Belinda Carlisle (Photo courtesy Paradise Artists)
If like me, you miss the days of sitting in front of MTV and soaking up all of the good music that came your way, then Retro Futura has a deal for you.
Retro Futura, the long-running traveling ‘80s music festival, comes around for another summer with the beautiful Belinda Carlisle, ABC (featuring the ever-dashing Martin Fry), post-punk masters Modern English, Tony Lewis of The Outfield, Limahl (of chart-toppers Kajagoogoo), and Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow. Check out tickets for their performance at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Bergen, New Jersey, on July 14!
Belinda broke out as lead singer of seminal all-female punk/new wave band The Go-Gos with hits like “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” and “Head Over Heels.” Her subsequent solo career produced hits like “Heaven on Earth,” “I Get Weak,” and “Circle in the Sand.” She released her most recent solo album, Wilder Shores, in 2017.
Watch the official music video for “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOGEyBeoBGM]
ABC might stand for ABsolutely Cool when your frontman is crooner Martin Fry, who made a distinct and distinguished impression on the world with the Lexicon of Love and hits like “Poison Arrow” and “The Look of Love.” More hits would follow in the ‘80s with subsequent albums, including “How to Be a Millionaire,” “Be Near Me,” and “When Smokey Sings.” ABC continues to thrill audiences globally with their live show.
Modern English band members Robbie Grey (vocals), Mick Conroy (bass), Gary McDowell (guitar), and Steven Walker (keyboards) first reunited in 2010 to tour the United States and Europe. “I Melt with You,” the band’s most famous track, was a US Top 50 single in 1984 after being featured in the rom-com film smash Valley Girl. Modern English released Take Me to the Trees, their most recent album, in 2017 via Kartel Music Group. It’s well worth checking out!
Tony Lewis is the lead vocalist and bassist of The Outfield, the British pop group responsible for such massive hits as “Your Love” and “All The Love.” The Outfield released their debut album, Play Deep, in 1985, and it achieved triple platinum status and reached the Top 10 on US album charts. “Your Love” is still inescapable! Tony will release a brand new solo album, Out of the Darkness, via Madison Records in July.
How amazing is the voice of the fantastic Limahl? He won the hearts of millions in the ‘80s as the lead singer of Kajagoogoo, who stormed to the top of the charts with “Too Shy.” After two more top 20 hits with Kajagoogoo, Limahl and the band parted ways and suddenly found he had another huge global hit on his hands with “Never Ending Story” from the film of the same name. Limahl continues to perform regularly, touring both Australia and Japan to mass acclaim.
When she was only 13 years old, Annabella Lwin seized the day as lead singer of Bow Wow Wow. The New Romantic outfit in turn seized the charts with Annabella’s daring looks and vocals with a string of hits such as “I Want Candy,” “Do U Wanna Hold Me?,” “Go Wild in the Country,” and “C30, C60, C90, Go!”
Here are the full dates for the Retro Futura Tour 2018:
July 11: Atlanta, GA, Chastain Park
July 12: Hyannis, MA, Cape Cod Melody Tent — ABC, Modern English & Tony Lewis of The Outfield
July 13: Westbury, NY, Westbury Music Theater
July 14: Englewood, NJ, Bergen PAC
July 15: Lynn, MA, Lynn Auditorium
July 18: Branson, MO, Welk Resort
July 20: Salt Lake City, UT, Red Butte Amphitheater
July 21: Las Vegas, NV, Mandalay Bay
July 22: Saratoga, CA, Mountain Winery
July 26: Costa Mesa, CA, Orange County Fair
July 28: Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern Theatre — ABC, Modern English, Tony Lewis of The Outfield, Kajagoogoo’s Limahl & Bow Wow Wow’s Annabella
July 29: Tucson, AZ, AVA Amphitheatre
August 1: Milwaukee, WI, Pabst Ballroom
August 3: Northfield, OH, Hard Rock Live
August 4: St. Ignace, MI, Kewadin Casino
For more information, please visit http://www.retrofuturatour.com.
Buy your tickets online for the Bergen Performing Arts Center show on July 14. We’ll be there!
Retro Futura
aka CBS-FM ’80s Rock Celebration
featuring Belinda Carlisle, ABC, Modern English, Tony Lewis of the Outfield, Limahl, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow
Bergen Performing Arts Center
Saturday, July 14
Show @ 8pm
$55-$125
All ages