"pilot of the airwaves / here is my request…"

Ah, Charlie DoreÁ¢€â„¢s ode to calling the DJ request line. Every Á¢€Ëœ80s child has been there, hanging on the phone, waiting for that busy signal to stop, finally getting it to ring, then sitting there waiting for the DJ to answer so you can make that request. Sigh. Well, Charlie had a decent sized hit with Á¢€Å“Pilot of the AirwavesÁ¢€, however, it seems to have faded into obscurity since it hit. But Charlie did okay since, writing songs for Tina Turner, Celine Dion and a little Á¢€Ëœ80s jam for Sheena Easton called Á¢€Å“StrutÁ¢€. Who knew?

But weÁ¢€â„¢re talkinÁ¢€â„¢ requestsÁ¢€¦

Lost in the 80s started just three short months ago, and with the help of such fantastic sites as mp3blogs.org and Tofu Hut, has grown from a couple of my friends and blogging buddies visiting once a week, to more than 500 hits a day from around the world. And with this new traffic comes plenty of great e-mail from fellow Á¢€Ëœ80s geeks. I read and truly appreciate each and every one, even if it takes me forever to respond. You guys are awesome.

LetÁ¢€â„¢s dig into that mailbag a bit, yes?

One of the first e-mails I got from this site was waaaay back in March was from John G. who had two fine requests, one for Q Lazzarus and another for the extended version of Heaven 17Á¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“Let Me GoÁ¢€.

Well, John, I have both tucked away somewhere in ClevelandÁ¢€¦unfortunately, IÁ¢€â„¢m in Cali. Until I dig them out of storage, how about the radio edit of Á¢€Å“Let Me GoÁ¢€ to tide us over? Can you believe this was Heaven 17Á¢€â„¢s only Hot 100 chart entry in the States? We suck.

Á¢€Å“letit bemeÁ¢€ writes in with a bunch of good requests, a few I may get to eventually, but I love one in particular Á¢€” IndustryÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“State of the NationÁ¢€.

Industry had an EP and later a full-length release on Capitol Records. Both are long out of print, but Á¢€Å“State of the NationÁ¢€ surfaced a few years ago on a CD compilation titled Á¢€Å“CanÁ¢€â„¢t Get Enough of the Á¢€Ëœ80sÁ¢€. That CD is also now out of print, but you may be able to find it used at SecondSpin.com. While you search, hereÁ¢€â„¢s Á¢€Å“State of the NationÁ¢€, plus a nice Razormaid remix. Without getting too political, I think the lyrics are probably more relevant today than back in 1983Á¢€¦

And while they didnÁ¢€â„¢t request anything specific, shoutouts in particular to Zombie Joey D., Joe.My.God., DJ Joel-Steven and Dave P. from Memory LAME radio for their kind words and support.

One last requestÁ¢€¦mine! IÁ¢€â„¢m looking for a pretty obscure one here, folks. Anyone remember Á¢€Å“Baby Come BackÁ¢€ from Billy Rankin? In 1984, this former Nazareth member put out a solo album containing that single which peaked at #52 on the Hot 100, accompanied by a pretty stylish video where he watched himself on TV chasing himself on TV, then a static-y version of himself came out of the TV and chased himself into the TV andÁ¢€¦well, it was cool. I love that song and itÁ¢€â„¢s never been issued on CD. And IÁ¢€â„¢ll be damned if I can find the album (Á¢€Å“GrowinÁ¢€â„¢ Up Too FastÁ¢€) much less the 45. Anyone?

That is my request. You donÁ¢€â„¢t have to play it, but IÁ¢€â„¢ll hope youÁ¢€â„¢ll do your best.

Á¢€Pilot of the AirwavesÁ¢€ by Charlie Dore peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.
Á¢€Å“Let Me GoÁ¢€ by Heaven 17 peaked at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on the Club Play Singles chart and #32 on the Mainstream Rock chart (??) in 1983.
Á¢€Å“State of the NationÁ¢€ peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.