Chapter 80: We Are the World (July 13 and 14, 1985)

 July 13, 1985

Wembley Stadium - 7:00 to 8:45 EDT (12:00 to 13:45 BST)

Diana and Prince Charles attending Live Aid, 13 July 1985.

"It's 12 noon in London, 7 AM in Philadelphia, and around the world, it's time for Live Aid! Sixteen hours of live music in aid of famine relief in Africa," announced Richard Skinner. "Wembley welcomes their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales!"

The crowd cheered as Prince Charles and his wife Diana Spencer appeared amongst them in the stands, accompanied by the Coldstream Guards playing to mark their arrival, before taking their seats. Bob Geldof stood by the prince's left as the latter greeted the crowd with a wave.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal Salute!" announced Tommy Vance.

The Coldstream Guards kicked off the Wembley show with the first six bars to "God Save the Queen". They'd been performing for the British Army for two hundred years, and it seemed fitting that they be the ones to kick off the show.

"And now, to start off sixteen hours of Live Aid," Vance announced again, "would you welcome, Status Quo!"

Status Quo (7:01 EDT; 12:01 BST) fittingly kicked off Live Aid with a cover version of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over the World", following that up with "Caroline" and "Don't Waste My Time". They were soon followed up by the Style Council (7:19 EDT; 12:19 BST - "You're the Best Thing", "Big Boss Groove", "Internationalists" and "Walls Come Tumbling Down!") and the Boomtown Rats (7:44 EDT; 12: 44 BST - "I Don't Like Mondays", "Drag Me Down" and "Rat Trap").

Def Leppard (8:01 EDT; 13:01 BST) kicked off the second hour of Live Aid with "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages", both from their most recent album Pyromania[1]. Following up on them was Ultravox (8:17 EDT; 13:17 BST) with "Reap the Wild Wind", "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes", "One Small Day" and "Vienna".

Wembley Stadium (London) and John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) - 8:45 to 17:00 EDT (13:45 to 22:00 BST)

George Segal and Marilyn McCoo introducing Live Aid to American audiences.

"Live from JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, USA!" announced George Segal. "And live from Wembley Stadium in London, England! The Live Aid concert! Welcome to the worldwide Live Aid concert! I'm George Segal in Philadelphia, and I'm here to welcome you to something more than a television show. As of this moment, we're being seen in sixty nations throughout the world, we can be seen on 85 percent of all the television sets on the planet, and we can be heard on 75 percent of all the radios on the planet! We welcome you to a massive, totally unprecedented coming together of all the peoples of our world in support of our neighbors in Africa."

"We've come together today to make a simple and powerful statement," added Marilyn McCoo, "that all men are our brothers, that all women are our sisters, and especially that all children are our children. When one of us suffers as millions today are suffering in Africa, then we all suffer. And as this is the custom in families everywhere, we extend our helping hand. We lift them up until they can stand on their own. And we don't do this because we feel guilt and certainly not because we feel pity. We do it simply because that's the kind of people that we are."

"And so, for the next sixteen hours, we'll all be enjoying what can only be characterized as the hottest acts in music today."

"And they are Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tom Petty, Sting with Phil Collins and the Who, Bryan Adams... you know who Bryan Adams is?"

"I know who he is."

"Oh, alright. Alright. Eric Clapton, the Beach Boys, Wham!, and much more."

"They're all performing free; not only for African famine relief, but also in support of an even larger purpose. Ending hunger in our world forever. But right now, we're going live to London!"

Joan Baez performing at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

The last performer in London just before the Philadelphia portion of Live Aid kicked off was Spandau Ballet (8:46 EDT; 13:45 BST) with "Only When You Leave", "Virgin" and "True". The first artists to play at Philadelphia were Bernard Watson (8:51 EDT; 13:51 BST - "All I Really Want to Do" and "Interview") and Joan Baez (9:01 EDT; 14:01 BST - "Amazing Grace" and "We Are the World"), the latter of whom kicked off hour three of Live Aid. Elvis Costello (9:07 EDT; 14:07 BST) was the next artist performing at London, singing a cover of the Beatles' "All You Need is Love". At the same time, Bruce Springsteen (9:10 EDT; 14:10 BST) played "Born to Run" and "Dancing in the Dark" at Philadelphia[2]. For the next hour and a half, the following artists and their respective setlists were as follows:

Nik Kershaw - 9:22 EDT / 14:22 BST (London)

"Wide Boy"

"Don Quixote"

"The Riddle"

"Wouldn't It Be Good"

Four Tops - 9:32 EDT / 14:32 BST (Philadelphia)

"Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"

"Bernadette"

"It's the Same Old Song"

"Reach Out I'll Be There"

"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"

Billy Ocean - 9:45 EDT / 14:45 BST (Philadelphia)

"Caribbean Queen"

"Loverboy"

Sade - 9:53 EDT / 14:53 BST (London)

"Why Can't We Live Together"

"Your Love Is King"

"Is It a Crime?"

Black Sabbath - 9:55 EDT / 14:55 BST (Philadelphia)

"Children of the Grave"

"Iron Man"

"Paranoid"

Run–D.M.C. - 10:12 EDT / 15:12 BST (Philadelphia)

"Jam Master Jay"

"King of Rock"

Sting and Phil Collins - 10:18 EDT / 15:18 BST (London)

"Roxanne" (Sting)

"Driven to Tears" (Sting)

"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Phil Collins)

"Message in a Bottle" (Sting)

"In the Air Tonight" (Phil Collins)

"Long Long Way to Go" (both)

"Every Breath You Take" (both)

Rick Springfield - 10:27 EDT / 15:27 BST (Philadelphia)

"Love Somebody"

"State of the Heart"

"Human Touch"

REO Speedwagon - 10:47 EDT / 15:47 (Philadelphia)

"Can't Fight This Feeling"

"Roll with the Changes”

Howard Jones - 10:49 EDT / 15:49 BST (London)

"Hide and Seek"

David Gilmour performing at Live Aid with the rest of Pink Floyd and Roger Waters at Wembley Stadium.

Kicking off the fifth hour of Live Aid was Pink Floyd (11:03 EDT; 16:03 BST), reuniting with Roger Waters for the first time since 1978[3]. Their setlist began with "Speak to Me" and "Breathe", along with the reprise of the latter before transitioning to "Money", all from The Dark Side of the Moon. Before they began their next song, Roger Waters addressed the crowd.

"It's actually quite emotional to be standing up here with these three guys again, after all these years - standing to be counted with the rest of you," he said as they began to play "Wish You Were Here". "Anyway, we're doing this for the people who're not here - and particularly, of course, for Syd."[4]

Concluding Pink Floyd's setlist was "Comfortably Numb" from Roger Waters' The Wall. David Gilmour was especially receptive to this, as Waters had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to play the song live with Pink Floyd. The next two artists playing at Philadelphia were Crosby, Stills and Nash (11:12 EDT; 16:12 BST - "Southern Cross", "Teach Your Children" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes") and Judas Priest (11:29 EDT; 16:29 BST - "Living After Midnight", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"), while the next London artist was Paul Young (11:40 EDT; 16:40 BST), performing the the intro of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", "Come Back and Stay", "That's the Way Love Is" as part of a duet with Alison Moyet, and "Everytime You Go Away". For the next hour and a half, the following performances were made:

Bryan Adams - 12:01 EDT / 17:01 BST (Philadelphia)

"Kids Wanna Rock"

"Summer of '69"

"Tears Are Not Enough"

"Cuts Like a Knife"

U2 - 12:19 EDT / 17:19 BST (London)

"Sunday Bloody Sunday"

"Bad" (w/snippets of "Satellite of Love", "Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Walk on the Wild Side")

The Beach Boys - 12:39 EDT / 17:39 BST (Philadelphia)[5]

"California Girls"

"Help Me, Rhonda"

"Wouldn't It Be Nice"

"Good Vibrations"

"Surfin' U.S.A."

Dire Straits - 13:00 EDT / 18:00 BST (London)

"Money for Nothing" (with Sting)

"Sultans of Swing"

George Thorogood and the Destroyers - 13:26 EDT / 18:26 BST (Philadelphia)

"Who Do You Love?" (with Bo Diddley)

"The Sky Is Crying"

"Madison Blues" (with Albert Collins)

Freddie Mercury and Brian May performing at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium.

Smile (13:41 EDT; 18:41 BST) would go on to mark one of the most iconic performances of Live Aid, first beginning with the ballad portion of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with the guitar solo transitioning towards "Radio Ga Ga". After a brief vocal improvisation between Freddie Mercury and the crowd, Smile played "Hammer to Fall", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Will Rock You" before concluding with "We Are the Champions".

Simple Minds - 14:05 EDT / 19:05 BST (Philadelphia)

"Ghost Dancing"

"Don't You (Forget About Me)"

"Promised You a Miracle"

David Bowie - 14:23 EDT / 19:23 BST (London)

"TVC 15"

"Rebel Rebel"

"Modern Love"

"Heroes"

Pretenders - 14:41 EDT / 19:41 BST (Philadelphia)

"Time the Avenger"

"Message of Love"

"Stop Your Sobbing"

"Back on the Chain Gang"

"Middle of the Road"

The Who - 14:59 EDT / 19:59 BST (London)

"My Generation"

"Pinball Wizard"

"Love, Reign o'er Me"

"Won't Get Fooled Again"

Santana with Pat Metheny - 15:21 EDT / 20:21 BST (Philadelphia)

"Brotherhood"

"Primera Invasion"

"Open Invitation"

"By the Pool"

"Right Now"

After The Who (with Phil Collins on drums) had finished up their set list, Bob Geldof walked on stage to introduce the next artist.

"This could be the most important performance of the entire concert, let alone the entirety of rock music history," he said. "So, please let me introduce to you, the act you've known for all these years..." He paused for dramatic effect; there was some scattered chuckling at the reference Geldof had just made, but they were drowned out by unstoppable clapping and screaming the moment he said their name...

"THE BEATLES!"

Paul McCartney performing with the Beatles at Live Aid at Wembley.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr walked onto the stage, clutching their guitars and (in Ringo's case) drumsticks, a sense of excitement and anxiety shared amongst them. Despite this sense of nervousness, at 15:25 Eastern Time, 20:25 British Summer Time, they kicked off their setlist with "Come Together", with the outro being accompanied by the guitar introduction to "Revolution", transitioning into "Back in the U.S.S.R.". The crowd was beside itself with excitement the whole time, which, to the Beatles, was a good sign that their performance was going well.

The next song of the Beatles' setlist was George's vocal spot "Something". Backstage, the Beatles' families were watching the performance on the television set. Olivia had the biggest smile out of the Beatles' wives; although the song had been written back when George was married to Pattie Boyd, it didn't make the song any less resonant to her.

Back on the stage, Paul had put down his bass guitar and sat at the piano to perform the next number. "This song's a little something that we played twenty years ago," he told the crowd as he played the first chords. "Since this little number came out, God knows how many people have performed it, and I think you can guess what it is by the first lyric... Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..."

For the rest of the song, the crowd sang along with Paul. They cheered again as "Yesterday" drew to a close, and John picked up the acoustic guitar to perform the next song.

"This little number is dedicated to all the people we've met over the years, including those who are no longer with us," he said. "I would also like to dedicate it to a few very special people, wherever you are and even if you're not watching..."

Aunt Mimi was at home watching Live Aid on television and smiled; even though John wasn't here with her right now, she knew exactly who he was referring to. As did Madeline, watching the performance with the rest of the Beatles' families as John sang "In My Life".

"In my life... I love you more..." As the song drew to a close, the crowd once again began cheering loudly as the number of donations to support Ethiopia began to triplicate.

"For those who've not done anything yet," called John, "let's come together and donate what we can to help all the people of Ethiopia in their fight against famine!"

"Just standing here and playing with the guys," added Paul, "it's an amazing feeling, especially in fighting a cause that we all wished did not exist."

"This is a big deal, what we're doing right now," said George. "The world's watching us and they need to contribute to Live Aid."

"Peace and love, wherever you are!" finished Ringo. "Come on, everybody! Let's bring the house down!"

That was when the Beatles began the last song in their set, "With a Little Help from My Friends". Once again, the crowd was singing along, even during the extended outro to the song that transitioned towards "The End".

"And in the end... the love you take... is equal to the love you make..."

If the crowd wasn't in a frenzy before, they certainly were now! All four Beatles walked to the front of the stage together, arm in arm, and bowed before the crowd before leaving the stage again, feeling a strong sense of satisfaction with their performance. Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, Ashford & Simpson (15:57 EDT; 20:57 BST) performed "Solid" and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", the latter of which was performed with Teddy Pendergrass.

Elton John performing at Live Aid at Wembley.

There was one hour left to go at Wembley, beginning with Elton John (16:00 EDT; 21:00 BST) whose setlist consisted of "I'm Still Standing", "Bennie and the Jets", "Rocket Man", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", the latter two of which were duets with Kiki Dee and Wham! (George Michael on lead vocals), respectively.[6] Back at Philadelphia, Madonna (16:27 EDT; 21:27 BST) performed "Holiday", "Into the Groove" and "Love Makes the World Go Round", the latter of which was with Thompson Twins and Nile Rodgers.

With just fifteen minutes left for the Wembley performance, Freddie Mercury and Brian May (16:48 EDT; 21:48 BST) returned to the stage to perform "Is This the World We Created...?".

"Thank you very much," said Freddie after the song came to an end. "And now a man with glasses will return to the stage, and I think you can tell who he is! Ah, there he is now!"

"Thank you, Freddie," said John Lennon as he walked onto the stage again and to the piano. "There's still time left to donate, so let's fight against poverty not just in Ethiopia, but in the entire world! Every action is needed so we can... Well, you know what this next number's about, don't you?"

And that was when John began to play "Imagine" before transitioning to "Give Peace a Chance", being backed by David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Alison Moyet and Roger Waters.[7] The Wembley Stadium portion of Live Aid came to a close with Band Aid singing "Do They Know It's Christmas?", a song composed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure telling listeners about the Ethiopia famine.

"Thank you, everybody!" called Bob as the performance came to an end. "That's the end of our show, you've been a fantastic audience! Thank you, and good night! Over to you, Philadelphia!"

July 13 and 14, 1985

John F. Kennedy Stadium - 17:00 to 23:00 EDT (22:00 to 4:00 BST)

Tom Petty performing with Mudcrutch at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

The remaining six hours of Live Aid at JFK Stadium began with Tom Petty and Mudcrutch (17:02 EDT; 22:02 BST) by performing "American Girl", "The Waiting", "Rebels" and "Refugee". They were followed up by Kenny Loggins (17:30 EDT; 22:30 BST) with "Footloose" and The Cars (17:39 EDT; 22:39 BST) with "You Might Think", "Drive", "Just What I Needed" and "Heartbeat City". The following two hours went as follows:

Neil Young - 18:06 EDT / 23:06 BST

"Sugar Mountain"

"The Needle and the Damage Done"

"Helpless"

"Nothing Is Perfect (In God's Perfect Plan)"

"Powderfinger"

The Power Station - 18:42 EDT / 23:42 BST

"Murderess"

"Get It On"

Thompson Twins - 19:21 EDT / 0:21 BST

"Hold Me Now"

"Revolution" (with Madonna, Steve Stevens and Nile Rodgers)

Eric Clapton - 19:38 EDT / 0:38 BST

"White Room"

"She's Waiting"

"Layla"

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page playing with the Yardbirds at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

Badfinger (20:00 EDT; 1:00 BST) made a surprise appearance at Live Aid; Mike Gibbins and Pete Ham had lived in America over the past decade, and the latter called up Tom Evans and Joey Molland about a one-off reunion for Live Aid, to which he found surprising agreement from both of them as well as Mike Gibbins, who had also played with Crosby, Stills and Nash and Eric Clapton. Badfinger performed "No Matter What" and "Without You" for their brief appearance at Live Aid[8]. Although it was intended to be a one-off reunion, Badfinger would perform for other charity concerts until Gibbins' death in 2005, their last performance being at Live 8 that same year.

Shortly following Badfinger was the Yardbirds (20:10 EDT; 1:10 BST) performing "Rock and Roll", "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway to Heaven"[9]. Marvin Gaye (20:39 EDT; 1:39 BST) came next with "What's Going On" and his newest hit, "Dodging a Silver Bullet"[10].

Duran Duran - 20:46 EDT / 1:46 BST

"A View to a Kill"

"Union of the Snake"

"Save a Prayer"

"The Reflex"

Patti LaBelle - 21:20 EDT / 2:20 BST

"New Attitude"

"Imagine"

"Forever Young"

"Stir It Up"

"Over the Rainbow"

"Why Can't I Get It Over"

Hall & Oates - 21:50 EDT / 2:50 BST

"Out of Touch"

"Maneater"

"Get Ready" (with Eddie Kendricks)

"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (with David Ruffin)

"The Way You Do the Things You Do"

"My Girl" (with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin)

Ronnie Wood, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards performing at Live Aid at John F. Kennedy Stadium.

For the final hour of Live Aid, Mick Jagger (22:15 EDT; 3:15 BST) performed "Lonely at the Top", "Just Another Night", "Miss You", "State of Shock" and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)", the latter two of which were with Tina Turner. Fellow Rolling Stone members Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood played with Bob Dylan (22:39 EDT; 3:39 BST) for "Ballad of Hollis Brown", "When the Ship Comes In" and "Blowin' in the Wind". Live Aid concluded with USA for Africa performing "We Are the World".

Outside of JFK and Wembley Stadiums, various other countries were pitching in to help the cause, such as Australia (Oz for Africa), Japan (Off Course, Eikichi Yazawa, Motoharu Sano and Meiko Nakahara), the Netherlands (B.B. King) and West Germany (Band für Afrika), with Cliff Richard even making a performance in the United Kingdom with "A World of Difference". Deep Purple was originally going to perform via satellite from Switzerland, but they pulled out as Ritchie Blackmore wanted nothing to do with the performance.

END OF PHASE THREE

Footnotes

1. Adam Ant played "Vive Le Rock". He later criticized Live Aid and regretted performing it. "It was the end of rock 'n' roll," he commented. In addition, as Rick Allen didn't lose his arm in his car accident in TTL, Def Leppard is able to perform, accepting Bob Geldof's invitation, which also happened in OTL, but they declined as they were waiting for Allen to recover.
2. The Hooters played "And We Danced" and "All You Zombies". In addition, Bruce Springsteen had declined to take part in Live Aid despite his popularity at the time, although he would come to regret this decision.
3. Bryan Ferry played "Sensation", "Boys and Girls", "Slave to Love" and "Jealous Guy" with David Gilmour on guitar. Pink Floyd's setlist is the exact same as that from when they performed at Live 8 in 2008.
4. Roger Waters' quote at Live 8 taken verbatim.
5. A one-off reunion with Dennis Wilson, who is still living by 1985.
6. Elton John's final song in his setlist was a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness".
7. Paul McCartney played "Let It Be". In addition, Pete Townshend played alongside David Bowie, Bob Geldof and Alison Moyet for the performance.
8. Phil Collins played "Against All Odds" and "In the Air Tonight" after flying out to Philadelphia to play a short solo set there, having also played alongside Eric Clapton for his solo set.
9. Phil Collins played drums for Led Zeppelin shortly after playing his solo set in Philadelphia.
10. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young played "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom".

Author's Comments

And so concludes Phase Three of Strawberry Peppers, as well as the first draft altogether! After a period of over thirty months and eighty chapters, I never imagined I'd get this done, as writer's block and unintentional abandonment are very much the bane of every alternate universe writer, I'd imagine. Still, hopefully I managed to do this finale justice and ended things on a strong note. I did have to gloss over some performances by listing who performed what, sticking mostly to what happened in OTL, with changes made to accommodate the butterflies that have occurred in the past twenty years. The Beatles' performance, of course, was the piece de resistance, hence it has the most focus out of the performances listed.

The first draft may be over, but there's still a few more posts to go, beginning with a standalone post showing my own version of Let It Be that'll come out this Friday. After that will be a new 1985 album for the Clash as part of an Extra Scene (remember those?) along with an information post about the DC Appleverse. Following that will be part four of An Alternative Beatles Discography - No Covers, focusing on the 1984-2009 period, and then what I have in mind for The Second Coming. Make sure to keep an eye out for those!

Chapter 64: Love Will Tear Us Apart (May - November 1980)

23 May 1980

The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue

Released: 23 May 1980

Recorded: 22 January - 19 October 1979

Producer: The Glimmer Twins

Track listing[1]

Side A

Dance (Part 1)

Summer Romance

Send It to Me

Little T&A

Indian Girl

Side B

Where the Boys Go

F.U.C. Her

Emotional Rescue

No Use in Crying

All About You

Keith Richards had been exonerated from a drug charge in Toronto, Canada that could have landed him in prison for years. In between, the Rolling Stones had been able to complete Give Us Some Neck for a 1979 release, and they had just put out their first album for the 1980s. Reportedly, about twenty songs had been recorded for Emotional Rescue, but only ten were chosen for release, with the rest being left aside for next year. The album reached #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States, with the title track being released with "F.U.C. Her" on the same day as a single (#9 UK, #3 US). "All About You" / "Send It to Me" (#33 UK, #26 US) would later be released on 25 August that same year.

Later that September, former Rolling Stones member David Bowie would put out his second post-Stones album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), which also hit #1 in the United Kingdom and topped out at #5 in the United States. It would be three years before he would put out his next album.

July 11, 1980

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Thoroughfare Gap

Released: July 11, 1980

Recorded: June 1978 - February 1980

Producer: Crosby, Stills & Nash

Track listing[2]

Side A

Drive My Car (Needed to Ride)

Tomorrow is Another Day

Barrel of Pain (Half-Life)

Thoroughfare Gap

Out on the Island

Side B

Feel Your Love (Tears in the Light)

Love Has Come

Distances

Helicopter Song

Dear Mr. Fantasy

GRAHAM NASH: "We were all feeling like hell by the time we'd finally put out Thoroughfare Gap. Neil had left to pursue a full-time solo career, David was on the coke, and Stephen and I tried finishing up solo albums, but they went nowhere. The few songs that we did end up salvaging for CSN ended up on the album." (2016)

The title track to Crosby, Stills & Nash's first album without Neil Young since 1969 had originally been written back in 1972 for the first Manassas album, but after several attempts at recording it, the effort was abandoned as they couldn't get the right take. Six years later, it had been brought back and re-recorded for the first CSN album of the 1980s. Originally intended for a Christmas 1978 release, Thoroughfare Gap was consistently delayed until July 1980, having been recorded sporadically between June 1978 and February 1980.

A big factor in the album's delay was David Crosby himself, who was constantly under the influence of cocaine and barely contributing any songwriting material himself. This would result in a near-death experience before he ended up in prison and rehab years later. By the time Thoroughfare Gap was released, the music scene had changed a lot, especially in the UK, where the album and its three singles got lost in the shuffle in the midst of new wave and punk groups. The 80s were going to be a long decade for Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Summary of Crosby, Stills & Nash releases, 1980

• "Thoroughfare Gap" / "Distances" - May 22, 1980 (#15 US, #57 UK)
• Thoroughfare Gap - July 11, 1980 (#10 US, #44 UK)
• "Out of the Island" / "Feel Your Love (Tears in the Light)" - July 14, 1980 (#22 US, #89 UK)
• "Drive My Car (Needed to Ride)" / "Helicopter Song" - October 20, 1980 (#47 US)

18 August 1980

Yes - Song of Seven

Released: 18 August 1980

Recorded: November 1979, April - June 1980

Producer: Yes and Trevor Horn

Track listing[3]

Side A

Everybody's Song

Some Are Born

I Hear You Now

Countryside

Machine Messiah

Side B

Days

Into the Lens

High

White Car

Song of Seven

In 1977, Yes had put out Going for the One which had received a mostly positive reception from critics, citing it as a return to more accessible music, even reaching #1 in the United Kingdom for two weeks. However, the follow-up album from 1978, Tormato, was not as well-received despite hitting the Top 10 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite intending to put out the album in two parts, it was released as a single album instead. Yes would go on tour lasting all the way up to June 1979, and afterward, the band would take a short hiatus.

JON ANDERSON: "In between the last show of the tour and reconvening that November to start work on the follow-up in Paris, I recorded a few improvised songs with Vangelis. It was all very spontaneous and we had a lot of fun with them, and I thought about asking him to be part of Yes. We didn't release them due to being on different labels at the time, but I kept them on the back of my mind when we reconvened in November." (2004)

Despite bringing in Roy Thomas Baker as their producer, conflict among the members of Yes were taking place; Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe all wanted a heavier sound, while Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman wanted a lighter, folk-oriented sound. Enough songs for an album were recorded, but nobody could agree on what to do with them, and the sessions came to an abrupt halt after White broke his foot while roller-skating. Tensions were so great that Wakeman ended up leaving the group altogether, and he almost took Anderson with him. What was Yes going to do?

STEVE HOWE: "Rick just went said to me, Chris and Alan that he wasn't taking our crap anymore, and he just up and left us. Jon almost wanted to leave as well, but he was conflicted. He went to live with Vangelis for a few days, told him about what was going on, and even invited him to a session. We regrouped without Rick but with Vangelis, and we came up with an agreement to make an album of contrasts. But we needed a producer after Roy left the project." (1997)

Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn, the Buggles, 1979.

CHRIS SQUIRE: "At the time, we were being managed by Brian Lane, who was also manager for the Buggles, who were signed onto Swan Song Records. He presented to us with their new hit single, 'Video Killed the Radio Star', and we were pretty blown away by it. Trevor Horn's voice almost reminded us of Jon in a way. We invited Trevor to the sessions, and presented some ideas we add for the follow-up to Tormato." (2000)

The Buggles were a new wave consisting of Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn, formed in 1977 and joined Swan Song Records in 1978. They were enjoying commercial success from their debut album The Age of Plastic, backed with its lead single "Video Killed the Radio Star". After several meetings with Brian Lane, manager for both the Buggles and Yes, the latter band was able to transfer from Atlantic Records and onto Swan Song Records. It was the beginning of a new era for Yes, now with Vangelis on keyboards and Trevor Horn as co-vocalist.

ALAN WHITE: "It really felt like we had been through a rebirth after those Paris sessions; having Trevor and Vangelis on board certainly kept conflict to a minimum. At first, we didn't know what to call the album, but then Jon came up with a track that served not only as the title for the album, but also the finale for the album." (2005)

Song of Seven marked the first album by Yes released under Swan Song Records, comprised of the best tracks not only from the initial Paris sessions, but also new tracks with Trevor Horn as co-producer, as well as a reworking of one of the tracks Jon Anderson and Vangelis recorded together, "I Hear You Now" (#5 UK, #43 US), which was a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. The album briefly hit #1 for a week in the United Kingdom, and topped out at #14 in the United States to generally positive reception.

7 November 1980

The Clash - Something About England

Released: 7 November 1980

Recorded: February - August 1980

Producer: Mikey Dread and The Clash

Track listing[4]

Side A

Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)

Version City

Look Here

The Crooked Beat

Ivan Meets G.I. Joe

One More Time

Something About England

Side B

Corner Soul

Junco Partner

If Music Could Talk

The Sound of Sinners

Midnight Log

The Equalizer

The Street Parade

By the end of the 1970s, The Clash were one of Apple's biggest punk rock acts, having achieved success with their eponymous debut album from 1977, followed by Give 'Em Enough Rope and London Calling, the latter of which was regarded as their greatest album, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. So where were they going to go from there? After all, London Calling was a double album, so surely they would try and top that with a triple album, right?

JOE STRUMMER: "We decided upon a triple album at first, having recorded a shit-ton of music. But going through the material with Mikey [Dread, co-producer], we realized that we might have gone overboard with it." (1995)

MICK JONES: "I dunno whose idea it was, but we ended up deciding to spread the material we'd recorded over two albums to make it more digestible to the public. That meant some tracks ended up on the cutting room floor, probably rusting away in some tin in the vaults at Apple, but hey - somehow, it worked out for us and the public." (2007)

Something About England (#8 UK, #13 US), the Clash's fourth album, covered a wide variety of musical styles such reggae, rockabilly, jazz, R&B, and what would later be called hip-hop. The album was initially met with some confusion among critics and fans, but it did go on to win some polls in 1981. It was backed with the non-album single "Hitsville UK"/"Kingston Advice" (#22 UK, #19 US) on 12 December, the A-side featuring Ellen Foley on co-lead vocals. But what about the material that had been left to the side? It would be six months before it was released as Sandinista!, featuring the less experimental music from the sessions, though it would still be regarded as the sister album to Something About England.

Footnotes

1. All tracks are sourced from OTL's Emotional Rescue, excluding "Little T&A" and "No Use in Crying" from Tattoo You and "F.U.C. Her" from Ronnie Wood's Gimme Some Neck.
2. Tracks are sourced from disc four of the CSN box set, Daylight Again, Stephen Stills' Thoroughfare Gap, Graham Nash's Earth & Sky and David Crosby's Oh Yes I Can.
3. Tracks are sourced from Jon Anderson's Song of Seven, Jon and Vangelis' Short Stories, Drama and bonus tracks from Tormato. "Everybody's Song" was later reworked into "Does It Really Happen?" for Drama, "Countryside" into "Corkscrew" for Steve Howe's 1991 solo album Turbulence, and "High" to become "Sketches in the Sun" for GTR's debut album, featuring Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Howe (Yes, Asia). "Some Are Born" and "Days" were auditioned by Yes, but later re-worked by Anderson for Song of Seven.
4. All tracks are sourced from Sandinista!. The tracks included feature various members that the Clash worked with on the OTL album such as Mikey Dread, Gary Barnacle and his father Bill (real name Arthur), Tymon Dogg, Davey Payne, Rick Gascoigne, Bill Barnacle and Lew Lewis.

Author's Comments

Not much to say about the Rolling Stones or Crosby, Stills & Nash; we're not going to be seeing much of them for the remainder of Phase Three, though I will say that the Stones could either have an improved 80s for them, or they take a hiatus during that decade. Yes, on the other hand, was more difficult to figure out, especially with keeping Jon Anderson from leaving to pursue a solo career. What I've came up with was probably not my best work, but hopefully it came out okay.

I wasn't originally going to make Something About England, but after reading a bit about Sandinista!, I thought, what if the Clash had put out two single albums instead of a triple album? How I arranged the two albums (the other will come out next year) was by focusing on those that featured the likes of Mikey Dread and Tymon Dogg, some of which overlap on some songs, and then go from there. Here's a list as to who appeared on which tracks:

1. Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice) - Tymon Dogg
2. Version City - Lew Lewis
3. Look Here - Lewis, Mikey Dread
4. The Crooked Beat - Davey Payne, Gary Barnacle, Dread
5. Ivan Meets G.I. Joe - Payne, Rick Gascoigne, G. Barnacle, Bill Barnacle
6. One More Time - Dread
7. Something About England - Dogg, Payne, Gascoigne, G. Barnacle, B. Barnacle
8. Corner Soul - Lewis
9. Junco Partner - Dogg, Lewis
10. If Music Could Talk - Payne
11. The Sound of Sinners - Dogg
12. Midnight Log - Lewis
13. The Equalizer - Dogg, Lewis
14. The Street Parade - Gascoigne, G. Barnacle, B. Barnacle

There was also "Lose This Skin" that featured Dogg, Payne, Gascoigne and the Barnacles, but I left it off because it featured Tymon Dogg on lead vocals, which automatically disqualified it in my books. I also excluded any dub versions of songs ("One More Dub", all of side six barring "Version City") to avoid repetition, as well as "Mensforth Hill" ("Something About England" but backwards and with overdubs), which narrowed the song list down to just twenty-eight. Fourteen ended up on Something About England, along with "Hitsville UK" and "Kingston Advice" being released as a non-album single. That means the remaining twelve songs will end up on the revised Sandinista!, so nothing ends up being lost. (Except maybe "Lose This Skin", but that could probably work better as a Tymon Dogg single featuring the Clash.) This overall little experiment was partially inspired from Uncle Dan's attempt at splitting up Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion albums into three single albums. How would you have handled Sandinista! if you were to cut it down into a single album or two? Your results may vary, I imagine!

Chapter 61: Heart of Glass (October 1978 - June 1979)

Warning: The following chapter contains content which may be inappropriate for those who are sensitive to subjects such as murder and violence. Reader discretion is advised. Also, in light of recent racial unrest in America, I believe that what you're about to read about in this chapter is relevant to the real world of today. Black Lives Matter.

October 12, 1978

Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, 1978.

At Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York, there was a lot of activity going on. The most recent patient to turn up was a woman with frizzy blond hair, no older than the age of twenty. Her case? A single stab wound to the abdomen to which she narrowly survived. The woman's boyfriend, about a year older than she was, had awoken from a drugged stupor and was suspected to have attempted to murder her. Despite owning the knife that was used in the attack, the man had denied trying to kill her, but he did state that he didn't remember what had happened next. As the woman had survived, her boyfriend was not arrested, nor was he charged for the attempted murder. But there were still a lot of unsolved questions.

If he didn't try to kill his girlfriend, then who did? What was their motivation? What connections did they have with the couple? Those questions were just the tip of the iceberg, and an investigation would take place concerning the actions of the man who called himself Sid Vicious, as well as his girlfriend, "Nauseating" Nancy Spungen.

Nobody knows what was going on in Nancy's mind after she had been admitted to the hospital. The oldest of three children under a middle-class Jewish family living in Philadelphia, ever since she was a baby, Nancy was known for being a problematic child, often exhibiting violent, anti-social behavior, and at the age of fifteen, she had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Two years later, she moved to New York City to work as a stripper and prostitute, and then in 1977, she met John Simon Ritchie, who preferred going by Sid Vicious, during a Sex Pistols show and they began relationship. They moved back to New York together, and their relationship could be best described as tumultuous.

And now, here Nancy was in hospital, having nearly died when a knife went through her abdomen. A couple of nights after she was admitted, although it couldn't be proven or disproven, one of the hospital staff (who had long since asked to remain anonymous) could swear that they heard these words coming from Miss Spungen: "The fucking asshole tried to murder me."

November 14, 1978

Diana Ross, 1978.

October had been a busy month for Diana Ross. For a whole week - the fifth through the eleventh - she had taken up performance residence at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and The Wiz had just been released in theaters and was trashed by critics.[1] Soon, she would be back in the recording studio for another album and then a series of concerts afterward. But alas, fate often seemed to have other plans in store...

At the time, Diana Ross lived at the Beresford, a pre-war apartment building at 211 Central Park West in New York City, between 81st and 82nd Streets. It was a cool November evening, and she was about to head inside when it happened.

Nobody could really explain how it happened, but one minute, Diana Ross was about to talk up to the front of the Beresford, and the next, a young man and woman both in their early twenties leaped out of nowhere and began attacking her, one of them was holding a knife. One of the doormen on duty quickly rushed inside and reported the attack to the staff of the Beresford, who then quickly phoned the police.

But it was already too late to help Diana Ross out. There were many stab wounds all across her body, and she had quickly lost blood. By the time the police had arrived at the scene of the crime, the attackers were both also deceased. The young man had a stab wound near his neck, and blood was dripping out like a fountain from his mouth. The other woman seemed to have been the last to die; there was a deep gash in her neck, and the knife she was holding lay right beside her. The police had come to the conclusion that the attack was a murder-suicide.

JOHN LENNON: "Maddy, Freddie and I were home at the Dakota when he heard the news of the murder. When we heard that it had been Diana Ross of the Supremes, I felt sick to my stomach. In the mid-60s, they had rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and the fact that someone as twisted as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen would kill Diana just like that... it-it made me angry, but I didn't show it. I called up Paul, George and Ringo about the attack, and they too were shocked at what had happened." (1997)

The Supremes, 1968. From left to right: Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Cindy Birdsong.

The murder of Diana Ross had sent shockwaves across the world. Sales for the Supremes' music, even after Ross' departure in 1970 to pursue a solo career, skyrocketed, and The Wiz had suddenly gained positive reviews, with many of them praising Ross' performance as Dorothy Gale. Her co-stars from the film such as Mabel King (Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West) and Richard Pryor (Herman Smith/The Wiz) and former members of the Supremes like Mary Wilson and Betty McGlown delivered short statements dedicated to her.

MICHAEL JACKSON: "When I heard about what had happened to Diana, I locked myself in the bathroom and cried. She was a good friend to me and my siblings, and the fact that someone could be so twisted as to murdering her for no reason... it made me want to throw up. I couldn't speak to anyone for days after that, and I had to go through a lot of therapy in the wake of her death. Not just with therapists, but with many people at Apple." (2011)

As one of the people most affected by the murder of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson would later dedicate his first post-Motown album on Apple Records, Off the Wall, in her memory. Back at Motown, they would put out Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz the following year, as had been the intention following the release of the film's original soundtrack.[2] Plans were nearly cancelled due to the then-negative critical response, but they were quickly reinstated upon her death. In the past few months since the attack, there was still a big question on everyone's mind.

Why would Sid and Nancy want to go after a big name like Diana Ross?

Well, upon further investigation, a journal was discovered belonging to Nancy Spungen, and what was revealed exposed some extremely disturbing thoughts - I shan't repeat them verbatim for your sake, but the short version is that Nancy was plotting for her and Sid to go after someone famous living in New York and after murdering them, they would kill themselves to avoid arrest. What Nancy never did tell Sid, however, was that she would kill him herself, thinking that he tried to murder her that October and wanted to take revenge on him and then kill herself. They had considered killing Cher of Sonny & Cher, who was just about to start a solo career of her own on Casablanca Records, but they opted for Diana Ross instead, as they felt she was the nearest convenient target. (It seemed strange to many that John Lennon was living in New York at the time, and yet Sid and Nancy never thought about attacking himself instead; then again, it's hard to tell what goes on in an insane person's mind.)

Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, 1973.

When Glenn Danzig of the American horror punk band Misfits heard the story, he wrote a song in the perspective of Nancy Spungen, her near-death, the killing of Diana Ross and the murder of her boyfriend Sid before finally killing herself. Titled "Horror Business", it was released as a single on June 26, 1979 but did not chart. Many people in the black community were enraged by the murder of Ross, and this would soon lead to a social movement called Black Lives Matter, advocating against racial discrimination.[3]

Among the many supporters of the movement would include John Lennon and his wife Madeline Kahn, the remaining three Beatles and their families (and John's as well), Freddie Mercury, Brian May, David Bowie, Eric Clapton (in repentance for his racist remarks on stage in 1976), Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye. After narrowly surviving getting shot at by his father in the midst of a physical altercation in 1984, Gaye was inspired to write the 1985 hit song "Dodging a Silver Bullet" not only about his personal experience and Diana Ross' death, but about how black people have been mistreated for the color of their skin.[4] This would later go on to become the official anthem for Black Lives Matter and hit #1 for several weeks in the United States, being regarded as one of the greatest ever protest songs.

John Lydon - stage name Johnny Rotten - was a friend of Sid Vicious and was disgusted by his actions. By the start of 1979, he had become isolated from the rest of the Sex Pistols and even refused to pick up a microphone, let alone perform live. Despite the assurance from many at Apple that he was not to blame for what Sid and Nancy had done, Lydon ultimately chose to retire from the music scene altogether, marrying German publishing heiress Nora Forster and becoming the step father to Ariane Forster, better known by her stage name Ari Up for her post-punk band, the Slits. As a result of Lydon retiring from the music business, the Sex Pistols had broken up by mid-1979, leaving many wondering what could have happened had Lydon not chose to retire early.

December 15, 1978

Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps

Released: December 15, 1978

Recorded: 1978

Producer: Neil Young, David Briggs and Tim Mulligan

Track listing[5]

Side A

My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)
Thrasher
Cryin' Eyes
The Ways of Love
Sail Away

Side B

Shots
Welfare Mothers
Sedan Delivery
Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

Neil Young had gone on a lengthy tour, dubbed "Rust Never Sleeps", in which he would perform a wealth of new material in two sets; one being a solo acoustic set, and the other being an electric set with Crazy Horse, no doubt it was influenced by the punk rock zeitgeist at the time. In turn, this would later influence many grunge artists in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The studio album based upon the tour, Rust Never Sleeps (#13 UK, #8 US), would come out in mid-December for the Christmas rush, with the sole single "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" / "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" (#79 US) being released in February 1979.

Rust Never Sleeps would mark Neil Young's final album of the 1970s, as shortly after its release, he announced that he would be taking a hiatus from recording new music to look after his newborn son Ben, born November 28, 1978. Ben was born with cerebral palsy, which would affect his physicality and speech as he grew older. Because of these medical concerns relating to Ben, it would be a while yet before the music world would hear from Neil again.[6]

4 May 1979

David Bowie - Despite Straight Lines

Released: 4 May 1979

Recorded: September 1978, March 1979

Producer: David Bowie and Tony Visconti

Track listing[7]

Side A

Warszawa
Beauty and the Beast
Joe the Lion
Sons of the Silent Age

Side B

Fantastic Voyage
Moss Garden
Neuköln
The Secret Life of Arabia

Side C

DJ
Move On
Yassassin
Red Sails

Side D

African Night Flight
Look Back in Anger
Boys Keep Swinging
Repetition
Red Money

After completing Wish You Were Here, the swan song of Hunky Dory, David Bowie quickly returned to the studio with Tony Visconti to record the songs he had written in Berlin but did not make it on any of the Hunky Dory albums, as well as some new material. The result of his first post-Rolling Stones solo album was Despite Straight Lines (#4 UK, #20 US), sometimes better known as "the Berlin Album". The subtitle also referred to the fact that the flag of Germany was painted on Bowie's face for the cover.

Bowie would spend most of 1979 on his Straight Lines Tour[8], bringing the music of the Berlin Album to about a million people in countries such as the United States, Austria, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand and Japan. Every now and again, he would inject songs he wrote for the Rolling Stones and Hunky Dory into his performances such as "'Heroes'", "Suffragette City" and "Rebel Rebel". By now, Bowie had broken free from his drug addiction and his mental condition was healthy enough for him to make friends. Recordings from the tour would result in the live album Stage, later released in 1979.

Thirty-four years later, Bowie would reuse the cover to Despite Straight Lines for his comeback album The Next Day.

18 May 1979

The Yardbirds - In Through the Out Door

Released: 18 May 1979

Recorded: November - December 1978

Producer: Jimmy Page

Track listing[9]

Side A

In the Evening
South Bound Suarez
Wearing and Tearing
Hot Dog

Side B

Ozone Baby
Darlene
All My Love
I'm Gonna Crawl

JOHN BONHAM: "Things were pretty shitty for all of us after Rob had his car accident in Greece. Achilles' Last Stand sold well, but we didn't go on tour cause Rob was still recuperating. Then shortly after Swan Song Records got sort of taken over by Apple, Peter [Grant] wanted us to go on tour in North America, but none of us were in the right state, mentally and/or physically. Peter Brown and Brian Epstein both talked him out of it, feeling that if we did end up touring for '77, our problems would only get worse. Thank goodness that many of us at Apple, Highway 61 or Swan Song are like one extended family." (1997)

The cancellation of the Yardbirds' 1977 North American tour had positive repercussions for the band members. Robert Plant was able to spend far more time with his family than he would've been able to less than a decade ago, even helping out his son Karac when he was infected by a stomach virus. Karac narrowly survived in hospital, and feeling grateful that his son was still alive, the elder Plant wrote "All My Love", inspired by his relationship with Karac.[10]

Meanwhile, Jimmy Page and John Bonham had entered rehab. The band's guitarist and drummer, respectively, had been dealing with drug and alcohol-related problems for quite some time, and so it was advised that they seek help before they reached the point of no return. At first, both men were reluctant, but by the time the Yardbirds had reunited to rehearse some new material for their next album, Keith Moon had died from Heminevrin overdose, which had sent chills through Page and Bonham's bodies.

JIMMY PAGE: "Rehab turned out to be a good thing for both me and Bonzo. Had Swan Song Records not been bought out by Apple, and if the folks there weren't so understanding, I dread to think what could have happened." (2009)

The Yardbirds, 1979.

With sober minds, the Yardbirds had arrived at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden to record their first album under Apple. Bassist John Paul Jones and Plant had a great influence over the sound for what would become In Through the Out Door, but with Page and Bonham contributing ideas of their own, the album would contain a mix of their hard rock roots as well as some artsy influence. "We were no longer two distinct camps," Jones later recalled. "We were now one whole unit."

In Through the Out Door would soon hit #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom despite the extended absence from the spotlight and divisive reception among critics upon release. Three months after the album's release, the Yardbirds would begin their tour in North America and Europe in support of both Achilles' Last Stand and In Through the Out Door with two concerts at the Knebworth Festival. (This excluded two warm-up shows at Falkoner Theatre in Copenhaen, Denmark in July.) The tour for both albums would continue into 1980.

ROBERT PLANT: "Going on that tour for both Achilles and Out Door was a whole lot of fun for everyone involved, but goddamn, was it tiring by the time it ended. We all felt five years younger, and the rust had just shaken off of us by the time the 70s came to a close. I dunno how long this will last; we're not young boys anymore. It all depends on how seriously Jimmy and Bonzo take their sobriety." (1981)

15 June 1979

Kim Beacon - Ravenna

Released: 15 June 1979

Recorded: January - March 1979

Producer: Kim Beacon and David Hentschel

Track listing[11]

Side A

My Blues Have Gone (It's a Miracle)
Baltimore
Vancouver
Ooh Child
Imagine

Side B

Ballad of Big
It Takes Time to Find Love
Ravenna
Lonely

Kim Beacon was the first member out of the current Genesis lineup to release a solo album under Swan Song Records. He had initially been uncertain about his own skills as a drummer (Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford believed that he was simply too modest about that), but when it came to recording for Ravenna, Beacon decided to try and put his drumming skills to the test. He had considered asking Phil Collins to play drums on some tracks, but given the latter's duties with the Who, Beacon ended up playing all the drums himself. Among the first tracks recorded with him on drums were "My Blues Have Gone", "Lonely" and a cover version of "Imagine".

Ravenna was released on 15 June 1979 (#5 UK, #14 US) and received positive reviews from critics, citing the album as a strong start to a solo career of Genesis' new front man. The first single released alongside the album was "My Blues Have Gone"/"Ballad of Big" (#8 UK, #7 US), the B-side of which was co-written with Banks, Rutherford and Collins during the sessions for And Then There Were Four. The next subsequent singles - "Vancouver"/"Ravenna" (September; #19 UK, #15 US) and "Imagine"/"It Takes Time to Find Love" (January 1980; #11 UK, #10 US) - were also Top 20 hits, with John Lennon praising Beacon's take on "Imagine".

Later that same year, Tony Banks released his first solo album A Curious Feeling on 8 October (#8 UK, #97 US) featuring Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann's Earth Band on lead vocals. On 15 February 1980, Mike Rutherford would come out with Smallcreep's Day (#6 UK, #73 US) which featured former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips on keyboards. Together with Ravenna, they showcased some promise for side careers for the members of Genesis, proving that there was more talent than just Kim Beacon. When Genesis reunited at the end of the 70s to record one of their greatest musical achievements, Chester Thompson had been invited by Beacon to be their touring drummer to which he accepted, staying with the group until 1992.

Footnotes

1. Coincidentally, the day before Nancy Spungen died, Diana Ross performed her last of seven concerts at Radio City Music Hall in New York (October 5-11, 1978). In OTL, her next performance would not be until April 7, 1979 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, less than two months before the release of The Boss.
2. Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz would not be released until 2015.
3. Black Lives Matter was formed in July 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi (none of whom were born in 1978) following the shooting of Trayvon Martin in February 2012 and the acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing him. The movement returned to national headlines following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, and peaceful protests are ongoing as of October 2020.
4. "Dodging a Silver Bullet" has no OTL basis. I envision that the song would've been released in early 1985 and have a dance-rock sound with some soul and funk influence.
5. All tracks are sourced from Rust Never Sleeps, excluding "Cryin' Eyes" from Life, "The Ways of Love" from Freedom, and "Shots" from Re-ac-tor. The aforementioned three tracks were written in the late 1970s, but were later put out on their respective albums throughout the 1980s.
6. In OTL, when Neil Young was signed with Geffen Records, he constantly fought with the label and released uncommercial music throughout the 1980s. For TTL, he won't release as many albums as he did, preferring instead to focus on caring for little Ben.
7. Tracks are sourced from Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, collectively known as David Bowie's Berlin trilogy. Despite Straight Lines was also a working title for Lodger.
8. OTL's Isolar II world tour from 1978.
9. All tracks are sourced from OTL's In Through the Out Door excluding "Wearing and Tearing", "Ozone Baby" and "Darlene", all sourced from Coda. The aforementioned three tracks were recorded in 1978 during the same sessions but were left off the final album in favor of "Fool in the Rain" and "Carouselambra". In addition, TTL's "All My Love" is much happier in tone due to Karac Plant surviving his stomach virus in 1977.
10. In OTL, because Led Zeppelin was touring in North America, Robert Plant was unable to see Karac prior to the latter's death. This resulted in the tour being cut short, and the elder Plant retreating to his home, questioning his future.
11. All tracks are sourced from OTL's Ravenna excluding "Vancouver", originally part of a double B-side to "Many Too Many", and "Ballad of Big", originally from And Then There Were Three. In addition, "Vancouver" is a co-write between Kim Beacon and Mike Rutherford while "Ballad of Big" is credited to both Kim and Mike, as well as Tony Banks and Phil Collins.

Author's Comments

Wow, there was quite a lot to cover, wasn't there? Since John Lennon doesn't die in this timeline, someone else had to take his place, and that, sadly, went to Diana Ross of The Supremes. There are quite a lot of parallels between the pair; both were part of popular music groups during the 1960s, both had solo careers after leaving them in the 1970s, both were living in New York by the start of the 1980s, and both of them had their killers moving to New York around the late 1970s (Chapman in OTL, Vicious and Spungen in TTL). Not only that, I believe that no matter what timeline we're in, Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen were destined to die young. Same applies to the Sex Pistols not lasting up to 1980, let alone beyond. though it doesn't mean we can't try to imagine what they could have done had they stayed together!

Not much to talk about with Neil Young or David Bowie; the former will likely end up with two albums up to 1985, and the latter's solo career will continue more or less as it did in OTL, but maybe with a few changes here and there.

The Yardbirds will continue into the 1980s with John Bonham alive and (hopefully) sober, and I've already got ideas as to how their first two albums of that decade will go down, and hopefully their performance at Live Aid won't suck like it did in OTL. Like OTL, however, the members of Genesis will have solo careers alongside being part of a band, but they'll be far more successful this time around.

Chapter 58: Hotel California (February - September 1978)

February 10, 1978

Neil Young - Comes a Time

Released: February 10, 1978

Recorded: November 28, 1975 - November 21, 1977

Producer: Neil Young, David Briggs, Ben Keith and Tim Mulligan

Track listing[1]

Side A

Goin' Back
Comes a Time
Bite the Bullet
Lotta Love
Peace of Mind

Side B

Saddle Up the Palomino
Already One
Field of Opportunity
Motorcycle Mama
Four Strong Winds

Neil Young's latest album, Comes a Time (#42 UK, #7 US), was perhaps his most commercially accessible album in quite some time, marking a return to his folksy roots, including a cover of Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" (#57 UK, #61 US) that was released as a single. Comes a Time received mostly positive reviews upon release. Young's last album of the 1970s, Rust Never Sleeps, would come out later in the year, for he would soon go on a lengthy tour with Crazy Horse of the same name.

Meanwhile, under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey, Young would co-direct a comedy film with Dean Stockwell called Human Highway, named for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1975 masterpiece, spending $3 million of his own money on production, but it would not be released until 1982 to negative critical reaction. Also starring in the film were Stockwell, co-writer Russ Tamblyn, famed actor Dennis Hopper, and newly-signed Swan Song Records band Devo, who would put out their debut album on August 28.

31 March 1978

Genesis - And Then There Were Four

Released: 31 March 1978

Recorded: September - October 1977

Producer: David Hentschel and Genesis

Track listing[2]

Side A

Down and Out
Undertow
Minute By Minute
Snowbound
Burning Rope

Side B

Deep in the Motherlode
Many Too Many
Scenes from a Night's Dream
Say It's Alright Joe
The Lady Lies
Follow You Follow Me

The following is excerpted from Kim Beacon's 2006 autobiography, Spotting a Night Bird, published under Apple Books:

"It was about a few hours before an official recording session for And Then There Were Four, that Phil and I were in the studio, and I was messing around a bit on a drum kit. I had played drums in the past, but I never really thought I was that great a drummer. Heck, I'd even told Phil that he was better at it than I was, even though we had dual drum kits when we toured as Genesis during 1976 and 1977. Mainly, I did percussion work like bongos, timbales, tambourine, cymbals, that sort of thing.

'How about a drum duet?' he suggested. 'Nothing all that serious, you understand; just something for a little bit of fun in the studio.'

'Alright, Phil,' I said. 'I'm game.' It would be a while yet before Mike, Tony and David [Hentschel] would arrive, so I thought that a drum duet between me and Phil would be a nice time killer. Sadly, we never thought about recording it, because if we had, then I bet people would really understand the fun we had behind the scenes.

Mine and Phil's drum duet, what we humorously dubbed as 'Collin for a Beacon' (get it?), was kind of akin to what Ralph Humphrey and Chester Thompson did with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention for the live album Roxy and Elsewhere a few years prior. By the time the recording session began proper, Phil and I thought of switching things up a bit like myself playing drums on occasion - usually for one song at most - while Phil played on my set of percussion.

Phil Collins behind the drums, 1978.

The tour for And Then There Were Four, our first album as a quartet and with Daryl Stuermer as touring guitarist, began shortly before the album was released, lasting about eight months, and to say it was grueling would be a bit of an understatement. Especially for Phil. Of course, we did have breaks between legs, but I think he suffered more than the rest of us. His marriage with Andrea [Bertorelli] seemed to be faltering at the time, and he wasn't spending as much time as he wanted to with her or their baby son Simon.

It wasn't until after the final show of the tour in Osaka, Japan [3 December 1978] that Phil finally opened up to the rest of us.

'I'm sorry, guys,' he said, 'but my heart's just not into being part of Genesis anymore. I feel like I'm an absent father and I've recently offered my services as drummer to another band.'

Tony, Mike and I didn't know what to say at first, but after what felt like eternity, I walked over to Phil, my closest friend in the band, and hugged him. I'd noticed he'd been feeling distant for the past few weeks ago, especially when we began the North American leg at the end of September. It was a bit of a red flag in hindsight and we probably should've seen this coming. I was upset, mostly with myself for not noticing it sooner, but whatever Phil wanted to do, I was behind him all the way.

Eventually, Mike and Tony joined in the group hug as well. I can't remember how long it lasted, though there were tears in my eyes by the end of it. Some time afterward, Phil went to Vancouver to try and fix his marriage, though we still kept in close contact and even co-wrote a few songs that would later up either on Genesis albums or on solo projects either by me or by Phil. By the start of the new year, 1979, we soon discovered 'who' Phil was now the drummer for..."

Summary of Genesis releases, 1978

• "Follow You Follow Me" / "Minute By Minute" - 25 February 1978 (#2 UK, #10 US)
• And Then There Were Four - 31 March 1978 (#1 UK, #3 US)
• "Many Too Many" / "The Day the Light Went Out" - 30 June 1978 (#14 UK, #26 US)

May 2, 1978

Tom Petty & Mudcrutch - Terminal Romance

Released: May 2, 1978

Recorded: 1977-1978

Producer: Pete Ham and Tom Petty

Track listing[3]

Side A

When the Time Comes
You're Gonna Get It
Hurt
You Don't Care
Magnolia
I Don't Know What to Say to You
Too Much Ain't Enough

Side B

I Need to Know
Listen to Her Heart
Save Me
No Second Thoughts
Restless
Long Way from Home
Baby's a Rock 'n' Roller

The third album under Tom Petty & Mudcrutch, Terminal Romance, did better than their previous album, American Girl, commercially (#28 UK, #16 US), even reaching gold status (half a million units sold), although it was ranked a notch lower than the latter album. The album's two singles, "I Need to Know"/"No Second Thoughts" (#26 US) and "Listen to Her Heart"/"I Don't Know What to Say to You" (#33 US), were also Top 40 hits after being released in June and August, respectively.

18 August 1978

The Who - Who Are You

Released: 18 August 1978

Recorded: September 1977 - April 1978

Producer: Glyn Johns and Jon Astley

Track listing[4]

Side A

New Song
Had Enough
905
No Road Romance
Sister Disco
Music Must Change

Side B

Trick of the Light
Guitar and Pen
Say It Ain't So, Joe
Love is Coming Down
Who Are You

PETE TOWNSHEND: "Ever since this little battle of the bands with the Rolling Stones ended back in 1972, we were feeling kind of burned out, if Who by Numbers was any indication. The Tommy film did really well, as did the 1976 tour, but we needed a break." (1996)

The last few years were generally a mixed bag for the members of the Who. Pete Townshend stayed at home with his family, Roger Daltrey put out a solo album called One of the Boys, and John Entwistle was planning a science-fiction rock opera of his own; it would concern a man given the identity number 905 and living with another man named 503, and both were absolutely identical. No women existed in the future because that was what they were eating, but Entwistle eventually scrapped the project, deciding that the story seemed too similar to the 1973 dystopian thriller Soylent Green.

But what about the Who's very own Jekyll and Hyde, Keith Moon? To him, going on tour meant that he would be very physically active, but having not done so since 21 October 1976 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Moon was in a very unhealthy state, not helping that he had become obese. His drumming for a gig filmed on 15 December 1977 for a documentary was so lackluster that the footage remained in the vaults. To be fair to Moon, however, having not played as a group for over a year meant that the performance itself was weak overall.

The Who, 1978.

ROGER DALTREY: "Because of Keith's state, we agreed not to make any live performances for the immediate future. Pete had this idea for a sequel to Lifehouse and John had his Soylent Green-esque sci-fi story, but it was decided instead to make a standard album instead. The sessions were pretty hellish, not helping by the fact I had throat surgery. I think our personal lives may have affected our performance." (2006)

Tensions between the band and production grew had grown so intense that Townshend had planned to fire Moon unless he cleaned up his act. Taking this threat seriously, Moon attempted to kick his alcohol addiction and take his drumming skills with greater enthusiasm. Once recording for Who Are You had finally finished in April, the Who filmed another performance that May for the documentary, The Kids Are Alright. It was a much stronger performance overall than the one in December, and what made this performance stand out was that it was the last gig Keith Moon would perform with the Who.

Who Are You was a fast seller in both the United States (#2) and the United Kingdom (#6), although in the former country, it was left out of the top spot by the soundtrack to the movie Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The sole lead single, "Who Are You"/"Had Enough" (#18 UK, #14 US), was released on 14 July prior to the album.

7 September 1978

9 Curzon Square, formerly Curzon Place, 2012. Cass Elliot and Keith Moon died in apartment 12, a two-bedroom apartment, within four years of each other, both aged 32. Harry Nilsson also lived there before renting it out to Moon in 1978, thinking that the apartment was cursed.

KEITH MOON: "If you don't like it, you can fuck off!" (1978, his last words to girlfriend Annette Walter-Lax)

In mid-1978, Keith Moon had moved into Flat 12 at 9 Curzon Place, Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London, renting from Harry Nilsson. Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas had died there four years ago at the age of 32 from heart failure. Nilsson was concerned about letting Moon live there, believing it was cursed. Townshend dismissed Nilsson's concerns by saying "lightning wouldn't strike the same place twice."

How wrong he would be...

On 6 September, Moon and his girlfriend Annette Walter-Lax, a Swedish model, were at a preview of The Buddy Holly Story, and afterward dined with Paul and Linda McCartney, who had also seen the film, at Peppermint Park in Covent Garden. Upon heading home, Moon watched The Abominable Dr. Phibes and asked Walter-Lax to cook him steak and eggs, to which she objected too. He then took thrity-two clomethiazole tablets and when Walter-Lax checked on him the following afternoon, Moon was dead.

Keith Moon during his last tour as drummer for the Who, 1976.

Moon had been given a prescription of Heminevrin (clomethiazole, a sedative) to try and overcome his alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and because of his fear of psychiatric hospitals, Moon insisted on doing it at home. Physician Geoffrey Dymond, who was unaware of Moon's lifestyle, had prescribed a bottle of a hundred pills, instructing him to take only one pill when he felt a craving for alcohol, but no more than three pills per day. Six of the thirty-two pills Moon had taken were digested, and that was enough to end his life.

Pete Townshend was the first to be informed about Moon's death, and he soon let Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle (the latter of whom was being interviewed in France at the time) know about what had happened. Now that Keith Moon had died before he could get old, the three remaining members of the Who were left wondering, what next? Would they carry on despite losing their friend, or would they break up out of respect for his legacy?

PHIL COLLINS: "Shortly after Moonie's demise, I was working with Pete Townshend at Oceanic in Twickenham, helping on tracks for an artist from New York he was producing, Raphael Rudd, a brilliant pianist and harpist. At the time Pete was running around London clubs with New Romantic gadabout Steve Strange. He wasn't in great shape, partying all night and recovering all day. Pete was still sleeping when I arrived at the studio for the session. But once he was up I grabbed him: "Who's gonna play drums for The Who now? 'Cause I'd love to do it.' 'Oh damn, we haven't thought of that.' It was a serious offer, and I was a little surprised but also happy and nervous. This meant that I had to leave Genesis to join Pete, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle. This is The Who we're talking about, man! I grew up with that band. I just loved the energy and I know I could have done it and made it work. After Genesis finished the And Then There Were Four tour, I got to play with a set of childhood heroes full time. Meanwhile with Genesis, and now there were three." (A Stranger Like Me, 2011)[5]

Now that Genesis had been reduced to just Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Kim Beacon, the trio had planned on continuing despite Phil Collins' departure, with Beacon now taking the position as the band's drummer (as well as keyboards here and there). Beacon was initially nervous about becoming the new drummer for Genesis, but with encouragement from Banks and Rutherford as well as Collins' blessing, he gradually grew more comfortable with the position. Whenever the band would go on tour, Chester Thompson would be brought in to play the drums live. The now classic Genesis lineup was born.

Footnotes

1. All tracks are sourced from Comes a Time, excluding "Bite the Bullet" and "Saddle Up the Palomino", both from American Stars 'n Bars.
2. All tracks are sourced from ...And Then There Were Three..., excluding "Minute By Minute" which comes from Kim Beacon's Ravenna. In addition, Kim Beacon sings lead vocals on all of the tracks
3. Terminal Romance was the original title for You're Gonna Get It!. All tracks from said album are included. "I Don't Know What to Say to You" is sourced from Playback and "You Don't Care", "Save Me" and the 1977 re-recording of "Long Way from Home" are all from the bootleg Mudcrutch and Solo Petty Outtakes, being recorded during the sessions for You're Gonna Get It!.
4. All tracks are sourced from the 1996 remaster of Who Are You, excluding "Say It Ain't So, Joe", taken from Roger Daltrey's One of the Boys, which features Keith Moon on drums and John Entwistle on bass guitar. "Guitar and Pen" is the Olympic 1978 Mix and "Who Are You" is the Lost Verse Mix.
5. The first half is verbatim from Phil Collins' 2016 autobiography, Not Dead Yet: The Memoir. The second half was re-written to reflect the events of TTL. In addition, Collins and Pete Townshend had played together on other people's records prior to Keith Moon's death, so they knew each other prior to that event. The autobiography also mentions the death of John Bonham and the break-up of Led Zeppelin in OTL.

Author's Comments

Quite a bit to unpack on the Genesis side of things, isn't there? This time around, Phil Collins has left the group to play with the Who following Keith Moon's demise, and this time, he gets the gig. How will this change things up for the Who? Probably not much; Face Dances and It's Hard would likely be unchanged bar the covers with Phil in Kenney Jones' place, and their trajectory continues more or less like in OTL, barring John Entwistle surviving. I don't think any Genesis songs Phil wrote during 1979-1982 would've ended up on either of the 80s Who albums.

And for those who are curious, here's the rest of the actual Phil Collins quote from Not Dead Yet:

"Oh damn, we just asked Kenney Jones to do it". It was a serious offer, and I was a little disappointed. I'd have left Genesis to join Pete, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle. It's The Who, man! I grew up with that band. I just loved the energy and I know I could have done it and made it work. Denied the chance to play with one set of childhood heroes, here's Robert Plant offering me another".

You'll find out soon enough why I chose to leave off the bit regarding John Bonham's death.

Not much to say about Neil Young or Tom Petty; the former will have his personal life affected when Ben is born this November, while the latter carries on like normal, except he and his band don't go into the legal dispute with MCA Records like they did in OTL.

Thanks to danielmartin273 for helping in writing the Genesis/Who portion of this chapter out, mainly suggesting ideas on what should happen.