The Romantics
are an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan. The band adopted the name "The Romantics" because they formed on Valentine's Day, 1977. The Romantics achieved moderate popularity in the United States, Canada, parts of Asia, Australia, Europe, and Latin America during the first half of the 1980s on the strength of the band's catchy, energetic songs and stylish, memorable music videos. Influenced by 1960s British Invasion rock (most notably the music of the Kinks, the Who, the Beatles, the Hollies, and the Rolling Stones), 1970s Detroit garage rock and hard rock (as represented by such performers as Iggy Pop, the Stooges, the MC5, and the Rationals), and the punk rock of the Ramones, The Romantics play a more pop-oriented variation of punk rock known as power pop. The band is also commonly classified into the category of "New Wave" (probably due more to the band's image and era than the sound of its music) by pop music historians.
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THE ROMANTICS TICKETS
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Career
The Romantics' original lineup consisted of rhythm guitarist/harmonica player/singer Wally Palmar, lead guitarist Mike Skill, bassist Rich Cole, and drummer/singer Jimmy Marinos. All four band members made songwriting contributions to the group, but Palmar and Skill were considered the band's primary tunesmiths. After a few years of playing local and regional gigs in Detroit and the Midwest, this lineup of the Romantics recorded the band's self-titled debut album for Nemperor Records in 1980 with British producer
Pete Solley. The group's true debut was the single on Spider Records, "Little White Lies/"I Can't Tell You Anything" (1978), followed that year by the Bomp single "Tell It To Carrie"/"First In Line" (on the Bomp label). All of these were re-recorded later for the LP.
The album yielded the hit "
What I Like About You," which reached #49 in the US, #12 in the
Netherlands, and #2 in
Australia, where the band was especially popular. "What I Like About You" would become much better known later in the 1980s, when its placement in
television commercials and other high profile media made it an evergreen power pop anthem. The band became as well known (if not better known) for its flashy and audacious fashion sense as it did for its exciting music. The Romantics' signature look featured bouffant hairdos and skin-tight red leather suits, as worn by the band members on the cover photo of their debut album.
Mike Skill left the band after the release of its second album,
National Breakout
, in 1981. He was replaced by lead guitarist Coz Canler. This lineup of the band recorded the album
Strictly Personal
in 1982 before Rich Cole left the band that year and was replaced by a returning Mike Skill, who then became the band's bassist.
The Romantics achieved their greatest commercial success in 1983/84 with the release of the album
In Heat
. The first single taken from
In Heat
, "
Talking In Your Sleep", rose to #3 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent two weeks at #1 on the
Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was also a big international hit (#2
Canada, #14
Australia, #18
Germany, #20 Netherlands, #15
South Africa, #5
Sweden, #20
Switzerland, etc.). A second single, "One In A Million", peaked at #37 during the following year. The Romantics' music videos were frequently shown on the cable television network
MTV during this period, solidifying the band's popularity. Also during 1983, the Romantics played well received U.S. and international concert tours in support of
In Heat
, and appeared on such pop music-themed television shows as
Solid Gold
,
American Bandstand
, and
Soul Train
.
In 1984, drummer Jimmy Marinos, dissatisfied with the artistic direction of the band (which was quickly abandoning its power pop roots in favor of more generic mainstream pop rock) and convinced that he could find success as a solo act, left the Romantics. He was replaced by David Petratos, who would serve as the band's drummer until 1990. This lineup recorded one album,
Rhythm Romance
, in 1985. On
Rhythm Romance
, the Romantics eschewed much of the energetic
electric guitar- and
drums-based modern rock 'n roll sound that had come to define the band's music in favor of the
synthesizer pop that had won commercial success for such contemporary bands as
Duran Duran,
Depeche Mode,
Culture Club, and other similar New Wave bands during the early 1980s. By 1985, however, synthesizer pop was beginning to fall out of popular favor. Moreover, the style was not the Romantics' strength. As a result,
Rhythm Romance
was not a commercial success and was also regarded as an artistic nadir by the band's fans.
In the late 1980s, the Romantics discovered that their managers had been misappropriating the profits earned by the band from its hit records and live performances. Additionally, the Romantics' best known song (the aforementioned "What I Like About You") had been licensed for use in television commercials without the band's knowledge or approval. Consequently, the Romantics filed a lawsuit against their management in 1987, and the legalities involved prevented the band from recording new music until the mid-1990s.
Former
Blondie drummer Clement (Clem) Burke replaced David Petratos as the Romantics' drummer in 1990. For much of the 1990s, the Romantics played obscure performances in small venues, largely forgotten and out of the public spotlight.
The Romantics' fortunes began to rise again in the middle of the 1990s, as the band's success in its lawsuit against its former management freed the band to record again (and ensured that future earnings from the licensing of Romantics songs would go to the band). The first fruit of the band's new recording activity was the 1993 EP
Made In Detroit
. Several Romantics greatest hits packages were issued during the 1990s, as was the live album
The King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: The Romantics Live In Concert
, a 1996 release of an October, 1983 recording of a Romantics concert in
San Antonio, Texas at the height of the band's popularity.
Jimmy Marinos, the Romantics' original drummer, temporarily returned to the band for a series of performances in 1996-1997 (with Clem Burke returning to the Romantics' drumstool after Marinos departed again), and late 1990s nostalgia for 1980s pop culture caused a minor resurgence of interest in the band. In 2003, twenty years after the release of their most commercially successful album,
In Heat
, the Romantics released
61/49
- a more roots rock and
blues-oriented record than the band's previous efforts. The album was not a great commercial success, but won the Romantics a newfound critical respect that they had not enjoyed during their popular and commercial heyday in the early 1980s.
61/49
also offered proof that despite the band's years out of the public spotlight, the Romantics remain a potent musical unit.
A fourth drummer, Brad Elvis, replaced Clem Burke as the Romantics' regular drummer in 2004 after Burke returned full time to a reactivated Blondie. The Romantics continue to play live concerts today (with occasional guest performances by previous members Jimmy Marinos, Rich Cole, and David Petratos). The band is said to currently be working on a follow up to
61/49
.
Sony was rumored to have had plans for the release of a special twelve-song CD/DVD during February, 2006 that would feature the Romantics' best songs, with the flip side of the CD/DVD featuring videos, recent interviews, and other clips. To date, this CD/DVD has not been issued and additional information about its release has not been publicized.
Lawsuit
On November 21, 2007, The Romantics filed a lawsuit against Activision, RedOctane, Harmonix, and Wavegroup Sound over the cover of the song "What I Like About You" used in
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. While the game developers did secure appropriate rights to cover the song in the game, The Romantics claim that the cover is "virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version" and thus would "[confuse] consumers into believing that the band actually recorded the music and endorsed the product". The lawsuit requested the cessation of sales of the game and monetary damage.
A
summary judgment hearing was held on July 9, 2008,
[1] and the case was dismissed the next month, with U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds stating that Activision had obtained the proper licensing for the works and that the band itself no longer held the copyright on the work.
[2]
Band members
Current members
- Wally Palmar – vocals, guitar, harmonica (1977–present)
- Mike Skill – bass guitar, vocals (1982–present); guitar, vocals (1977–1981)
- Coz Canler – guitar, vocals (1981–present)
- Brad Elvis – drums, percussion (2004–present)
Former members
- Clem Burke – drums, percussion (1990–1996, 1997–2004)
- Jimmy Marinos – drums, percussion, vocals (1977–early 1985, 1996–1997)
- David Petratos – drums, percussion, vocals (1985–1990)
- Rich Cole – bass guitar (1977–1982)
Note: Former members Jimmy Marinos, David Petratos, Bryan Christopher and Rich Cole occasionally make guest performances.
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Album
| Peak positions
|
US
| SWE
|
1980
| The Romantics
| 61
| —
|
National Breakout
| 176
| —
|
1981
| Strictly Personal
| 182
| —
|
1983
| In Heat
| 14
| 33
|
1985
| Rhythm Romance
| 77
| —
|
2003
| 61/49
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that failed to chart
|
EPs
Year
| Album
|
1993
| Made in Detroit
|
Live albums
Year
| Album
|
1996
| The King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: The Romantics Live in Concert
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
US
| US Main Rock
| US Dance
| SWE
|
1977
| "Little White Lies"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| Single Only
|
1978
| "Tell It to Carrie"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1980
| "What I Like About You"
| 49
| —
| —
| —
| The Romantics
|
"When I Look in Your Eyes"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
"Tell It to Carrie" (re-release)
| —
| —
| —
| —
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"Forever Yours"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| National Breakout
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1981
| "A Night Like This"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
"No One Like You"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| Strictly Personal
|
1983
| "Talking in Your Sleep"
| 3
| 2
| 1
| 5
| In Heat
|
"Rock You Up"
| —
| 49
| —
| —
|
1984
| "One in a Million"
| 37
| 22
| —
| —
|
1985
| 'Test of Time"
| 71
| 44
| —
| —
| Rhythm Romance
|
"Mystified"
| —
| —
| 42
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that failed to chart
|
Audio samples
References
- Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the Rock 'n' Roll Money Machine
- Judge Tosses Romantics' Guitar Hero Lawsuit