Hello
friends! You picked a great time to tune your receivers to Kyle's
Radio Dial, as we'll jog your memory with another great track that is
unfairly ignored by current radio playlists. Tonight, we feature a
movie soundtrack cut that didn't even hit the hot 100, despite being
released as a single and associated prominently with a very
successful film. Sit right back down in your seat, mister, and listen
to Wang Chung's “Fire
In the Twilight”,
or you'll get another two weeks of detention!
“Hot
on the run from the grip of the power game... The man who leads the
way... The man who leads the way...”
Now,
if you grew up in the '80s, AND assuming that you're listening to
today's selection while reading (by clicking the window at the end of
the article, of course), I'd expect that you instantly recognize
“Fire” as the song played during John Hughes' 1985 classic “The
Breakfast Club”
when Bender, Andrew, Claire, Brian, and Allison are racing back to
the library before Principal Vernon catches that they've left their
detention posts.
That
very scene is referenced in the music video, though it is not the
main focal point. The premise of the video is that Wang Chung members
Jack Hues, Nick Feldman, and Darren Costin spend their day performing
events in reverse, causing them to upright a knocked over shopping
cart, repair a classic car by “unsmashing” it, save the life of a
suicide jumper by having him fall upwards to the balcony from which
he lept, and so on. Clips from the hallway scene of the movie are
played in reverse as Jack Hues runs into a theater, keeping in the
spirit of the overall video.
“Taking
a break from the role of the everyday boy... The man who leads the
way... The man who leads the way...”
John
Hughes, of course, is one of the decade's most iconic directors,
having had a hand in writing or directing such memorable titles as
National Lampoon's Vacation, Pretty In Pink, Sixteen Candles, Ferris
Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, and of course, the Breakfast Club.
Each of these films had great soundtracks, and The Breakfast Club's
theme, Simple Minds' “Don't
You (Forget About Me)”
was the biggest hit single, topping the chart for one week in 1985.
“Does
he need ya, does he want ya, does he listen to what you say? Is he
only waiting for the simple life?”
I
wore this soundtrack out back in the day, and never had any idea
there ever was a second single released after Simple Minds' iconic
classic theme. Even back in 85, I thought it was a lost opportunity
on the part of the record label, as songs such as "We
Are Not Alone"
by Karla DeVito, or EG Daily's “Waiting”,
were very radio friendly, as was Wang Chung's contribution. Years
later, I learned that “Fire...” did earn a single release, but I
sure never heard it on the radio, despite even having that cool music
video.
It's
bizarre that Wang Chung's track didn't score big at top 40 or rock
radio, especially since they were up-and-coming hitmakers at the
time, having already captured peoples' ears with the US #16 “Dance
Hall Days”, and the #41 “To
Live And Die In L.A.”. “Fire...” was
destined to be barely noticed at #10 on the “bubbled under”
charts... which essentially means position #110 on the Hot 100. Hues
and Feldman sure as hell made up for it with their next two single
releases, the quintessential 80s party tune “Everybody
Have Fun Tonight” (US #2 / 86), and the
upbeat dance rock number “Let's Go”
(US #9 / 87)
So,
check it out and rock out to Wang Chung's obscure
“hit-that-should've-been”. And as always, keep it tuned to Kyle's
Radio Dial, where the more you listen, the MORE you remember!
“He
is burning... burning in the twilight... he is burning, turning to
face us.
He
is burning... fire in the twilight... he is burning... turning to
lead us away...”
