Great Soundtracks of 1980: Up the Academy

There is many a film out there where the film itself wasn't up to much but it had a kick ass soundtrack. One I covered already with "The Last Waltz" although the film itself was a concert and there are more out there which will appear here. One such film from 1980 was the film from Mad Magazine called "Up The Academy." One doesn't need a college degree to figure out that Mad Magazine made this film in an attempt to cash in on the success of their rival National Lampoon whose film "Animal House" is one of the forever classics. Unfortunately, there is no comparison between the two films, "Animal House" wins hands down.

This is not to say that "Up the Academy" is a bad film. Actually, I thought it was funny in many places. The film is about four teenage boys who are sent to military school by their parents on account of things the boys have done to bring dishonour to the family. One got his girlfriend pregnant and his father is a politician campaigning on the anti-abortion platform. One, played by a young Ralph Machio, is the son of a mafia kingpin and is not interested in the family business. Then there is the son of the Arabian Sheik and the pot smoking African American boy whose father is a TV evangelist. Without going into full details, the main characters immediately fall foul of the gung-ho commandant and there is a lot of funny moments as they try to get one over on him. For months after I saw the film, one of my marine buddies who I saw it with, (he went by Mooch,) would impersonate the commandant with "Say ageeen, say ageen."

A scene from the film

What stood out for me more than the laughs was all the great songs that were played in the film. Now classics like "One Way or Another" from Blondie and Cheap Trick's "Surrender" lead a string of cool rock tunes. There are also contributions from Pat Benatar, Sammy Hagar, The Kinks, Dwight Twilley and a ten minute song from the legendary Lou Reed. Ok, they only played a small part of the song. As the case with many soundtracks, there is some unknown band that makes its mark. On this soundtrack, it is the band Blow-Up. Three of their songs appear on the album and I was impressed with all of them. The opener, "Kicking Up a Fuss" reminds me of The Ramones or The Dead Kennedys and the other two, while less punk are still good rock tunes as well. This is definitely a cool soundtrack.

Blondie

Cheap Trick

Track Listing:

1. Blow-Up- Kicking Up a Fuss

2. Iggy and the Stooges- Gimme Danger

3. Dwight Twilley Band- Trying to Find My Baby

4. Blondie- X Offender

5. Eddie and the Hot Rods- Do Anything You Wanna Do

6. The Kinks- Yes Sir, No Sir

7. Ian Hunter- We Gotta Get Out of Here

8. Lou Reed- Street Hassle

9. Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers- Roadrunner

10. The Boomtown Rats- Rat Trap

11. David Johansen- Girls

12. Blondie- One Way or Another

13. Cheeks- Coquette

14. Blow-Up- Local Hero

15. Sammy Hagar- Bad Reputation

16. Iggy Pop and James Williamson- Night Theme

17. Cheeks- Bony Moronie

18. Nick Lowe- Heart of the City

19. Pat Benatar- We Live for Love

20. The Babys- Midnight Rendezvous

21. Cheap Trick- Surrender

22. Blow- Up- Beat the Devil

So if you want a good laugh while rocking out to some great tunes then your task is simple. Watch "Up the Academy" and then listen to the soundtrack, it's definitely worth it. But it does seem a shame that Blow-Up never seemed to make it big.

Next post: Great Rock One Hit Wonders of 1980

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to: www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1980: Thin Lizzy- Chinatown

Let me say that I am feeling rather foolish at the moment for not including Thin Lizzy's "Black Rose, A Rock Legend" in my tour of 1979 albums. After all, Thin Lizzy were a great influence on heavy metal as affirmed by many of the metal bands we would come to know and love in the 80s. For those who have joined recently or haven't read it, check out my post "Other Great Metal Influences: Part 7- Thin Lizzy" for further information. Furthermore, many metal heads, especially many I have met in the UK, were all fans of Thin Lizzy.

It has been said that the 1980 album "Chinatown" didn't measure up to their previous album which I mentioned earlier. Many have blamed this on the departure of guitarist Gary Moore, (yes his leaving was a major loss for the band) and the recognisable drug problems of Phil Lynott. However, after getting reacquainted with "Chinatown" after so many years, I don't want to make any comparisons because for me, there is nothing wrong with this album. Ok, maybe one small thing, the opening track, "We Will Be Strong" went on a little too long but it was still a good album opening song. Then there are the two songs I have known for years, "Chinatown" and "Killer On the Loose." Both are good rocking songs in the tradition that made Thin Lizzy famous. Other standouts include "Genocide, The Killing of the Buffalo" and "Having a Good Time." However, I still rocked along to the rest of the album and it reminded me that Thin Lizzy, even this late in their career, were still a force to be reckoned with in the rock world. I can also see from this album why they would go on to inspire a many metal bands less than a decade later.

Track Listing:

1. We Will Be Strong

2. Chinatown

3. Sweetheart

4. Sugar Blues

5. Killer On the Loose

6. Having a Good Time

7. Genocide, The Killing of the Buffalo

8. Didn't I

9. Hey You

Thin Lizzy

    Phil Lynott- bass, vocals

Scott Goram- guitar, vocals

Snowy White- guitar, vocals

Brian Downey- drums, percussion

For many die hard Thin Lizzy fans, "Chinatown" might not have ranked up their with some of their other ones. However, for me, this is a damned good album and it reminds me why they were such an influence on the establishment of heavy metal. So much so, that many people in the mid 80s would class them as such.

Next post: Rainbow: The Soundtrack to Up the Academy

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishingroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

1980: Triumphs and Tragedies Part 2

First of all, I owe a debt of gratitude to KramerTunes for saving me from committing a very fatal error in my first post of Tragedies and Triumphs. How stupid would I have looked if I had gone through 1980 and not mentioned the death of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. His death from asphyxiation caused by too much alcohol intake would shock the rock world to its foundations and resulted in the band calling it a day on the grounds they couldn't continue without him.

John Bonham

Bonham would serve to be a major influence on not only drummers who were around at the time like Joey Krammer, Roger Taylor and Peter Criss, he continues to influence many a rock drummer to this very day. Drummers like Tommy Lee, Dave Lombardo and Dave Grohl all site John Bonham as their biggest influence as well. He created a legacy for rock drummers that will never die and I feel slightly sick that I won't be going to see Led Zeppelin tribute band Whole Lotta Led when they come to Stroud this Friday night.

Now the triumph. In 1980, the first of what was to be a line of great metal festivals took place at Donington Park near Derby in England on August 16 of said year. Rainbow would be the headliners for this mammoth event and supporting were the likes of Judas Priest, The Scorpions,  April Wine, Saxon and Riot. From what I've read and heard from people who were at the event, there were a lot of near mishaps including a pyrotechnics explosion the night before. Plus the rainfall on the previous days cause a quagmire on the actual day. Still, as can be expected, metal won the day and it turned out to be the start of a legacy that would go on for over a decade. (Although it can be argued that it still goes on under the name of Download.)

Shot of the first Donington

If you want to read more about this historic event, click this link:

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/donington-1980.html

Many years have their own triumphs and tragedies and in 1980, the rock/metal world had more than its share. Especially as one more was yet to happen. Still, we can reflect back to the good times and raise a glass to those who left us.

R.IP. John Bonham

Next Post: Thin Lizzy- Chinatown

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London