ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, DEC. 29, 1982 By Steve Newton Christmas Eve is traditionally a time for taking in the congenial aura of well-lit trees and jingling yuletide melodies, but sights and sounds of quite another sort had patrons of Casanova's cabaret in jolly spirits last Friday night. The upbeat, racy rhythms of one … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 10: Hydra hasn’t had a bad response yet
Tag: 1982
The Go-Go’s bring the sunny sounds of Vacation to Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 27, 1982 By Steve Newton In contrast to the denim and T-shirt crowd [for Blue Oyster Cult] at the Coliseum Sunday, miniskirts and Hawaiian patterns were the popular thing the night before (August 21) when the Go-Go's brought their catchy brand of fun-time music up from the California … Continue reading The Go-Go’s bring the sunny sounds of Vacation to Vancouver
Fist takes Thunder in Rock (and keyboards!) on tour with Motörhead and Krokus
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 4, 1982 By Steve Newton Fist, a band made of up four Ottawa natives, is the Canadian entry in the international heavy metal 'package' tour that played Kerrisdale Arena last Friday (May 28) and is now in its third week of a gruelling road trip schedule. Along with … Continue reading Fist takes Thunder in Rock (and keyboards!) on tour with Motörhead and Krokus
The Stray Cats’ Brian Setzer snarls “this ain’t no f***ing punk concert!” at the Commodore in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 20, 1982 By Steve Newton Talk about fun! I never thought I'd have such a bursting-out-laughing good time at the Commodore as I did in '75 when Kiss was there, but last Friday (August 13) at the Ballroom Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom, and Lee Rocker--the Stray Cats--had me grinning like … Continue reading The Stray Cats’ Brian Setzer snarls “this ain’t no f***ing punk concert!” at the Commodore in Vancouver
Scorpions inflict deadliest sting yet as lead guitarist Matthias Jabs helps cause a devastating Blackout
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 16, 1982 By Steve Newton It's a hard road, and often a long one, that leads to success in the world of heavy metal. With the exception of a few bands that luck out on their debut recordings because radio is good to them, most hard rockers fight an uphill battle … Continue reading Scorpions inflict deadliest sting yet as lead guitarist Matthias Jabs helps cause a devastating Blackout
Will Mad Max: Fury Road’s Tom Hardy be a better Max than Mel?
My favourite action movie of all time has got to be Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, or—as it was known in Canada when it first hit theatres in 1982—The Road Warrior. I remember walking out of the Granville strip moviehouse I saw it in—I think it was the Vogue—and feeling like everything I saw and … Continue reading Will Mad Max: Fury Road’s Tom Hardy be a better Max than Mel?
Judas Priest’s Metalogy box set comes wrapped in metal studs
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 9, 2004 By Steve Newton Back in '82 when I first started writing for the Straight, I instantly became the paper's on-call heavy-metal dude. Nobody else seemed to want the job--certainly not Alexander Varty, the main music critic at the time. So I happily took on the role, because it meant … Continue reading Judas Priest’s Metalogy box set comes wrapped in metal studs
Ozzy Osbourne live in ’82: midgets, executioners, and maybe a dead bat
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 18, 1982 By Steve Newton As anyone at his June 10 Coliseum show could have figured out, subtlety is not Ozzy Osbourne's claim to fame. Whereas most acts open with the drawing of a curtain, Ozzy opens with the dropping of one. And while most performers stroll onstage accompanied by a … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne live in ’82: midgets, executioners, and maybe a dead bat
Where were you in ’82? Rockin’ with Blue Öyster Cult & Aldo Nova too?
By Steve Newton On August 22, 1982, I was at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum watching my hard-rock heroes from the States, Blue Öyster Cult, kick butt on a bill with Canadian one-hit-wonder Aldo Nova. How do I remember the precise date of that ancient gig, you ask? Well, it's not like I still have the ticket … Continue reading Where were you in ’82? Rockin’ with Blue Öyster Cult & Aldo Nova too?
Blue Öyster Cult: “The world’s biggest underground band” (in 1982)
By Steve Newton One of the first interviews I ever did with a rock band I was totally nuts about happened way back in August of 1982. The mighty Blue Öyster Cult was playing Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum--with Aldo Nova opening up!--and the weekly paper I was still new at, the Georgia Straight, wanted me to … Continue reading Blue Öyster Cult: “The world’s biggest underground band” (in 1982)
Ozzy Osbourne in ’82: fallen guitar heroes and bitten bats
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 11, 1982 By Steve Newton Over the years, few heavy metal frontmen have proven their stamina and staying power like Ozzy Osbourne. After eight years and eight albums with the legendary Black Sabbath, Osbourne left the group in 1979 and it looked as though he was hanging up his microphone and … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne in ’82: fallen guitar heroes and bitten bats