Live Aid was held on July 13, 1985. Thomas Dolby participated from London, and the Thompson Twins performed in Philadelphia for the biggest concert festival of the decade. Thirty-nine years later, Dolby and Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey find themselves sharing a touring festival bill for the Totally Tubular Festival, and a seven-act iteration of the roving show recently landed at The Anthem in DC.

Thomas Dolby explicitly called to Live Aid in a remarkable moment of his set. Dolby has long cherished his contribution as keyboardist to David Bowie during Bowie’s Live Aid appearance. And Dolby, clad as a retro-futuristic first responder, covered “Heroes” by David Bowie on his synthesizer rig solo during his Totally Tubular set at The Anthem on July 14. Thomas played a little video from that day, and we captured a shot of Dolby on stage with his younger self on screen behind him! I also believe he used a live sample of Bowie’s voice for the refrain of the “Heroes” performance. His Bowie tribute was warm and heartfelt.

That said, Dolby was a total boss during his set, setting his own pace and running his electronics like a cross between an explorer, a scientist, and a musician. The ’80s icon perhaps is best addressed as “professor,” as he reminded DC that he lives in Baltimore now as a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. (“Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor!” Dolby quipped, quoting Outkast lyrics.) He looked good and he sounded good.

Watch the official music video for “Hyperactive!” by Thomas Dolby on YouTube:

I may have anticipated Dolby would appear with a band, but he did his own thing. Dolby closed the festival solo, and he also surprised with a choice of covers. He played the aforementioned Bowie cover in the middle of his set, and he opened with a cover of “Blue Monday” by New Order. In retrospect, the Blue Monday cover wasn’t too surprising as I had seen Dolby sing the song over a DJ track in some of his prior appearances.

Most welcome were Dolby originals “Europa and the Pirate Twins” (an undeniably catchy tune), “One of Our Submarines” (mixed with a sample of “Cars” by Gary Numan), “Hyperactive!” (which came with a simple but effective costume change as Dolby stripped to a song-appropriate t-shirt), and of course “She Blinded Me with Science” (the quintessential mammoth song). He closed the set with “Hot Sauce” by George Clinton, as appears on Aliens Ate My Buick (1988).

While Thomas Dolby stood up in London for Live Aid in 1985, Tom Bailey and his Thompson Twins bandmates were in Philadelphia. During Live Aid, the Thompson Twins played their relatively young song, “Hold Me Now,” lifted from their fourth studio album, Into the Gap. When taking the stage at The Anthem, Bailey noted he was celebrating the 40th anniversary of Into the Gap, and he closed his Totally Tubular set with “Hold Me Now.” The set also included the album’s “Doctor! Doctor!” and “You Take Me Up.”

For those who don’t know, the dashing Mr. Bailey has been touring the Thompson Twins catalog solo with a backing band of three women, and they all dress in white. The effect is striking and lends an appropriate romantic and mystic air to the Thompson Twins songs. Tom Bailey sounded great at The Anthem, and the songs are well served by the inventiveness and musical intuition of the players.

Watch the official music video for “Hold Me Now” by Thompson Twins on YouTube:

Prior to Thomas Dolby and Tom Bailey, Wang Chung dazzled the audience at The Anthem on July 14. Jack Hues and Nick Feldman brought a lot to their festival set with songs that were both introspective and outright fun. Mind you, Wang Chung were mostly there for the fun, inciting a breakout singalong for their number “Let’s Go,” keeping people on their feet for “Dance Hall Days,” and wrapping their set with their signature tune, “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” Wang Chung also delighted with a cover of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash. In the course of the song, Want Chung changed the lyrics from “should I stay or should I go now” to “should I want or should I chung now.”

Watch the official music video for “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” by Wang Chung on YouTube:

It was awesome to see the smartly cool Jack Hues back on stage as he was not touring when Wang Chung last visited DC in 2018 for Lost ’80s Live.

You know, Totally Tubular Festival started out good. It was an appealing concept with a strong platform. But it became truly great once Men Without Hats took the stage. It was as if the band flipped a switch and the energy levels went through the roof. Scene-stealing MWH frontman Ivan Doroschuk began the band’s set with “The Safety Dance,” and he himself did not stop dancing throughout the show. The audience were immediately on their feet in reaction to the performance, and a politely enjoyable concert exploded into a busy dance party.

Ivan has reconfigured the Men Without Hats backing band several times over recent years, but at heart it’s always been a family band, founded by Ivan and including his brothers. Now, his niece Sahara Sloan performs with the band, and Ivan was clearly proud of her keyboard chops and pleased to be with family on stage.

With unflagging charisma and a keen sense of rhythm, Ivan hopped through several classic Men Without Hats songs, including “Antartica” and “I got the Message.” He dedicated “Where Do The Boys Go?” to Allan McCarthy, the former MWH keyboardist who passed away due to complications of AIDS in 1995, as Allan co-wrote the song with the Doroschuk brothers. Throughout the show, Ivan was a dynamo, “safety dancing” across the stage unbounded.

Watch the official music video for “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats on YouTube:

I enjoyed seeing The Tubes, who joined the festival to replace The Romantics. Honestly, The Tubes were a bit of a bucket list band for me, as I had never yet seen them live. As a young man, I really dug frontman Fee Waybill in part due to his movie appearances in The Fabulous Stains and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Fee was clearly delighted to be there, and The Tubes band were really good, particularly in their performance of MTV staple “She’s a Beauty.” In fact, throughout the show, The Tubes reminded us that they were really a video-centric band with video presentations of “Tip of My Tongue” and “Talk to You Later,” among others. (No “White Punks on Dope” tho sadly!)

Annabella Lwin’s Bow Wow Wow really impressed as Annabella has recruited a trio of young musicians who really dug into those crazy Bow Wow Wow beats with enthusiasm. Annabella looked happy, and she really seemed like she was in control. The guys blasted onto stage with “Love, Peace, and Harmony,” giving Annabella time to make a dramatic entrance toward the end of the largely instrumental song. The band captured the audience with their riveting riffs, and the crowd love hearing “Do You Wanna Hold Me?” and “I Want Candy,” which Bow Wow Wow made their own from The Strangeloves original back in the day.

The proceedings began with Eddie Munoz of The Plimsouls, who recruited some colleagues to fill in for the rest of The Plimsouls. Eddie began with a word as to how he missed the late Plimsouls bassist Dave Pahoa, who died in September 2023. Then, Eddie and the gents rocked through four songs, including “A Million Miles Away.”

The Totally Tubular Festival really connected with its audience at The Anthem. Most of us in attendance readily recalled the halcyon days of Live Aid, and the invocation of anniversaries related to the date put us in a receptive mood for an evening of timeless music. Across the seven acts, there was a great deal of variety while everyone at least touched upon the dominant “new wave” label of the day. With Thomas Dolby, Tom Bailey, and Ivan Doroschuk alone, the festival also was bursting with personality.

Catch the Totally Tubular Festival on tour near you.

Here are some photos of Thomas Dolby performing for Totally Tubular Festival at The Anthem on July 14, 2024. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.

Here are some photos of Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins performing for Totally Tubular Festival at The Anthem on July 14, 2024. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.

Here are some photos of Wang Chung performing for Totally Tubular Festival at The Anthem on July 14, 2024. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.

Here are some photos of Men Without Hats performing for Totally Tubular Festival at The Anthem on July 14, 2024. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.

Here are The Tubes at The Anthem!

Here is Annabella Lwin and Bow Wow Wow at The Anthem!

And here is Eddie Muñoz of The Plimsouls at The Anthem!