Report: 2007 Summer Concert Series Sweeps America Back Into The 80's

October 11, 2007, 16 years ago

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Time.com has issued the following report from Kris Osborn:

If the reunion concert of VAN HALEN has you feeling like you've stepped into a time warp... Where have you been all summer? There was Don Dokken wailing 'Unchain The Night' to hundreds of wild fans in Springfield, Virginia, as razor-sharp, screaming guitar chords pierced the darkness. A few weeks after, in the same venue, Ratt lead singer Stephen Pearcy stretched a mike over the crowd and sang 'Round And Round' as bodies slammed together and fists pounded the air. In Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Warrant's Jani Lane was in concert, singing the band's classic '80s metal ballad 'Heaven' as thousands waved cellphones and lighters in the air. And not to be left out, MÖTLEY CRÜE and front man Vince Neil launch into 'Looks That Kill' as their Ocean City, Maryland, audience screams along with the lyrics.

The summer concert season of 2007 swept America back into the 1980s as scores of hard rock/metal bands from that decade began touring again, drawing large crowds, new, young fans, and solid revenues 25 years after first emerging. Who toured? TESLA, DOKKEN, GREAT WHITE, WINGER, WARRANT, QUEENSRŸCHE, POISON, RATT, VINCE NEIL, FIREHOUSE, QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, L.A. GUNS, WHITE LION, SKID ROW and BLACK SABBATH

"Despite the fact that it's two decades later, people still like to bang their heads, raise their fists, and have some fun," says Jeff Albright, president of the Albright Entertainment Group and publicist for numerous top-tier hard rock singers. "The opportunities for revenue are probably greater than ever before," says Albright, referring to concert video DVDs and downloads via iTune.

In some cases the crowds and revenues have rivaled those of the 1980s. Ratt and Poison just wrapped up a long, large-venue summer tour where they played regularly before 8,000 to 10,000 fans. Ratt lead singer Pearcy says he noticed an emerging younger fan base of teenagers and twenty-somethings who were born years after Ratt multi-platinum Out of the Cellar album released in 1984. "It has been a gradual buildup again. It's rock and roll - colorful, dangerous, exciting," Pearcy said.

Read the full story at Time.com.



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