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 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.

Chapter 75: Total Eclipse of the Heart (August - December 1983)

7 August 1983

Black Sabbath - Born Again

Released: 7 August 1983

Recorded: May 1983

Producer: Black Sabbath and Robin Black

Track listing[1]

Side A

Stand Up and Shout

Holy Diver

Disturbing the Priest

Caught in the Middle

Don't Talk to Strangers

Side B

Born Again

Hot Line

Rainbow in the Dark

Zero the Hero

In the wake of Ozzy Osbourne's sudden death, there was a huge wave of nostalgia towards Black Sabbath. Osbourne's two solo albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman would go platinum, and the band, with Ronnie James Dio still on lead vocals, had grown closer than ever. A newly-sober Bill Ward had returned to the group after leaving in 1980 to deal with his alcoholism, and he was dead set in his sobriety following Osbourne's death.[2]

RONNIE JAMES DIO: "I came close to leaving Black Sabbath while we were mixing Live Evil. Vinny [Appice] had left the group, and I got into fights with Tony [Iommi] and Geezer [Butler] over their drug use. But then we heard about Ozzy's death, and Tony and Geezer stopped taking drugs and Bill came back to the group. There were far more important things than getting into fights over stupid shit. We had to pull our shit together." (2005)

With a newly stabilized Black Sabbath back in the recording studio, Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ward (as well as Geoff Nicholls) recorded their follow up to Mob Rules, and brought forth what many would consider some of their greatest music. Upon release, Born Again became a commercial success, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and peaking at #2 in the United States, and was dedicated to the memory of Ozzy Osbourne. Along with the success of "Holy Diver"/"Disturbing the Priest" (4 August - #30 UK, #14 US) and "Rainbow in the Dark"/"Born Again" (21 October - #25 UK), Born Again would eventually hit multi-platinum certification in both countries.

October 22, 1983

Jeff Goldblum in The Big Chill, 1983. That same year, he starred as the eponymous hero in Green Lantern.

The seventh entry in the DC Appleverse marked the introduction of Hal Jordan (a.k.a. Green Lantern), the fifth member of the Justice League. Jeff Goldblum (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Big Chill) appeared in the film as Hal Jordan himself, co-starring alongside Geena Davis as his girlfriend Carol Ferris, John de Lancie as mentor Sinestro, and Geoffrey Rush as the villain Hector Hammond; Paul Newman also appeared as Hal Jordan's father Martin for a few flashback sequences. Tom Mankiewicz once again took on directing duties, with Green Lantern being shot simultaneously with Superman III, hence both films shared sets and locations between them (a billboard advertising Ferris Aircraft appeared in Superman III), with some locations in New York doubling for California. In addition, visual effects for the Green Lantern's powers were done by Virgo-Libra Studios, Apple's animation branch.

Following the funeral of his father during a failed rescue mission, a young Hal Jordan becomes determined to honor his legacy in any way he can. Years later, Hal finds himself working for Ferris Aircraft in Coast City and becomes enamored with the co-founder's daughter Carol (who eventually takes over the company when her father is removed from power). One day, a ship crashes onto Earth near Coast City, and Hal encounters the dying pilot, an alien named Abin Sur who is a member of the Green Lantern Corps, serving to protect all life in Space Sector 2814, where Earth is. When Abin Sur dies, his power ring chooses Hal for his ability to overcome great fear, and he vows to honor Abin Sur's wishes. Hal then meets with Green Lantern leader Sinestro, who explains the history of the corporation to him.

Geena Davis as Grace Fallon in Knight Rider, 1983. She made her cinematic debut in Tootsie in 1982, and the following year, she starred in Buffalo Bill and Green Lantern.

Meanwhile, a criminal by the name of Hector Hammond discovers the fragments of an unusual meteor in Africa in which nearby plants have evolved rapidly, and so he kidnaps four scientists and exposes them to the meteor's radiation, evolving their intellect to which Hammond forces them to create amazing new inventions. Hammond quickly becomes a celebrity thanks to this newfound profit, which catches the interest of Hal and his friend Thomas Kalmaku (John Getz), who helps him out by doubling as the Green Lantern with a duplicate power ring and costume. Hammond thinks Thomas is Hal and after capturing him, steals his ring and turns him into a monkey. The real Hal then confronts Hammond and a battle between them ensures, with Hammond losing when the charge of his ring runs out, and Thomas and the scientists are restored to normal.

Two ending scenes take place after the final battle; the first being Hal and Carol running into Barry Allen, who tells them that he's been travelling the country looking for some of the biggest heroes to prepare for a big threat against the world. The second takes place after the end credits, in which Sinestro comes across a yellow power ring of fear, hinting at a potential sequel.

Reception towards Green Lantern was mostly positive, with praise going towards the onscreen chemistry of Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis as Hal and Carol, respectively; both would eventually marry in 1987. In a 1984 interview, Goldblum revealed that he had signed onto the Justice League film alongside Christopher Reeve, John Travolta, Elizabeth Peña and Thomas F. Wilson, as well as a planned sequel to Green Lantern tentatively subtitled Emerald Knights.

18 November 1983

Pink Floyd - About Face

Released: 18 November 1983

Recorded: August 1983

Producer: Pink Floyd and Bob Ezrin

Track listing[3]

Side A

Until We Sleep

Confusion

Love on the Air

Drop In from the Top

Boo to You Too

Out of the Blue

Side B

Cuts Like a Diamond

All Lovers are Deranged

Do Ya?

Near the End

Funky Deux

RICHARD WRIGHT: "I was in a bad state during 1982; I'm surprised I made it through the Fictitious Sports Tour at all. Juliette [his wife of eighteen years] and I had gone through a divorce and I almost left the Floyd. I needed a holiday to refresh my mind, but I didn't warn anyone in advance." (2001)

DAVID GILMOUR: "When we started work on About Face, I'd written a few songs with Pete [Townshend] and was eager to get them recorded. Rick hadn't shown up for a couple of weeks and we became concerned. I called him, but no one was home, but we did receive a letter from Rick explaining what was going on. Even then, we had to record the album around his absence with Dave Harris." (1994)

About Face would mark the last album by Pink Floyd to feature tracks that had been written during the sessions for both Mihalis and Fictitious Sports, as well as the first to feature Dave Harris as a member, who helped to fill in for Rick Wright in the midst of his absence. Wright did eventually return to the studio to overdub his parts, and he would later remarry to a woman named Franka in 1984, and they would remain together until his death in 2008.

A promo for the Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument). It was first manufactured in 1979 and discontinued in 1989 before being manufactured again in 2011. Among the artists to use it included Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Trevor Horn, Rick Wright and Stevie Wonder.

NICK MASON: "Our new engineer Tim [Palmer] introduced us to the Fairlight CMI; Bob [Ezrin] was very familiar with it, and we used it a lot on About Face. At least, Rick and Dave did. We later ended up using it for Identity and Learning to Fly; the CMI was innovative for the time, but it had become obsolete by the end of the 80s." (Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, 2004)

When came to "All Lovers are Deranged", a co-write between David Gilmour and Pete Townshend, Wright took it as a thinly-veiled reference to his relationship with Juliette, which Gilmour had denied. Fortunately, the matter was resolved fairly quickly between them, with Gilmour writing "Out of the Blue" as an apology to Wright. Both songs ended up making the album.

About Face finally came out in mid-November and received mixed reviews from critics and fans, being cited as Pink Floyd's most 80s-sounding album, although that didn't stop it from hitting the Top 10 in either the United Kingdom (#2) or the United States (#6). In retrospective years, Gilmour and Wright would not speak very kindly about About Face (although Wright would claim he didn't regret doing it), although Nick Mason and Rick Wills tended to be more friendly in their views, admitting that they could've done it better.

9 December 1983

David Bowie - Let's Dance

Released: 9 December 1983

Recorded: August 1983

Producer: David Bowie and Nile Rodgers

Track listing[4]

Side A

Modern Love

China Girl

Let's Dance

Blue Jean

Without You

Dancing with the Big Boys [w/ Iggy Pop]

Side B

Loving the Alien

Ricochet

Tumble and Twirl

Shake It

Under Pressure [w/ Freddie Mercury]

David Bowie's first album since Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) showcased a new sound for the former Rolling Stone, delving into post-disco/dance-pop territory. In between Scary Monsters and Let's Dance, Bowie would pursue non-music projects such as portraying John Merrick in The Elephant Man on Broadway (John Hurt would also play the role for the film adaptation of the same name in 1980), and making film, television and radio appearances such as in Christiane F., Baal, The Hunger and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, as well as recording the title song for Cat People.

While filming for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Bowie grew fond of artists from the 1950s and 1960s such as James Brown, Buddy Guy, Elmore James and Albert King. Their musical ideals would influence Let's Dance, produced with Nile Rodgers of Chic, which marked the peak of Bowie's popularity and commercial success. The album topped the charts in the United Kingdom and peaked at #4 in the United States. "Let's Dance" (#1 UK and US), "China Girl" (#2 UK, #7 US), "Modern Love" (#2 UK, #10 US), "Blue Jean" (#4 UK, #5 US) and "Loving the Alien" (#10 UK) were all also big hits in 1983 and 1984.

Footnotes

1. Tracks are sourced from OTL's Born Again and Dio's Holy Diver. In addition, Ronnie James Dio sings all of the lead vocals.
2. In OTL, Bill Ward did indeed return to Black Sabbath to record Born Again (with Ian Gillan of Deep Purple on lead vocals, taking over for Ronnie James Dio), but he left again prior to the tour because of his difficulty in remaining sober.
3. Tracks are sourced from David Gilmour's About Face, Zee's Identity, Richard Wright's Wet Dream and Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports.
4. Tracks are sourced from OTL's Let's Dance and Tonight. For vinyl releases, "Modern Love", "China Girl", "Let's Dance" and "Loving the Alien" are the single remixes that can be sound on the boxset Loving the Alien (1983-1988), while for CD releases, the full length versions are used. "Under Pressure" is the Rah Mix found on Greatest Hits III.

Author's Comments

At long last, we have come to the 75th chapter! It's not exactly big in terms of length, but it does mark the end of the 1981-1983 period (well, save for an Apple update in the next chapter), so we're getting close to the end of the first draft with five chapters to go. The Black Sabbath storyline was inspired directly from In the Heart of Metal, in which Ozzy Osbourne died in 1982 and the band continues with Ronnie James Dio, which butterflied away the band Dio. The timeline never gave complete track listings to any of the fictional albums, so for Born Again, I went by what was listed as being on the album and filled the gaps from there. Hopefully it sounds good track by track.

Not much to say about David Bowie here; this is his final appearance in the series until the finale. Similarly, Pink Floyd has one more album; I originally wasn't going to have them make an album for 1985, but I ended up making one anyway. You'll see what it's like when it comes out. And as for the Green Lantern movie, I had difficulty coming up with the cast, but I got a bit of help out from Helter Skelter on Discord, although I was very much on my own for the storyline. Believe me; coming up with fictional films is even harder than making fictional albums!