Sue Saad and the Next

Sue Saad and the Next was an American new wave band from Los Angeles, California. Its self-titled first album reached No. 131 in the US Billboard 200 in 1980. Sue Saad and the Next also provided part of the soundtracks for several films during the 1980s such as Roadie (1980), Looker (1981) and Radioactive Dreams (1985). Saad performed in Radioactive Dreams and voiced the main theme for Looker.

Sue Saad and the Next
Sue Saad
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States
GenresPop, rock,[1] new wave, progressive rock, punk rock
Years active1978—1986
LabelsPlanet
Warner Bros. Records
Associated actsCalliope
MembersSue Saad
James Lance
Tony Riparetti
Billy Anstatt
Bobby Manzer

Band members
  • Sue Saad (1978—1986): Vocalist and songwriter
  • James Lance (1978—1986): Drummer, vocalist and co-songwriter. He worked with Richard Perry to produce the band's first album.
  • Tony Riparetti (1978—1986): Guitarist, vocalist and co-songwriter. After leaving the band, he started his own studio and frequently worked with director Albert Pyun.
  • Billy Anstatt (1978—1981): Backup guitarist
  • Bobby Manzer (1978—1981): Bass player

History

Sue Marie Saad, James Lance and Anthony "Tony" Lloyd Riparetti met in junior high school while growing up in Santa Barbara, California. Given their mutual interest in music, they began collaborating and eventually formed Calliope. They achieved some success and released several singles. One of these, "We've Made It", dealt with the generation gap and so angered a local disc jockey that he destroyed the record while still on air and voiced a tirade against the band.[2]

The three formed a new band around 1978, Sue Saad and the Next, whereupon they moved to San Francisco and then Los Angeles hoping to find work as sidemen. It was during this time that they began writing songs and recording them on their Rodney Sound four-track tape recorder. They were later joined by guitarist Billy Anstatt and bass player Bobby Manzer, studio musicians who had played together in the rock musical Zen Boogie, wanting to perform in a regular band. The band played in clubs and similar venues throughout Los Angeles[2] and were eventually signed by Warner Bros. Records to develop as writers. Then-chairman Ed Silvers brought the band to record producer Richard Perry who immediately signed them to a contract with his company Planet Records in late 1979.[2] They, along with Marc Safan and the Cretones, were the first new wave groups signed to the label.[3]

The band's debut album was co-produced by James Lance and Richard Perry, the first time Perry had ever shared a production credit, with all the songs being written by Lance, Riparetti and Saad. The album, self-titled Sue Saad and the Next, took less than twenty days to finish at a cost of $50,000. This was well below the industry standard, generally between $125,000–150,000 financing, and at least 3 to 6 months production time.[3] It was released in 1980 and reached No. 131 on the US Billboard 200. Perry later said the album's songs "evoke[d] youthful passion seasoned with wry adult knowledge, as well as a toughminded picture of daily American life and the ways it can be lit up by moments of rock and roll celebration."[2] It was the fourth album to come out from Richard Perry's label and received some positive reviews, earning comparisons to Pat Benatar and Blondie, and made its way overseas months later.[4]

That same year, their music was featured in the 1980 comedy film Roadie[5] along with Eddie Rabbitt, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris, The Joe Ely Band, Teddy Pendergrass, Jay Ferguson and Pat Benatar.[6][7][8] The film's director Alan Rudolph liked the band so much that one scene was written in specifically for one of their songs, "Double Yellow Line", which took place on a highway.[9]

The band continued performing throughout the United States and toured Europe with UFO and the Boomtown Rats.[10] They also appeared in concerts run by Texas promoter Jack Orbin in late 1981.[11] During the next few years, Sue Saad and the Next performed the main themes for the science fiction films Looker (1981)[5] and Radioactive Dreams (1985). "Radioactive Dreams" and three other songs, "Guilty Pleasure", "She's A Fire" and "When Lightning Strikes", were among those released on the official Radioactive Dreams soundtrack. It was also in Radioactive Dreams that Sue Saad had a small role as a punk rocker who performed a musical number, "Guilty Pleasure",[12] and is regarded by many fans of the film as one of its most memorable moments.[13]

It was while working on "Radioactive Dreams" that director Albert Pyun made an offer to James Lance and Tony Riparetti to score music for film and together composed the music for Say Yes (1986), Commando Squad (1987), Alien from L.A. (1988) and Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993). Though Lance eventually left the partnership, Riparetti remained with Pyun and continued to compose scores for his films including Omega Doom (1997), Mean Guns (1997), Postmortem (1998), Invasion (2005) and Left for Dead (2007). He also worked with Beastie Boys for a time. Riparetti's success led to his starting his own company, Sound Logic, which composes film scores and sound editing for low-budget films from his North Calle César Chávez studio in Santa Barbara. In April 2008, Riparetti and his company were featured in the Santa Barbara Independent.[10]

The band's second album "Long Way Home" was recorded in the 1980s under the band's own initiative and funding. Entitled, "Long Way Home " it was released digitally in January 2016.

Their debut album has been reissued in MP3 format on Amazon's digital music service Amazon MP3 and in AAC format at the iTunes Store.

"Long Way Home" has been issued in MP3 format on Amazon's digital music service Amazon MP3 and in AAC format at the iTunes Store.

Discography

Albums

Studio Albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
UK US CAN JPN GER AUS SWE NZ SWI
1980 Sue Saad and the Next — 131 — — — — — — —

Compilation albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
UK US JPN GER
1985 Radioactive Dreams Soundtrack
  • Released: 1985
  • Label: Warner Brothers
 — — — —

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK US US Dance CAN JPN GER AUS ITA NL
1980 "Your Lips-Hands-Kiss-Love" — — — — — — — — — Sue Saad and the Next
1980 "Gimme Love Gimme Pain" — — — — — — — — — Sue Saad and the Next
1980 "Young Girl" — — — — — — — — 20 Sue Saad and the Next
1980 "Prisoner" — — — — — — — — — Sue Saad and the Next
1980 "Won't Give it Up" — 107 — — — — — — — Sue Saad and the Next
1981 "Looker" * — 104 — — — — — — — Non-album song
  • *Note: the 45-Rpm single version of "Looker" is about 1 minute longer than the version used for the movie and is mixed & played differently.

Covers
gollark: I agree completely.
gollark: That would be cool.
gollark: If we had ridiculously advanced future tech of some sort, you could just, say, convert half the moon into a giant sunshade at one of the Lagrange points.
gollark: I think mostly fiddling with the atmosphere in various ways.
gollark: No, there are other ideas.

References
  1. Sue Saad & the Next on All Music Guide. Retrieved on November 24, 2009
  2. Schulz, Paul (1997-02-10). "Sue Saad and the Next". Obscure & not so Obscure Music. TheProducers.org.
  3. Grein, Paul. "Perry Turns To 'New Music' For Latest Signings On Planet Live." Billboard 8 December 1979: 4+.
  4. Lupus, Cantus (1980-04-13). "Imports: The Sue Saad Winners". New Straits Times Malaysia.
  5. All Movie Guide (2009). "Sue Saad: Filmography". The New York Times.
  6. Kirby, Kip. "Nashville Scene". Billboard. 5 July 1980: 5+.
  7. Sandahl, Linda J. Rock Films: A Viewer's Guide To Three Decades of Musicals, Concerts, Documentaries and Soundtracks 1955-1986. New York: Facts on File, 1987. (pg. 93) ISBN 0-8160-1281-4
  8. Romney, Jonathan and Adrian Wootton. Celluloid Jukebox: Popular Music and the Movies Since the 50s. London: British Film Institute, 1995. ISBN 0-85170-506-5
  9. Denisoff, R. Serge and William D. Romanowski. Risky Business: Rock In Film. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1991. (pg. 289) ISBN 0-88738-843-4
  10. Kettmann, Matt (2008-04-03). "The Low-Budget Sound Doctor: Santa Barbara's Tony Riparetti Makes Music for Movies You've Never Heard Of". The Santa Barbara Independent.
  11. Kirby, Kip. "Tex. Promoter Orbin Does It His Way With Low Prices." Billboard. 14 November 1981: 42+.
  12. Nash, Jay Robert and Stanley Ralph Ross, ed. The Motion Picture Guide 1987 Annual: The Films of 1986. Evanston, Illinois: Cinebooks, 1987. (pg. 234-235) ISBN 0-933997-15-9
  13. Anderson, Doug (1998-03-02). "My last temptation". Sydney Morning Herald.

Further reading
  • Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record 7. Llandysul, United Kingdom: Record Researcher Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-9506650-3-7
  • Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-2001. Llandysul, United Kingdom: Record Researcher Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-89820-147-0
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