Tribute to Beru Revue- A Great Philadelphia Band

 [caption id="attachment_4551" align="aligncenter" width="328"] Beru Revue[/caption]

Living in Southern New Jersey, I was very much influenced by what was happening in Philadelphia which was fifty miles away. I rooted for their sports teams, most of the time, except when the Phillies played the Dodgers, the Eagles played the Steelers or the 76ers played the Celtics. However, I have always been a die hard Flyers fan. Most importantly though, Philadelphia was where I went to see most of my concerts. Which is why most of the concerts in "Rock And Roll Children" take place at the Spectrum. Furthermore, Philadelphia radio stations were far superior to the one in Atlantic City, also I got treated to some of the bands coming out of there. One of these bands was Beru Revue.

[caption id="attachment_107" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Philadelphia Spectrum, now sadly torn down.[/caption]

Back in the mid 1980s, Beru Revue made several trips to South Jersey clubs and I was lucky enough to catch them three times. Their brand of rock, considered new wave by most was definitely unique. They combined great musicianship and if you listened to the lyrics, keen political awareness while maintaining a sense of humour. This gave them a pretty large cult following around the clubs of the Delaware Valley, (comprising Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware.) One of their songs, "Hoods A Go Go For the 80s" got airplay on local radio, unfortunately, their fame never spread much beyond that. Although I did take two friends who were visiting from Rhode Island to see them and they were so impressed, they bought Beru's EP.

Beru Revue:

Bob 'Beru' McCafferty- lead vocals

Greg 'T-Bone' Davis- guitar

Gerry Healy- guitar

Johnny Sacks- bass

Buzz Barkley- keyboards

Tommy 'Sir Francis Drake' Pinto- drums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP3kvxEnhC0

This is my favourite Beru Revue song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhREhk4sqIs

Hopefully, you've had a listen and agree with me that Beru Revue were far too good to be just a locally known band. Even to this day, I have cool memories of them. Maybe one reason they never made it nationally or internationally was the fact that Philadelphia has produced so many great musical acts over the years. One such band would get national attention in 1985, you'll read about that in the near future and a year later, a Philly metal band would do the same. However, I lament as to what a great contribution to the music world Beru Revue would have been if they had been luckier.

Next post: 1985- The Backlash Begins

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Other great metal influences, Part 4; Rush

Whenever you ask any old rocker to name a great Canadian rock act, they won't say Bryan Adams, they'll tell you that it is Rush. For over thirty years this great band has stayed together and put out a string of albums over the years that have satisfied their audiences. While they may not quite have had the chart success of Aerosmith, they haven't had all the negative experiences either, but have been consistently solid for nearly four decades.

Rush released their first album in 1974 and while it was several years later before I actually listened to it, I can see why it helped to put Rush on the music map. It features their unique blend of rock with the guitar work of Alex Lifeson and the mistakable vocals of Geddy Lee and the hard working drumming of Neil Peart. I use this album as a counter by non metal people who say that metal musicians can only play three chords.

Geddy Lee- vocals, bass, keyboards

Alex Lifeson- guitars

Neil Peart- drums, percussion

Throught the late 70s, Rush would begin to enjoy mainstream success. Albums such as "Farewell to Kings" and "2112" would establish them as one of the major rock acts. They can also be given credit for getting record labels in America to finally look north of the border and see the other acts that Canada has come to produce.

                                                                             

In 1981, Rush put out the ablum "Moving Pictures" which would be arguably their best. Songs like "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight" have been favourites with many Rush fans and even a few non Rush fans. Unfortunately, as was the case back in the 1980s, the album also branded Rush a heavy metal band by some ignorant American deejays who wanted to put music into categories. As a result of not wanting to be stereotyped, the Rush sound became more synthesised in the 80s, the album "Grace Under Pressure" being the point. However, Rush managed to put out synthesised albums without being accused of "selling out" by metalheads who still bought and enjoyed these albums.

One thing that can always be said of Rush over the near past four decades is that they have always been a great live act. I have never had the fortune of seeing this great band live, but everyone I have spoken to who has seen them, can confirm this. They continue to play with an energy which masks their years and their light displays of the 80s and 90s have been described as mind blowing.

Rush is another one of those great bands from the 70s which metal acts in the 80s site as an influence. However, bands from the 90s and the 00s can probably also site them as well because Rush have been and continue to be a great influence to metal.

Next post: Queen

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

It is also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle.

Take a Trip Through 80s Heavy Metal History

There are many great heavy metal blogs on the net, including some right here on Wordpress. They cover metal both old and new alerting readers to great heavy metal releases and news as well as the occasional trip back in history. My blog will now take you through the history of heavy metal in the 1980s, thus keeping in line with the name of the blog. I will mention great albums of the decade and the artists who made them. I will also revisit many of the events from the 80s which helped to shape the music and I will do all I can to post twice a week.

Let us start by paying tribute to a great concert venue from the era. The Spectrum in Philadelphia was the sight of many a great event from when it was built in 1967 to it's demolition in 2009.  During its 42 years, it hosted many great happenings in sports and music. It was the place where the Philadelphia Flyers lifted their first Stanley Cup in 1974 and where the 76ers won at least one of teir NBA Crowns. However, for me, it was the scene of some fantasitc metal concerts from 1983 -86. I rocked and partied to great shows by Twisted Sister, Dio, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath and many more to name a few. There were many other great shows both before and after as well.
I am sure many an old metalhead like myself shed a silent tear when this great monument to heavy metal was demolished. I look back in time and still immagine metalheads all partying under the Rocky statue swapping stories, having pre concert parties and even being accosted by Jesus freaks. So when you travel down metal memory lane with me, take a second to pay homage to the venue that gave thousands some great metal memories.

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