LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 18: Rick Springfield performs onstage during Keep Memory Alive Hosts Star-Studded Lineup At 26th Annual Power Of Love Gala at MGM Grand Garden Arena
(Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive)Rick Springfield burst onto radios all over the world in the early eighties. His album “Working Class Dog,’ which he thought would never be released, propelled him to stardom.
That was almost forty-five years ago. Now, Rick Springfield is seventy-five years old and has never stopped performing, recording, and releasing new music.
Rick has joined some of his contemporaries for the “I Want My 80s Tour.” The big 80s party also includes John Waite, Wang Chung, and Paul Young. The tour will be stopping at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ, on July 12th.
I spoke with Rick Springfield to talk about his career, music, and the tour. When our conversation started, it was early. I asked him where he was, and he said, “I don’t know.” He was in Illinois, but had to check with his wife to make sure. They had performed the night before and were out late hanging with their fellow tour mates.
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“I’ve know John Waite for a long time, we toured a couple years ago with Wang Chung. A great lineup, it really is. It’s one of the best line-ups I’ve been on. It’s wall-to-wall hits, and everybody’s at the top of their game. It really is a great show.”
Rick shared that back when his huge popularity began, he didn’t know or think it would ever happen. He shared that he had “Working Class Dog” ready to go, and “The record company really didn’t know what to do with it. There were a lot of ballads and disco on the radio at the time. They really didn’t know what to do with guitar guitar-based, pop-rock album.”
Rick Springfield Interview
Check out my conversation with Rick Springfield here:
Unfortunately (or fortunately), his record company “kept delaying the release, and I thought ‘Here we go again.’” Rick had a couple previous albums that were either “shelved or really didn’t do much.”
Rick took the acting job on General Hospital because he thought he’d need the money. As turns out both the album and his acting career exploded simultaneously. One of the most interesting things he shared was, “General Hospital didn’t know he was a musician, and the record company didn’t know he was about to go on the show.”
Ultimately, his album was released and became one of the biggest records of the year, and the show became one of the biggest of the summer. “It was just one of those things you can’t plan,” very serendipitous.
The “I Want My 80s Tour” at NJPAC includes:
Grammy winner Rick Springfield - “Jessie’s Girl,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “An Affair of the Heart,” “I’ve Done Everything for You,” “Love Somebody,” “Human Touch.”
Grammy nominee John Waite - “Missing You,” former lead vocalist for the Babys, “Every Time I Think of You,” and Bad English, “When I See You Smile.”
MTV VMA Nominee Wang Chung – “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” “Dance Hall Days.”
Grammy Nominee Paul Young - “Every Time You Go Away,” “Come Back and Stay.”
The “I Want My 80s Tour” at NJPAC will be a huge 80s party filled with monster 80s hits. Get more information and tickets at NJPAC.org.
