Music Monday: Losing Out On Lost 80's Live 2025

A concert my husband and I were really looking forward to this year was Lost 80's Live. It's a tour of new wave bands from the 1980's consisting of two 'headliners' along with seven or so 'one hit wonders.' There is a new show every year, but this would have been our first time attending one. The headliners were Flock of Seagulls and Big Country.

Our first disappointment was learning that Richard Blade would not be hosting our show, even though he was hosting all the others around the country. 'Conflicting dates' or something like that. Yes, he'll skip the Rock and Roll Capital of the World, thank you very much. I feel as though that foreshadowed what was to come . . . 

The evening started out great. I will share my photos and the youtube videos of the hits you may recognize. Some were featured in iconic films of that era, like 'Pretty in Pink' and 'Valley Girl.' These opening acts each played between two and six songs.

Belois Some

Their hit, 'Imagination'

Josie Cotton

Her hit, 'Johnny Are You Queer'
She said she was banned from Amsterdam for singing that song in 1982!!! Who gets banned in Amsterdam?

The Polecats (note the lead singer bending down with the orange hair)

Singing their rockabilly hit, 'Make a Circuit With Me'

China Crisis. This is the one group I was not familiar with. When the lead singer came out, he even said, "You're probably wondering who the fu*k is China Crisis? Tomorrow at the office, you will be googling us!" He wasn't wrong! The funny part was, they were my favorite act of the night. He was quite the showman. He wore a pink blazer and a tie and threw the tie to a woman in the front row. She was super pumped!

I guess their most well-known song was 'Wishful Thinking,' though I did not recognize it.

I did not get a photo, but this is Icicle Works singing their hit, 'Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream).' The woman sitting next to me told me she drove seven hours just to see this band. I think she was disappointed that they only sang two songs.

The Vapors

Their banger, 'Turning Japanese'

This is where the show went south. There was usually a 10-15 minute break between bands for them to set up. But after The Vapors performed the above song, we saw someone rush onto the stage and the curtain was closed. We thought maybe a drunk fan had climbed up there. We waited. And waited. And waited. Fifteen minutes passed. Then 30. After an hour, someone finally came out on stage and said that the drummer of The Vapors had collapsed after the set, had to be revived with a defibrillator, and was rushed to the hospital. We were told that General Public and Big Country would not be performing and that the Flock of Seagulls would finish the show with just two songs.

Flock of Seagulls

They sang 'Space Age Love Song' and their mega-hit, 'I Ran'

Then the show abruptly ended. It was a very strange night. It would have been nice if we'd been told a little sooner what was going on. The tickets were not cheap and we were definitely disappointed to not hear General Public or Big Country at all or to get a full set from Flock of Seagulls. As my husband said, "What happened to 'The Show Must Go On'?"

What say you? The show must go on or just send people home? How many of the hits did you know? 

**I'll be taking another blogger break for a few weeks in September. See you at the end of the month!**