Damn I wish I’d seen the mini-movie!
It wasn’t Jonathan Chance who was locked up, it was Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (R.O.C.K)., played by Dennis DeYong.
(Lucky you, I’ve just recently bought the album on CD and dug up my old vinyl copy after reading an article on the history of Styx).
The story went as follows (periphrased):
THE PAST
Dr. Rigtheous got his own cable network, and started a movement called the MMM (Majority for Musical Morality). He said rock 'n roll was responsible for the moral decline of the U.S. and the economic disaster that went with it. He got rock 'n roll banned.
About this time, Kilroy was finishing up a tour with his band at the Paradise Theatre (a real life venue that was part of Styx’s history and IIRC did shut down). The MMM raided the concert, a anti-rock protester was killed, and Kilroy was found (somehow) responsible and sent to jail/prison camp.
THE PRESENT
Jonathan Chance (played by Tommy Shaw) is the leader of an underground movement that wants to restore popular music (mainly rock 'n roll). He has decided to make a symbol/martyr of sorts out of Kilroy. Chance manages to alter a transmission of an MMM brainwashing program by adding a bit of footage from a Kilroy concert into the “message.” This inspires Kilroy to bust out of jail.
Kilroy does so by overpowering one of the Mr. Robotos. The are machines that do all the grunt work for society (think: the Asimo robot designed by Toyota…). Evidently they also work as corrections officers in prisons. He disguises himself as a Mr. Roboto and then leaves coded messages as graffiti for Chance to find. Eventually the two hook up at the old Paradise Theatre…
So that’s the backstory. Is it obvious yet that Dennis DeYoung had kind of a thing for musical theatre/rock opera? This was mostly his idea. The discrepancies you’ll find with the songs has to do with the structure of the band.
Quite uniquely, Styx had THREE singer-songwriters, each with a different style – this contributed greatly to their successful formula that allowed them to have hits in three decades.
Tommy Shaw, was the grassroots, squeaky clean, country boy.
Dennis DeYoung was the rock-pop hit-maester.
James Young (who played Dr. Righteous) was the heavy metal rocker.
They each had distinctive writing styles and voices.
Some of the songs were written for, and fit into, the Kilroy Was Here narrative. Some were written outside the scope of the story, but were included as potential pop hits (like “Don’t Let It End” that did well on the charts.) Tommy Shaw’s songs were the ones that seem most out of the loop as far as the story goes, but they kind of fit them in. (“Just Get Through This Night” could be the anthem of a reluctant rebel, and “Haven’t We Been Here Before” sounds like a love song/break up song that was modified to be an ode to the Paradise Theatre.)
I don’t know how “Don’t Let It End” fit into the mini-move because I haven’t seen it.
I you know where to get a copy of the video, please do let me know!
Kilroy Was Here was the first pop/rock album I ever bought as a kid.