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 79: The Power of Love (February - July 1985)

18 February 1985

Phil Collins - No Jacket Required

Released: 18 February 1985

Recorded: May - December 1984

Producer: Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham

Track listing[1]

Side A

Sussudio

The Man with the Horn

Long Long Way to Go

I Like the Way

One More Night

Side B

Don't Lose My Number

Who Said I Would

It's Alright

Inside Out

Take Me Home

Bonus track on CD releases

We Said Hello Goodbye

Phil Collins' third post-Genesis album featured several guest vocalists including Helen Terry of Culture Club, Sting of the recently-disbanded Police and fellow ex-Genesis member Peter Gabriel, as well as current Genesis frontman Kim Beacon. "I did some backing vocals on 'Take Me Home' while we were recording for Prospect Road," Beacon explained years later. "I felt like I owed Phil a favor for helping to produce that album."

Much of No Jacket Required was improvised with a drum machine, particularly "Sussudio", and it still managed to reach #1 in several countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Critical reception was mostly positive. The four singles off of the album - "One More Night" (30 November 1984 - #4 UK, #1 US), "Sussudio" (14 January 1985 - #12 UK, #1 US), "Don't Lose My Number" (15 April 1985 #7 UK, #4 US) and "Take Me Home" (15 July 1985 - #19 UK, #7 US) - were all Top 20 hits. To date, No Jacket Required remains Collins' highest-selling album, being certified diamond status in 2001 in the United States.

May 1, 1985

Christopher Lee, 1980s. Famous for his role as Count Dracula, he portrayed Steppenwolf in Justice League.

After a few years' worth of teasing, Justice League was finally released in theaters to mark the May Day celebrations. The tenth entry to the DC Appleverse was directed by Ivan Reitman and brought together Christopher Reeve, John Travolta, Elizabeth Peña, Thomas F. Wilson and Jeff Goldblum in their respective roles (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern) on the big screen as a group for the first time fighting against the big bad Steppenwolf, portrayed by legendary actor Christopher Lee. Also starring in the film were Supergirl (Helen Slater) and Robin (Tom Cruise), as well as the introduction of Aquaman (a.k.a. Arthur Curry) and Martian Manhunter (a.k.a. J'onn J'onzz), respectively portrayed by Rutgar Haur and Carel Struycken.

For the past few years, Diana Prince has been travelling the United States, trying to learn more about the superheroes that currently reside in man's world. At the same time, Clark Kent is left wondering about the cryptic warning concerning a greater evil coming to Earth, and Bruce Wayne is trying to learn more about the mysterious flying man in the blue suit. By sheer coincidence, Clark and Bruce meet up at a party being hosted at Wayne Manor, and both encounter Diana there as well, who gets the two men in a private room where she reveals herself to be Wonder Woman and explains about her quest to find other superheroes in the United States. Both Clark and Bruce agree to aid Diana in forming a superhero league.

Meanwhile, at Coast City, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan respectively encounter a half-human, half-Atlantean man by the name of Arthur Curry and a Martian known as J'onn J'onzz. Barry and Hal both talk about their findings and invite Arthur and J'onn to partner up and form a team themselves. Unknown to the heroes, however, Steppenwolf, a New God from Apokolips, is leading a horde of Parademons to Earth to find Superman and destroy him, under the command on his nephew Darkseid.

Christopher Reeve as Superman in Justice League, 1985.

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman battle the Parademons when they invade Metropolis, but they are quickly outnumbered. Just as Steppenwolf is about to finish off Superman, he is stopped by the sudden arrival of the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, along with the assistance of Supergirl and Robin. Instead of finishing off Steppenwolf, the villain returns to Apokolips to face his punishment at his failure to accomplish his goal. The Flash then explains that they heard about the impending invasion at Metropolis through Robin, which was how they were able to get there quickly. With Earth's heroes together for the first time, they form the Justice League and begin a new quest to not only protect the Earth, but find new superheroes to help them do so.

In the post-credits scene, Steppenwolf faces the wrath of Darkseid, portrayed by Liam Neeson, who announces that when the time comes, he will be coming to Earth.

The reception towards Justice League was universally positive, even competing with Back to the Future in the box office for most successful film of 1985. Aerosmith's version of the Beatles' "Come Together", featured in the film's end credits, was released as a single in conjunction in the film, giving Aerosmith a creative revival after spinning their wheels in the early 1980s.[3]

10 May 1985

Fleetwood Mac - The Challenge

Released: 10 May 1985

Recorded: 1984-1985

Producer: Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut and Jimmy Iovine

Track listing[4]

Side A

The Challenge

Can't Go Back

Message to My Girl

I Sing for Things

Slow Dancing

Got a Hold on Me

Side B

One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star

Hold Me

The Devil You Know

Time Bomb Town

The Smile I Live For

No Spoken Word

Lindsey Buckingham's re-entry into Fleetwood Mac had been met with great acclaim; having taken a few years away from the band following the aborted Tusk sessions, along with the death of Ozzy Osbourne that made him rethink life choices, Buckingham and the rest of the group looked towards a more optimistic future, as per the lyrics to 1977's "Don't Stop". But now that the band had become a sextet, and four of the members contributed vocals, it became a matter as to how much each member could contribute.

CHRISTINE McVIE: "Stevie, Lindsey, Neil and I each put out solo projects during 1983 and 1984 [Nicks' The Wild Heart, Buckingham's Go Insane, Finn's Conflicting Emotions[5], McVie's eponymous album], but each of us held back a few tracks for our follow up to Mirage. One of the tracks ["Hold Me"] was actually a leftover from those sessions, but when Lindsey came back, we used it for what became The Challenge." (2003)

Crowded House, 1986.

To keep things democratic within the group, it was decided that there would be an even split among the songwriting credits - Buckingham and Stevie Nicks each had three songs, Christine McVie had four ("Hold Me" was a duet with Buckingham) and Neil Finn just two. This averaged out to three songs per songwriter. Nicks found herself working on both The Challenge and her own solo album, Rock a Little, so she didn't contribute much to the sessions on the former aside from backing vocals if needed. Meanwhile, having made few contributions to the album himself, Finn had some other irons in the fire when he formed the Mullanes, which later evolved into Crowded House. By the end of the sessions, he would leave Fleetwood Mac in favor of Crowded House, but they would not release their debut album until 1986.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM: "It was a shame when Neil left, but we respected his decision. He did bring some fresh blood to the band in my... er, absence, and I would've liked to see that formation continue." (1990)

The Challenge was finally released in May 1985 and quickly went to #1 in the United States and peaked at #3 in the United Kingdom. It was Fleetwood Mac's only album as a sextet, and it received acclaim upon release. "Hold Me"/"One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star" (#4 US) was the biggest hit from the album, and "Slow Dancing"/"The Challenge" (#14 US), "Got a Hold on Me"/"The Devil You Know" (#7 US) and "Message to My Girl"/"Time Bomb Town" (#22 US) were also Top 40 hits. The B-side "Time Bomb Town" would make a brief appearance on the radio in Back to the Future when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) was awoken from his sleep by Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) on the phone.

20 May 1985

The Yardbirds - Shaken 'n' Stirred

Released: 20 May 1985

Recorded: 1984

Producer: The Yardbirds, Benji Le Fevre and Tim Palmer

Track listing[6]

Side A

Hip to Hoo

The Only One

Too Loud

Trouble Your Money

I Get a Thrill

Side B

Little by Little

Doo Doo a Do Do

Crackback

Sixes and Sevens

JIMMY PAGE: "I told Robert and John [Paul Jones] that they were driving the Yardbirds into the ground by using more synthesizers and less guitar, and Shaken 'n' Stirred was proof of that. I liked maybe a few of songs on there, but the rest I could've done without. The critics weren't a fan of it, and neither were I and Bonzo." (2010)

The Yardbirds' sixteenth album was a flop by their standards - it didn't broach the Top 10 in either the United Kingdom or the United States (#11 UK, #15 US), and its sole single, "Little by Little"/"Pink and Black" (#83 UK, #36 US) didn't fare any better either. Reception towards Shaken 'n' Stirred was harsh, being cited as one of the Yardbirds' lower efforts, with critics wondering if the band had outstayed their welcome as a group. It would be a few years before the Yardbirds regained some lost ground.

July 1985

John Lennon and his aunt Mimi Smith, circa mid-1960s.

…we came in? The following is excerpted from John Lennon's autobiography, Nowhere Man, originally published under Apple Books, July 1990:

"Bob Geldof and the concert organizers for Live Aid wanted the Beatles to take part in the concert as they believed having a group of 'elder statesmen' of British music would give it greater legitimacy in the eyes of those politicians whose opinions we had to shape up. At first, we didn't want to do this, but we ended up agreeing to perform as it was our kids who persuaded us to take part.

Maddy, Freddie, Alice and I flew out to England like Paul, Ringo and their families did (George, Livvy and Dhani were already there), but while they went to Liverpool to reflect, I wanted to head towards Poole, Dorset first. Aunt Mimi had been living at that bungalow I'd bought for her for the last twenty years, and was still living there at the age of eighty-two. Up until that point, she'd never set eye on Maddy, Freddie and Alice, but she had met Julian and Cynthia before. Even though Mimi was less than half my age, she still wanted to ensure that I was keeping myself out of trouble.

'The guitar's all right, John, but you'll never make a living out of it' was what she'd often tell me in my teenage years, but who'd have thought that thirty years on, she'd still be around to see how much success I'd achieved? I still remind her about that, but Mimi would admit to me that she'd been wrong.

Mimi and I spoke for a long time, and eventually, I asked her, 'Will have the telly on this coming Saturday?'

'Whatever for?' she asked me. I told her about Live Aid and that the Beatles were taking part; this was basically twenty-eight years in the making for us, beginning with meeting Paul after a Quarrymen show in 1957, and although the Beatles have since then had their ups and downs - our reputation was at a low point by then in America, despite having regained some lost ground in England with Thomas the Tank Engine - Live Aid would make or break our good name. I was nervous, and I thought Mimi was the only other person outside of Maddy and the other guys that I could openly express my worries to.

Neither of us said anything for what seemed like an eternity. It was Mimi who broke the silence.

'Well, John,' she said, 'I'll be first to admit that I'd been wrong in saying you'd never make a living out of playing the guitar, but by doing so, from what I've read and heard, you and the rest of the Beatles changed the world and influenced God knows many people. I don't think it should matter to you that much whether or not the performance is good or bad, so long as you're doing what you do the best. Playing music on the stage and entertaining the crowds.'

Again, there was silence. I didn't say anything, but I pulled aunt Mimi in for a hug. She was supporting me right to the end, and I couldn't have been more grateful to have her in my life. I don't recall how much longer we stayed at Mimi's, but I knew we had to head to Liverpool and meet up with the boys.

When we finally arrived there, Paul asked me how the detour went, and I said, 'Just had to see someone from childhood.' I didn't say anymore, but Paul knew exactly who I was referring to.

The thirteenth of July came sooner than we expected, but it was time for the Beatles to head on down to London and play at Wembley Stadium. I was the last one to get down there with Paul, George, Ringo and their families.

'Ah, good morning, John,' Paul said upon noticing my arrival. 'You ready for Wembley?' My response was a nod and a smile. No matter what, it was going to be a hell of performance."

Mimi Smith ended up seeing John Lennon play with the rest of the Beatles at Live Aid on television. She and John continued to remain in contact until her death on 6 December 1991, at the age of 88. Isn't this where…

Footnotes

1. Most tracks are sourced from OTL's No Jacket Required; "The Man with the Horn" and "I Like the Way" are sourced from Other Sides, and "It's Alright" is a live track from the deluxe edition of Hello, I Must Be Going!. In OTL, it was performed live during the No Jacket Required World Tour, which concluded with Live Aid.
2. The story takes loose inspiration from the ultimate edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League, but with Superman's death being removed altogether.
3. In OTL, Aerosmith recorded "Come Together" for the Sgt. Pepper film in 1978, and was generally regarded as one of the highlights to the soundtrack. This is also an homage to Gary Clark Jr. and Junkie XL's version of "Come Together" being featured in OTL's Justice League from 2017.
4. All of Christine McVie's solo tracks are sourced from her eponymous 1984 album. "Slow Dancing" is sourced from Lindsey Buckingham's Go Insane, and "Time Bomb Town" is from the Back to the Future soundtrack. "I Sing for Things" and "No Spoken Word" are from Stevie Nicks' Rock a Little, with "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star" found on the compilation album Enchanted. Both of Neil Finn's tracks come from Split Enz's Conflicting Emotions. "Can't Go Back" and "Hold Me" are both from Mirage, the only actual Fleetwood Mac songs on The Challenge.
5. Conflicting Emotions consists of Neil Finn-penned material form Split Enz's album of the same name (excluding "Message to My Girl" and "The Devil You Know") and See Ya 'Round.
6. Most tracks are sourced from Robert Plants' Shaken 'n' Stirred. "The Only One" (featuring Robert Plant) is from Jimmy Page's Outrider, "I Get a Thrill" (featuring Jimmy Page) from The Honeydrippers: Volume One and "Crackback" (again, featuring Jimmy Page) from John Paul Jones' Scream for Help.

Author's Comments

So here we are with the penultimate chapter of the first draft, and boy, was it a bit of a pain to write up! But I figure it was worth it as we're finally heading towards the endgame.

Not much to say in regards to No Jacket Required, although picking out material for The Challenge wasn't that hard; it was simply a matter of determining the order of the track listing, and how much I wanted to leave the solo projects intact so they could coexist with the new Fleetwood Mac album. Not much to comment on with Shaken 'n' Stirred either, but thankfully, this is the last time I'll have to make a new Yardbirds album as picking out the material was not easy.

As you can tell, we've come back to where we started with the prologue, first published way back in January 2019 (jeez, has it been that long?), and so here we are, two years and seven-and-a-half months later. It's been a long, bumpy road, and I've learned quite a lot when it came to this project. Still, just one more chapter to go.

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 73: Break My Stride (September 1982 - June 1983)

October 1982

A screenshot from the pilot episode, Thomas Down the Mine, filmed 1982. It was later reshot for the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The above screenshot was reused from the pilot.

It had been a few years in the making since Britt Allcroft first met with Reverend Wilbert Awdry about the possibility of adapting his Thomas the Tank Engine books for television. Having already bought the rights from the publishers, Kaye & Ward, at the cost of fifty thousand pounds, and been provided the money to produce the show by Apple Corps, production on the show could commence.

Between September and October 1982[1], a low budget, pre-production test pilot had been filmed to showcase how the show would look, based upon the story "Down the Mine" from the book Gordon the Big Engine (published 1953). It took only three weeks (fifteen business days) to film the pilot, ten of which were done on the actual filming itself. Reaction to the pilot was generally very positive, giving Allcroft and the rest of the crew the okay to proceed work on a full series.

The question now was, when the series came out, who would narrate the stories?

10 September 1982 - 1 February 1983

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, 1982. Three duets were recorded between the pair; "The Girl is Mine" was released on the latter's Thriller, recorded April 14-16, 1982. "Say Say Say" and "The Man" were recorded April and May 1981, with additional recording on August 25, 1983, but not released until October 3, 1983 as a non-album single.

JOHN LENNON: "With hindsight, we may not have done Quadruple Fantasy to begin with. We set the bar too high for what many called our Phase Two." (2003)

GEORGE HARRISON: "A lot of people were demanding for a follow up album to Fantasy, and we as the Beatles had been off of the radar for nearly a year. It was like the Mania of the 60s all over again, only with a much bigger crowd of old and new fans. Our backs were up against the wall. What could we have done to meet their demands?" (1995)

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I came up with the concept of war and peace, and the four of us wrote most of the songs around it; we had a few leftovers from when we did Quadruple Fantasy, and we brought them back for War and Peace. The best of the bunch was John's 'Nobody Told Me', which he initially offered Ringo to sing." (2013)

RINGO STARR: "As much as I loved 'Nobody Told Me', I told John that it better suited him than me." (2019)

After a year apart to focus on individual careers as well as their families, the Beatles went back into the studio that September to record War and Peace. A fair number of tracks were connected to the theme of contrasts such as "Keep Under Cover", "That's the Way It Goes", "You Can't Fight Lightning" and "Borrowed Time", as well as the bookend tracks "Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace". In between were love songs "Wake Up My Love", "So Bad" and "Dear Madeline", the latter of which was dedicated to John Lennon's wife Madeline Kahn. The sessions lasted sporadically up to the beginning of February, with George Martin once again producing. It was later announced that War and Peace would be out this April.

February 1983

Behind the scenes for Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, 1983. The episodes being filmed around this time were Thomas and James and Strike Out!.[2]

Meanwhile, filming had begun work on what would become Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends; it would take up until August to film the thirteen episodes of the show, each ten minutes long, along with a standalone special that would premiere around Christmas. Post-production would wrap up on 24 September. While the series was being filmed, Britt Allcroft set out to find a narrator.

BRITT ALLCROFT: "The family were in the family room, and they were watching television. And I wasn't in the room, I was going past the door and I heard this voice. 'Oh my God; who's that?' And that's it. That's the voice! And I went into the room, and Ringo was being interviewed on a British chat show - I think it was Michael Parkinson. And I said, that's it; that's it! It's Ringo!" (date unknown; possibly late 1980s)

Allcroft's reasoning for Ringo being the narrator was because she thought children would relate to him, not because of his fame as a Beatle. However, he was reluctant to do so since he had never read any of the original Railway Series books as a child (he was almost five when the first book, The Three Railway Engines, was published on 12 May 1945), and thought children would be interested in modern things like dinosaurs with lasers. But it was after reading the books and meeting with Reverend Wilbert Awdry himself that Ringo had changed his mind.

RINGO STARR: "The others asked me where I'd been for a few days, and so I told them about that new children's show being produced under Apple Television. I showed them a few Thomas books and they had varying degrees of interest." (2015)

Ringo Starr with the model of Thomas the Tank Engine, 1983.

JOHN LENNON: "I'd been asked a few years prior and thought the idea of narrating a series of talking railway engines was ridiculous, even told them to fuck off. I brought a few books home with me, Freddie and Alice took interest in them, and Maddy insisted that I give it a proper chance, and so I did." (2010)[3]

PAUL McCARTNEY: "At the time, I had scripted a film about a day in the lives of the Beatles, like A Hard Day's Night, but twenty years later, y'know. The others said that it would never sell, and I was forced to abandon it in the end. Working with Thomas turned out to be a better use of our time, as it turned out. I loved working on it." (2015)[4]

GEORGE HARRISON: "I was somewhere between John and Ringo when it came to enthusiasm, but I played along anyway. Turned out to be more fun than I'd thought it would be." (1999)

With Ringo accepting the role as narrator, the additional enthusiasm from the other three Beatles took Britt Allcroft by surprise. After the initial shock had worn off, it was decided to give the engines their own distinct voices; John would provide the voices for Thomas himself as well as Gordon, Paul as Henry and Percy, George as Edward and James, and Ringo as Toby and Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat Controller. Allcroft would provide additional voices along with director David Mitton and music composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, who based the theme song around the feel of the Beatles' "Mean Mr. Mustard". The recording sessions took around eight days, including Ringo re-doing some lines as the Fat Controller due to the tone of his voice. It would be over a year before the new series was unveiled to the world.

22 April 1983

The Beatles - War and Peace

Released: 22 April 1983

Recorded: 10 September 1982 - 1 February 1983

Producer: George Martin

Track listing[5]

Side A

Tug of War

I'm Stepping Out

Wake Up My Love

Keep Under Cover

Dream Away

Borrowed Time

In My Car

Side B

Mystical One

So Bad

Nobody Told Me

That's the Way It Goes

You Can't Fight Lightning

Dear Madeline

Pipes of Peace

War and Peace reached #1 in the United Kingdom for just two non-consecutive weeks, and no higher than #7 in the United States, which was a poor showing by the Beatles' standards. To make things worse, the first single, "Pipes of Peace" backed with "Dream Away" (11 April), despite charting at #1 in the United Kingdom, failed to reach the Top 20 the United States (#23) before quickly disappearing from the charts altogether.

Reception towards the album was overall poor, with one review saying, "Seriously? This is the best the Beatles could come up with after Quadruple Fantasy?" Others were just as harsh, if not more so, with comments such as, "Are the Beatles even relevant in America anymore?" or "With the Rolling Stones having gone off the radar and the Who splitting up, the Beatles now join them by putting out their worst album to date with War and Peace; 1983 looks to be the death knell of the 60s." All four Beatles, but especially Paul McCartney, took the slagging in the press pretty hard.

JOHN LENNON: "You know what a lot of those critics don't understand? Many of us artists from the 60s like the Beatles, Stones, the Who, what have you weren't just the 60s; you don't simply hang on for a decade or longer without feeling like you're part of something new and still have something to say. If this year is the death of the 60s, then why are we still listening to 'My Generation', 'Jumping Jack Flash' or 'Yesterday' on the radio instead of something like 'Pipes of Peace' or 'Athena'? It sounds as though some people are stuck in the 60s." (1983)

If there was any redeeming aspect to War and Peace, it was John's "Nobody Told Me", backed with the non-album B-side "Average Person", released as a single on 10 June. It charted much better in America at #5, while it reached #6 in the United Kingdom, receiving consistent praise from critics. Still, despite John's defiant stance in a television interview a few weeks after the album's release, the Beatles were now worried about their future. Could anything, if at all, be done to salvage their good name, or if they were doomed to remain a nostalgia act, unable to compete in the current market against their past selves or current musical acts like Duran Duran and the Culture Club? Was this the end for the Beatles... again?

3 June 1983

Electric Light Orchestra - Secret Messages

Released: 3 June 1983

Recorded: December 1982 - February 1983

Producer: Jeff Lynne

Track listing[6]

Side A

Secret Messages

Loser Gone Wild

Bluebird

Take Me On and On

Side B

Stranger

No Way Out

Beatles Forever

Letter From Spain

Danger Ahead

Side C

Four Little Diamonds

Train of Gold

Endless Lies

Buildings Have Eyes

Rock 'n' Roll is King

Side D

Mandalay

Time After Time

After All

Hello My Old Friend

Secret Messages was the Electric Light Orchestra's tenth official studio album, twelfth if the compilation albums Light Years (1978) and All Over the World (1980) were included. Much like its predecessor Time, it topped the charts in the United Kingdom for a few weeks, and it topped out at #12 in the United States. Secret Messages was also a double album, and with compact discs having just been released in North America and Europe, it was ELO's first album under that format. As usual, a tour followed the album lasting up to early 1984.

JEFF LYNNE: "One of the tracks on Messages, 'Beatles Forever', was the first to be recorded. By the time the album came out, War and Peace was thrashed by critics, and I kept it on ELO's album as a response to them. Looking back, it was so fawning and over the top that I was tempted to remove it altogether, and maybe redo it at some point." (2018)

Summary of single releases from Electric Light Orchestra's Secret Messages

• "Rock 'n' Roll is King" / "After All" - 6 June 1983 (#6 UK, #10 US)
• "Secret Messages" / "Four Little Diamonds" - 3 September 1983 (#20 UK, #58 US)
• "Stranger" / "Train of Gold" - 5 December 1983 (#17 UK)

Footnotes

1. In OTL, the pilot was filmed in March and April 1983. I moved production forward with the likelihood that with Apple Corps gaining the rights to co-produce and distribute the show, it could be worked on earlier. Likewise, the filming for the first series was moved forward from the original dates of production (September 1983 - March 1984).
2. Thomas and James is OTL's Thomas and the Breakdown Train and James and the Coaches, while Strike Out! is based upon Tenders and Turntables and Trouble in the Shed.
3. In OTL, John Lennon had been offered to narrate the show, but he told the producers to "fuck off". Had he survived past 1980 and saw how successful Thomas the Tank Engine was, I'd imagine that John would've regretted rejecting the gig, even praising Ringo's narration.
4. This means that Give My Regards to Broad Street never gets produced in TTL; the money used to produce it goes onto more worthwhile projects. In OTL, filming had started in November 1982.
5. Tracks are sourced from Paul McCartney's Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Milk and Honey, George Harrison's Gone Troppo, and Ringo Starr's Old Wave and Stop and Smell the Roses. "Dear Madeline" is OTL's "Dear Yoko" from Double Fantasy.
6. Track listing is based upon the original double album version of Secret Messages, the 2001 release of which was the primary source. "Buildings Have Eyes", "Mandalay" and "Hello My Old Friend" are all sourced from Afterglow, and "Beatles Forever" remains unreleased officially.

Author's Comments

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! This is another chapter that I'd been looking forward to writing up, largely because I'd been a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine since I was little, especially with Ringo Starr's narrating the first two seasons of the show. I even spiced it up a bit by having the other three Beatles involved in the production as well. I originally had other actors involved based upon who was popular in the acting scene of the 1980s at the time like Nigel Planer as Henry, Brian Blessed as Gordon, Rowan Atkinson as James and Jim Broadbent as Sir Topham Hatt. Man, I'd have loved to hear what that would've sounded like! That's more or less how I picture the engines' voices in the 1980s.

Outside of that, things aren't going so hot for the Beatles right now; it can't be all positive, after all, but it isn't as bad as it seems for them outside of America. Rest assured, things do get better for them. War and Peace is the last album by them being discussed in this story, but I'm still not done with them yet. Likewise, this is the final major appearance of the Electric Light Orchestra in the story, though they've not broken up (yet).

Meanwhile, I'd like to give a little shout out to both the Something Creative and A Crazy Gift of Time blogs, both of which have gone through a reboot. So far, they're both off to a great restart, and if you haven't already, I recommend checking both of them out. At one point, I do intend on a Strawberry Peppers reboot, but before I can do so, I've got seven more chapters to write up, bringing the total up to eighty, which is a nice round number. At the moment, I'm working on a draft timeline for what I'm calling The Second Coming, and it's constantly evolving. Once I finally start the writing process (whenever that is), I'll be starting up a new blog while this one will stay up as the first draft so you can see the differences between the two versions.