Annabella Lwin at Dreamland in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 1981. (Photo by Chester Simpson)

The fascinating thing about hitting pop stardom in 1980 when you’re aged 13 — like Annabella Lwin, former lead singer of Bow Wow Wow — is that some 37 years later you might still have energy and creativity yet to tour anew. In the case of Annabella, Baltimore receives a treat when she appears on the bill of the Retro Futura Tour, replacing Paul Young on one of the dates for the traveling ’80s festival, on Sunday, July 30.

Annabella, whose distinctive looks come in part from being half Burmese and half English, will perform hit songs from her former group while on the Retro Futura Tour — including songs like “Go Wild in the Country,” “Do You Wanna Hold Me?,” and “I Want Candy” (originally by the Strangeloves).

Watch the official music video for “I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMICD3aMZpw]

Our friend Chester Simpson, rock ‘n’ roll photographer of the times, caught young Annabella with Bow Wow Wow at Dreamland in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 1981. With his kind permission, I am presenting a few of those photographs here. (All photos copyright and courtesy of Chester Simpson.  For more photos from Chester, visit http://www.rock-n-rollphotos.com.)

Don’t miss the appearance of Annabella Lwin on our own Retro Futura Tour in Baltimore! Buy your tickets online.

Retro Futura Tour
w/ Howard Jones, The English Beat, Modern English, Men Without Hats, Katrina, Annabella Lwin
Pier Six Pavilion
Baltimore, Maryland
Sunday, July 30
Show @ 7pm
$26-$85.50
All ages