968-1972)
• Hot Chocolate (1969)
• The Jam (1976-1982)
• Radha Krishna Temple (1969)
• Denny Laine & Wings (1980-1981)
• Jackie Lomax (1968-1975)
• Jimmy McCulloch and White Line (1975-1977)
• Nazareth (1972-1975)
• Yoko Ono (1969-1973)
• Billy Preston (1969-1977)
• Sex Pistols (1976-1979)
• Ronnie Spector (1971-1972)
• Splinter (1973-1981)
• The Sundown Playboys (1972)
• Tenpole Tudor (1979-1982)
• White Trash (1969)
• Doris Troy (1969-1971)
• Lon and Derrek Van Eaton (1972-1973)
• Wreckless Eric (1976-1980)

The Artists of Highway 61 Records

Old Signings

Neil Young, 1982.

Bob Dylan concluded his Christian trilogy with 1981's Shot of Love, although it was harshly received by critics. His follow-up album, Infidels, would fare much better, being viewed as a return to form for Dylan. Dave Edmunds put out three albums following the break up of Rockpile, one per year: Twangin..., D.E. 7th and Information, the latter of which was co-produced with Jeff Lynne. Cliff Richard had likewise put out an album per year with Wired for Sound, Now You See Me, Now You Don't and Silver, all being Top 10 hits in the United Kingdom.

In the wake of the George Bush administration in the United States, Neil Young returned to the spotlight with 1982's Island in the Sun,[5] which featured two versions of the hit single "Rockin' in the Free World".[6] His follow-up, Old Ways, would come out the following year. Supertramp's only album during the 1981-83 period was Famous Last Words, and it and the main single "It's Raining Again" both hit the Top 10 in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Pat Benatar, 1983.

Heart (Private Audition, Passionworks), the Ramones (Pleasant Dreams, Subterranean Jungle), Rod Stewart (Tonight I'm Yours, Body Wishes), Cheap Trick (One on One, Next Position Please) and Talking Heads (Speaking on Tongues) all continued to achieve chart success. Neither of Lou Reed's albums, The Blue Mask and Legendary Hearts, managed to make it to the Top 100 on either side the Atlantic. James' Taylor's Dad Loves His Work did manage to get a Top 10 hit out of "Her Town Too", a duet with John David Souther.

The Cars' fanbase was steadily growing after Shake It Up, with the title track becoming a Top 10 hit in the United States, but it wouldn't be until 1984 that they came out with another album. Johnny Warman released some singles that didn't go anywhere, nor did Walking into Mirrors or From the Jungle to the New Horizons. Pat Benatar's Precious Time managed to top the charts in the United States, with "Fire and Ice" hitting the Top 10 there. Get Nervous and Live from Earth couldn't match this success, although "Shadows of the Night" and "Love is a Battlefield" were big hits.

Huey Lewis and the News quickly went to stardom following Picture This and the single "Do You Believe in Love", with Sports and singles such as "Heart and Soul", "The Heart of Rock & Roll", "I Want a New Drug" and "If This Is It" proving that it wasn't just a lucky break. The Go-Go's debut album, Beauty and the Beat similarly topped the charts in the United States with their signature song "We Got the Beat", but it stalled out at #2 thanks to the Beatles' "Blow Away". Their follow-up Vacation, however, did not achieve similar heights. The Lambrettas broke up in 1982 after releasing their second album Ambience the year prior.

Toto in the music video for "Africa", released 1982.

Out of Highway 61's artists during 1981-83, Toto had the biggest success with Toto IV, with "Rosanna" and "Africa" becoming their biggest hits to date. The band received six Grammy Awards in 1983 including Album of the Year (Toto IV), Producer of the Year (Toto themselves) and Record of the Year ("Rosanna"). Despite this success, critics hated them as Toto's polished production and songwriting went against the punk rock genre, which was very popular at the time, with some accusing Toto for "fixing" the Grammys.

But not all was well within Toto. Bassist David Hungate had left to pursue a session/production career and spend time with his family, with his position being taken over by Mike Porcaro, brother of Steve (keyboards) and Jeff (drums). Bobby Kimball would face prosecution for drug-related charges before they were dropped, and he took time away to enter drug rehabilitation. Joseph Williams would take over on lead vocals beginning with 1984's Isolation,[7] having previously released a self-titled album in 1982.

New Signings

"Weird Al" Yankovic in the music video for "I Love Rocky Road", a parody of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", 1983.

Highway 61 Records obtained four new artists, including Joseph Williams, all signed up in 1982. The Bangles were an all-female band like the Go-Go's, but have so far put out a self-titled extended play and a single, "The Real World". Sonic Youth put out their debut album in 1983, Confusion Is Sex, later cited as an important example of what would become the no wave genre. Parodist musician "Weird Al" Yankovic's self-titled debut album was also released in 1983, with his career having begun with "Another One Rides the Bus", a parody of Freddie Mercury's "Another One Bites the Dust". Brian May would say that he found the parody extremely funny.

Highway 61 Artists, as of December 1983

• The Bangles (since 1982)
• Pat Benatar (since 1979)
• Junior Campbell (since 1976; no new recordings since 1978)
• The Cars (since 1978)
• Cheap Trick (since 1976)
• Bob Dylan (since 1973)
• Dave Edmunds (since 1973; also contracted to Swan Song Records)
• The Go-Go's (since 1980)
• Heart (since 1975)
• The Jacksons (since 1976)
• Huey Lewis and the News (since 1979)
• Harry Nilsson (since 1975; no new recordings since 1980)
• Tom Petty & Mudcrutch (since 1974)
• Ramones (since 1975)
• Lou Reed (since 1976; member of Hunky Dory 1972-1978)
• Cliff Richard (since 1973)
• Patti Smith (since 1975; no new recordings since 1979)
• Rod Stewart (since 1975)
• Stephen Stills (since 1975; also contracted to Apple Records)
• Sonic Youth (since 1982)
• Supertramp (since 1974)
• Talking Heads (since 1976)
• James Taylor (since 1976; part of Apple Records 1968-1976)
• Peter Tork (since 1973)
• Toto (since 1977)
• Tina Turner (since 1974; on hiatus)
• Johnny Warman (since 1978)
• Joseph Williams (since 1982)
• Dennis Wilson (since 1975)
• Ronnie Wood (since 1974; member of the Rolling Stones since 1975; member of the Dark Horses 1977-1980)
• "Weird Al" Yankovic (since 1982)
• Neil Young (since 1973; also contracted to Apple Records)

Departed Highway 61 Artists

• Attitudes (1976-1978)
• Colin Blunstone (1978-1980)
• Boxer (1975-1978)
• Kiki Dee (1973-1978)
• Hunky Dory (1976-1978)
• L.A. Express (1973-1976)
• The Lambrettas (1980-1982)
• Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973-1977)
• Nigel Olsson (1974-1977)
• Tom Scott (1973-1977)
• Neil Sedaka (1974-1976)
• Ravi Shankar (1973-1980)
• Solution (1974-1977)
• Stackridge (1973-1976)
• Robert Wyatt (1976-1979; member of Hunky Dory 1972-1978)

The Artists of Swan Song Records

Old Signings

Bad Company, circa late 1970s/early 1980s.

Fate seemed to have different plans in store for Bad Company and Sad Café, artists who had been a part of Swan Song Records prior to the Apple takeover. Bad Company fell out behind the scenes of Rough Diamonds, their last album with Paul Rodgers, which became their worst-selling album to date. Sad Café had left the label at the start of 1981, having fulfilled their contract with Swan Song Records.

The transfers from Highway 61 Records had mixed success: Aerosmith's only album throughout 1981-83, Rock in a Hard Place, only managed to reach #26 in the United States. Blue Öyster Cult's Fire of Unknown Origin and The Revölution by Night both did fairly well in the charts, the former producing the hit "Burnin' for You". None of Alice Cooper's three albums of 1981-83 (Special Forces, Zipper Catches Skin, DaDa) managed to make the Top 40 in either the United States or the United Kingdom. Iggy Pop's Party and Zombie Birdhouse received poor reviews, although the latter was more mixed.

Dr. John put out three more albums - Love Potion and Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, Vol. 1 and 2 - before departing the label in 1983. Blondie, meanwhile, would break up in 1982 following the release of The Hunter, but Debbie Harry would remain signed onto Swan Song Records as a solo artist, having released KooKoo the year prior while taking a break from the band following Autoamerican.

Prince with his backing band in a photoshoot for 1999, 1982.

The post-Apple takeover artists, however, would carry on with their success. XTC's English Settlement reached the top five in the United Kingdom, but were not so fortunate with Mummer. Kate Bush's The Dreaming was her first to chart in the United States, at just #157, but it still managed to hit #3 in the United Kingdom amidst heavy competition for #1. Devo's New Traditionalists achieved a similar success to Freedom of Choice, but Oh, No! It's Devo did not fare so well due to their change in sound. Prince seemed to be on his way to superstardom by putting out Controversy in 1981 and 1999 the following year. The best was yet to come for Prince in 1984...

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I Love Rock 'n Roll would go on to become her biggest album to date, with the title track and "Crimson and Clover" being Top 10 hits. Although the follow-up, Album, contained more original material, it wasn't as successful commercially, but still did well enough with critics. Brenda Russell's Love Life and Two Eyes were also received fairly well. Carly Simon's Torch was recorded in the midst of her breakup with James Taylor and the follow-up, Hello Big Man, was released the year they divorced. Neither album hit the Top 40 in the United States.

The members of Yes, 1983.

Judie Tzuke's I Am the Phoenix, Shoot the Moon and Ritmo, on the other hand, all charted within the Top 40 in the United Kingdom, but none reached the heights of Sports Car. Yes made a comeback following a brief hiatus with 90125 and introduced a new generation of fans to the band, becoming their best selling album to date. Jon Anderson stated that he would be staying with Yes for the foreseeable future.

But of course, with success comes the inevitable downfalls. The Buggles' Adventures in Modern Recording could not live up to the success of The Age of Plastic, and due to Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes pursuing different paths, the band had broken up in 1982. Similarly, the Vapors' follow-up to New Clear Days, Magnets, did not achieve the same level of success, however minor it was, despite the positive reviews. David Fenton had left the group due to the fact he was about to start a family and Howard Smith had also left due to loss of interest. With no reason to continue, Steve Smith and Edward Bazalgette announced the Vapors' breakup.

New Signings

The members of Asia, 1982.

Only three new artists were signed up during the 1981-83 period. Well, technically two, as one of them, Asia, was formed while Steve Howe (Yes) and Geoff Downes (The Buggles) were signed onto the label, forming the supergroup with John Wetton (King Crimson, U.K.) and Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer). The quartet's self-titled debut album was released on 18 March 1982, backed by the hit singles "Heat of the Moment", "Only Time Will Tell" and "Sole Survivor". Their follow-up album, Alpha (26 July 1983), was backed by the singles "Don't Cry" and "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes".[8]

Out of the two official signings, Dramatis was perhaps the most unlucky of them. They only released one album in 1981, For Future Reference, but it failed to chart in the United Kingdom despite one of the singles, "Love Needs No Disguise" with Gary Numan, charting at #33 there. After several other failed singles, they broke up in 1982. Katrina and the Waves, however, seemed to be destined for greater things with their debut album Walking on Sunshine, backed by the title track being a Top 10 hit.[9]

Swan Song Artists, as of December 1983

• Aerosmith (since 1977; part of Highway 61 Records 1973-1976)
• Asia (since 1981)
• Blue Öyster Cult (since 1977; part of Highway 61 Records 1975-1976)
• Kate Bush (since 1977)
• Alice Cooper (since 1977; part of Highway 61 Records 1974-1976)
• Devo (since 1978)
• Dave Edmunds (since 1977; also contracted to Highway 61 Records)
• Genesis (since 1977; part of Highway 61 Records 1975-1976)
• Tony Banks (since 1979)
• Kim Beacon (since 1979)
• Mike Rutherford (since 1979)
• Debbie Harry (since 1981; member of Blondie 1974-1982)
• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (since 1979)
• Katrina and the Waves (since 1983)
• Iggy Pop (since 1978; part of Highway 61 Records 1976-1977)
• Prince (since 1978)
• Brenda Russell (since 1979)
• Carly Simon (since 1979)
• Judie Tzuke (since 1979)
• XTC (since 1977)
• The Yardbirds (since 1974)
• Yes (since 1980)

Departed Swan Song Artists

• Kevin Ayers (1978-1981; part of Highway 61 Records 1976-1977)
• Bad Company (1974-1982)
• Blondie (1977-1982; part of Highway 61 Records 1976)
• Blue (1977-1979)
• Maggie Bell (1974-1976)
• The Buggles (1978-1982)
• Detective (1977-1979)
• Dr. John (1977-1983; part of Highway 61 Records 1975-1976)
• Dramatis (1981-1982)
• The Pretty Things (1974-1976)
• Sad Café (1976-1981)
• The Vapors (1979-1981)

Various Artists - The Best of Apple Records Vol. 7: 1981-1983

Released: 19 February 2010

Recorded: 1980-1983

Producer: Various

Track listing

Swords of a Thousand Men [Tenpole Tudor]

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around [Stevie Nicks feat. Tom Petty & Mudcrutch]

Hold on Tight [Electric Light Orchestra]

Hang Fire [The Rolling Stones]

Woman [The Beatles]

Under Pressure [Smile and David Bowie]

Good Year for the Roses [Elvis Costello]

Town Called Malice [The Jam]

Iron Fist [Motörhead]

House of Fun [Madness]

Wasted on the Way [Crosby, Stills & Nash]

Lovely Money [The Damned]

Rock the Casbah [The Clash]

Love in Store [Fleetwood Mac]

Billie Jean [Michael Jackson]

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) [Eurythmics]

The Shape You're In [Eric Clapton]

Misty Circles [Dead or Alive]

I'm Still Standing [Elton John]

They Don't Know [Tracey Ullman]

Apple's seventh "best of" compilation (#2 UK, #8 US) showcased how much music under the label had evolved in their first fifteen years, now comprised of mainstays from the 60s (Elton John, Fleetwood Mac) and 70s (Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello) along with the then-newer artists from the early 80s (Eurythmics, Dead or Alive). It was practically a melting pot of some of their greatest talents by this point, and critics and fans felt like the track selections best represented it.

Footnotes

1. As Apple Films is still thriving in TTL, it absorbs a large amount of HandMade Films' filmography.
2. For TTL, The Black Adder has the titular antihero as the smart one and Baldrick the stupid one, as would become the standard for the next three series - Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth.
3. Because John Lennon did not die in TTL, "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" does not get written. It was because of the song's inclusion that, to many people, saved Jump Up! from mediocrity all the way through. Bernie Taupin admitted in a 2010 interview that it was a disposable album, but "Empty Garden" made the it worth having.
4. With Trevor Horn as a part of Apple, ZTT Records (short for Zang Tumb Tuum, although the Ts are sometimes reversed) does not form in this situation, although many of its artists do end up signing for Apple.
5. Island of the Sun was an album that Neil Young recorded in May 1982 and originally sent over to Geffen Records, but David Geffen didn't think it was good enough.
6. "Rockin' in the Free World" was actually written in February 1989 while on tour with the Restless. With an earlier Bush administration, it's very likely that Neil Young would've written it earlier as well.
7. For Isolation, Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen replaced Bobby Kimball on lead vocals, but he was disliked by the rest of Toto, and he was replaced with Joseph Williams for Fahrenheit. In TTL, Williams is invited to cover for Kimball and both eventually share lead vocals whenever they tour.
8. In OTL, Greg Lake briefly filled in for John Wetton. The latter would return on the condition that Steve Howe was ousted, being replaced afterward with Mandy Meyer of Cobra. Meanwhile, Howe would form another supergroup, GTR, with Steve Hackett of Genesis, and their sole album was produced by Geoff Downes. In TTL, both Wetton and Howe remain in Asia, likely having sorted out their differences.
9. In OTL, "Walking on Sunshine" became a hit after it was re-recorded for 1985's Katrina and the Waves, which featured re-recordings of tracks from their two albums under Attic Records (Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves 2). For TTL, the re-recordings do not take place.

Author's Comments

Well. This chapter took a long time to get ready, and I cannot apologize enough for the delay. I meant to have it ready last week, but I got sidetracked with various projects, pushing this on the backburner longer than I intended. I've only got four more chapters to cover before this first draft comes to an end, and all of them take place during 1984-1985. Hopefully none of them take up to a month in between them.

I wish I had more to say about this chapter, but I tell you; writing up these Apple Corps updates have gotten incredibly tedious and I'm glad that this is the last one for the first draft. I haven't included the 1981-1983 discographies because I simply couldn't be bothered. Again, very tedious to work on. Sorry if I sound pretty bummed out with this description, but I'm hoping to sound more positive for the next one.