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Heatwave (festival)

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Heatwave
Heatwave promotional poster
GenreElectronic music, new wave, rock
DatesAugust 23, 1980
Location(s)Toronto at Mosport Park, north of Bowmanville, Ontario
Years active1980
Attendance85,000+

Heatwave was a rock music festival held on August 23, 1980, at Mosport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

History

[edit]

Approximately 85,000 people attended the festival, with tickets priced at $20 or $25 at the gate. Dan Aykroyd, in character as Elwood Blues, invited radio listeners to join the event for free on his guest list. An additional 15,000 people arrived, bringing the crowd to nearly 100,000 as Talking Heads took the stage.[1]

The event faced issues, including accusations between the backers and park management, with claims that ticket stubs were discarded. The festival reportedly lost one million dollars.[2]

The entire concert was recorded, though no rights agreements were signed. The tapes resurfaced later in 1980 and were secured by promoter John Brower. In the mid-1990s, Brower entrusted the tapes to Canadian record executive Jan Haust for restoration. By 2017, 102 tracks from five of the bands were available on Wolfgang's website.[3] A video of The Kings' set was also released.[4]

Creem magazine covered the festival, noting the novelty of a new wave/punk festival, as many of the bands typically performed in clubs rather than outdoor venues.[citation needed]

Line-up

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The festival's line-up included Vladymir Rogov with ARKITEX, Teenage Head, BB Gabor, Holly and the Italians, Rockpile featuring Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, The Rumour (without Graham Parker), The B-52's, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and The Kings.[1][5] The Clash were originally booked and listed on the poster but canceled.[citation needed]

Teenage Head set list

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A reviewer described Teenage Head as "two scraggly guys playing guitar and bass, and a crop-haired singer in a long-tailed livery coat and eyeliner," noting their performance as "good ol' head-banging ramalama punk rock." The band had a large and vocal following and played with confidence, as if they belonged in front of a big crowd.[1] A year later, Teenage Head's live album featured a picture from their Heatwave set on the cover.[6]

  1. Top Down
  2. Wild One
  3. Picture My Face
  4. Some Kinda Fun
  5. Little Boxes (Alimony)
  6. Fist to Face (Everybody's Growin' Old)
  7. Let's Shake
  8. Lucy Potato
  9. Brand New Cadillac
  10. You're Tearing Me Apart
  11. Somethin' Else
  12. Kissin' The Carpet
  13. Disgusteen
  14. C'mon Everybody

The Pretenders set list

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  1. Precious[7][8]
  2. The Adultress
  3. Kid
  4. Space Invader
  5. Private Life
  6. Brass in Pocket
  7. Stop Your Sobbing
  8. The Wait
  9. Louie Louie
  10. Porcelain
  11. Tattooed Love Boys
  12. Up the Neck
  13. Audience
  14. Mystery Achievement

The B-52's set list

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The B-52's performed material from their first album and debuted songs from Wild Planet.[9]

  1. Planet Claire
  2. 6060-842
  3. Devil In My Car
  4. 52 Girls
  5. Quiche Lorraine
  6. Dirty Back Road
  7. Lava
  8. Give Me Back My Man
  9. Strobe Light
  10. Private Idaho
  11. Runnin' Around
  12. Rock Lobster
  13. Dance This Mess Around
  14. Party Out of Bounds

Talking Heads set list

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The Talking Heads line-up that toured for the Remain in Light album made its debut at the festival. Their set began with the four original members plus Adrian Belew, and as the performance progressed, additional musicians and vocalists joined, including Nona Hendryx, Busta Jones, Steve Scales, Dolette McDonald, and Bernie Worrell.[10][11]

  1. Psycho Killer
  2. Warning Sign
  3. Stay Hungry
  4. Cities
  5. I Zimbra
  6. Once in a Lifetime
  7. Houses in Motion
  8. Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
  9. Crosseyed and Painless
  10. Life During Wartime
  11. Take Me to the River[12]

Elvis Costello set list

[edit]

The festival was the only 1980 live concert in North America by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The performance was recorded and released as a two-LP album.[13][14][15][16]

  1. Shot With His Own Gun (sometimes listed as "How does it Feel")
  2. Accidents Will Happen
  3. The Beat
  4. Temptation
  5. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
  6. Mystery Dance
  7. Green Shirt
  8. You'll Never Be a Man
  9. (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea
  10. Secondary Modern
  11. Pump It Up
  12. Lover's Walk
  13. Less Than Zero
  14. Big Tears
  15. High Fidelity
  16. Lipstick Vogue
  17. Radio Radio
  18. I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
  19. Alison
  20. Clubland
  21. Oliver's Army
  22. Watching the Detectives
  23. You Belong to Me

The Kings

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The Kings set began around midnight and lasted approximately one hour.[6]

  1. Borrowing Time
  2. Don't Let Me Know
  3. Run Shoes Running
  4. My Habit
  5. This Beat Goes On/Switchin' to Glide
  6. Partyitis
  7. California Girls
  8. One Day Off
  9. Go Away

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c https://www.angelfire.com/rock/teenagehead/ShortArticles.htm from Trouser Press #56, Nov. 1980.
  2. ^ Losses: http://philbrodieband.com/music_trivia-yesterdays_august.htm
  3. ^ "Heatwave Festival, a Wolfgang's playlist".
  4. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: The Kings: Live At Heatwave Complete. YouTube.
  5. ^ Partial order: https://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.elvis-costello/browse_thread/thread/f465d5b3e6222f22
  6. ^ a b "iPod Forums at iProng: Voice of the iPod Generation :: View topic - Did anyone attend either of these 80s music festivals". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
  7. ^ The Pretenders: soundboard cassette recording
  8. ^ The Pretenders: http://zombtracker.the-zomb.com/details.php?id=10685
  9. ^ "Home". wolfgangsvault.com.
  10. ^ Talking Heads: https://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.elvis-costello/browse_thread/thread/8c9880a55665dfec
  11. ^ Talking Heads set list: http://www.tradeu2.com/setlistsotherart/talking_heads_heatwave_festival_.htm
  12. ^ Remain in Love, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina. by Chris Frantz
  13. ^ Elvis Costello: ECHWC82380
  14. ^ Elvis Costello: [1] 74 minutes soundboard recording, also [2]
  15. ^ Elvis Costello: [3] 74:59 audience recording
  16. ^ Elvis Costello: back cover Archived 2006-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
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