Today is a presale for the touring ’80s festival known as the Retro Futura Tour, which stops at Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore on Sunday, July 30. DC folks may remember it as The Regeneration Tour, but it has been reshaped and rebranded since its visits to Wolf Trap a few years back!
Visit Live Nation and use the presale code MAGIC until 10pm today to get advance tickets to see the 2017 tour with Howard Jones, The English Beat, Modern English, Men Without Hats, Katrina (formerly of Katrina and the Waves), and Annabella Lwin (formerly of Bow Wow Wow, standing in for Paul Young on July 30). Tickets become available to the public on Friday.
This has been a great time for all of these acts! Howard Jones has been in the spotlight quite often lately, releasing a new album Engage in 2015. He’s of course well known for his hits “Things Can Only Get Better,” “No One Is to Blame,” “Everlasting Love,” and others. Modern English released a new album Take Me to the Trees in February, but they are eternally remembered for the smash “Melt with You.”
Men Without Hats can still “Safety Dance” and Katrina is “Walking on Sunshine” while Annabella goes “Wild in the Country!”
As for the outstanding English Beat, the band are eternally busy, and visited DC only last week! Watch the official music video for “Mirror in the Bathroom” by The English Beat on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cbUW2EY4KE]
Parklife DC had the pleasure of interviewing Dave Wakeling of The English Beat recently, and he reflected a bit on the ‘80s in England. (Read our full interview with Dave.) I asked him if he ever encountered another big ‘80s band from Birmingham, England: Duran Duran.
In response, Dave mused that the video for “Mirror in the Bathroom” was recorded in the Rum Runner, the club famously associated with Duran Duran. Both The English Beat and Duran Duran got their starts in Birmingham, home to the Rum Runner. As Dave recalled, Duran Duran were associated initially with Solihull, a “slightly more expensive suburb” of Birmingham, and other bands were jealous because the gents were well off compared to some.
“They rehearsed on that stage after we filmed the video!” Dave recalled.
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