The Fixx… what can you say about them? I’m at a loss.
I love 80’s pop. There’s all the big names with great popular tunes like Duran Duran, INXS, Thompson Twins, Simple Minds, Prince, Sting, Huey Lewis, Phil Collins, Tears for Fears, OMD, Howard Jones, etc.
I recently heard “Red Skies” on the radio and I thought, “Hey, I remember that song. Good stuff that.”
So I poked around online and realized I had completely forgotten about The Fixx. They had some really good stuff back then:
Red Skies
One Thing Leads to Another
Saved by Zero
Stand or Fall
Are We Ourselves
Secret Separation
Here are my questions:
Why wasn’t The Fixx more popular than they were? Hell, I can’t even remember if they had any music videos.
Were they popular and I just didn’t realize it at the time? Their material seems to be just as good as Yes and Simple Minds, yet I don’t recall The Fixx ever getting a lot of hype. They have more songs I recall than many other 80’s bands, yet The Fixx never seemed to plant a seed in my mind. Am I alone in that?
What was the general consensus on The Fixx in the 80’s?
What do you think of The Fixx?
Do they have any good new stuff? How does their newer material hold up?
Good band. Not a great band, but above average. Flipping channels the other night, VH1 Classic was playing Are We Ourselves; I stopped, thinking to myself, “Oooh – The Fixx. Haven’t listened to them in a long time.” Halfway through the song, I changed the channel again. It’s not that it was bad, just didn’t hold my interest (like, say, a video by The Cure would).
My guess – too political (for lack of a better term, although it gives them more credit than is due, I think), but not political enough. I mean, compare their lyrics to, say, Duran Duran (or other groups on your list). Not poppy enough, but certainly not reaching the angsty heights of The Smiths or The Cure. And they never had that one breakthrough song; One Thing Leads to Another was the closest.
I’d say I put them at about the same level of popularity as Simple Minds. The difference being that Simple Minds had the main song for The Breakfast Club, which gave them a noticable boost in recognition. Same with OMD and the P-furs, with tunes in Pretty In Pink. The Fixx had more hits, though, as I recall.
As an aside, just how much of 80s pop was linked directly to John Hughes movies?
As I said above, good but not great band. I personally like The Alarm better, though I’d put them at about the same level of popularity.
No idea. Didn’t know they were still putting stuff out.
I remember seeing videos at least for Saved By Zero and One Thing Leads To Another. They were played fairly regularly on WTBS’s Night Tracks, which was my main source for videos before MTV made it to the local cable system.
I remember hearing “Red Skies” all the time, so I would have to say they were pretty popular. Pop up Video had some of their videos.
It depends how you define popular. Among music fans, or among drunken frat boys?
I really like them.
Yes, they have some new stuff. Problem is, you can’t visit the same steam twice. They have grown and evolved as artist, and because I am an ungrateful bastard, I don’t like that fact. I want their new stuff to have the same feeling as their old stuff.
Just checked the iTunes video store. They have five Fixx films for sale:[ul]
[li]One Thing Leads to Another[/li][li]Saved by Zero[/li][li]Secret Separation[/li][li]Are We Ourselves?[/li][li]The Sign of Fire[/li][/ul]
I don’t think they were particularly popular because they didn’t have much to distinguish them from all the other pop bands of the era. All of those synthesizer-driven, skinny tie and eye-shadow wearing bands were pretty interchangable. The Fixx, Flock of Seagulls, OMD, Duran Duran - it all sounded really similar. It was sort of pop music PEZ, with MTV as the dispenser.
The Smiths, The Cure, early Echo and the Bunnymen - they seemed to me to be a little darker and have a little more musical meat on the bone. Even Simple Minds started out as a much more interesting band than they morphed into when John Hughes got finished with them.
As an aside, my room mate my freshman year swore that the sone was “Rick’s Got a Knife.”
I actually saw The Fixx this year. It was great. It was a fairly small venue, and I got right up close. They played a lots of the old stuff, and a little bit of the new stuff. I had a blast.
They played in Sayreville NJ (home of BonJovi, dontcha know). 80’s bands seem to do well in Sayreville, as many of the people who live there look like they think it still is the 80’s. It’s a scary little time warp.
I think they are really talented. I have no idea why they were not more popular.
The Fixx opened for the Police at the first stadium show I ever attended. They had a great dramatic flair, but if you listened to their lyrics, you realized they were empty phrases designed to sound meaningful. Theyw ere still OK to liten to for a while, though.
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