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Ever wonder what happened to those bands of the '80s? VH1 has tracked down some of those groups and will begin airing their findings Monday. The first segment of the 10-part series includes a look at A Flock of Seagulls...
Strike up the bands
They commanded several hundred thousand screaming fans at the massive US Festival in 1983, tasted the forbidden fruit of success with the provocative "Sex (I'm a ... )" and the number one chartbuster "Take My Breath Away," and emerged as icons of 1980s synth-pop. Yet Berlin's platinum achievements could not sustain the act forever.
At their peak of commercial success, a creative rift between singer Terri Nunn and chief songwriter John Crawford brought Berlin's outrageous ride to a halt. The pair have not spoken in more than 10 years. "We were poison to each other," growls an exasperated Nunn, squeezing her skull at the recollection of the less-than-amicable separation.
"Bands Reunited"
10-part series beginning at 7 p.m. Monday on VH1
So begins the maiden episode of "Bands Reunited," the intriguing new VH1 series that combines the more enticing qualities of reality TV and objective-based contest shows with rock-and-roll nostalgia. Fashionable pop music groups who saw their star ascend in the anything-goes '80s -- Berlin, A Flock of Seagulls, Klymaxx, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Romeo Void, among them -- are featured every weekday for 10 days, beginning 7 p.m. Monday.
The mission here is simple, though potentially galling: Host Aamer Haleem is charged with the ponderous task of tracking down estranged band members and persuading each to reunite for a one-night performance. To further muddle matters, the band must be stage-ready within a week's time.
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... Romeo Void ...
In the opening moments of the series' first installment, a source close to the Berlin camp deems the prospect a virtual impossibility. "Amazing powers of persuasion will be required, I guarantee you that," states a doubtful Perry Watts-Russell, Berlin's former manager. Despite his skepticism, Watts-Russell tips the VH1 crew to Crawford, who, at last word, settled in Orange County, Calif.
Undaunted, Haleem and company invade Crawford's workplace and ambush the man once pegged as Berlin's creative dynamo. Now in his early 40s, Crawford has retained much of his billowy locks, though he has apparently traded in his bass guitar for a quiet life in the suburbs of Southern California. While generally open to the idea of a reunion, the bespectacled husband and father of three is wary of its practicability, and stops short of confirming his involvement.
As Haleem pieces a string of leads together, he takes the VH1 crew across the country in search of the remainder of Berlin's membership. Some are still active in the music industry, others are not. Many issues remain unresolved. Drummer Rod Learned, we discover, abandoned the band without explanation before the recording of Berlin's second album. His ex-bandmates have not seen nor spoken to him for 20 years, and while Learned's family knows little about his wild rock-and-roll past, he comes clean to the cameras about his reasons for leaving the group.
To reveal the final outcome of this emotion-wrought venture would be unforgivable, particularly for the Berlin faithful, who have eagerly waited for this moment. What can be said is that "Bands Reunited," unlike the scattered post-heyday careers of many prime musical acts of the 1980s, will not disappoint audiences.
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... and Berlin.
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