Sad to read, just now, that producer Martin Rushent is dead at 63. He’s a musical figure whose name I’ve jotted down on yellow sticky notes as someone to attempt contacting for a Rock Town Hall interview: Buzzcocks, Generation X, The Stranglers, and—I’d forgotten about this until just now—Human League‘s Dare, possibly the only ’80s synth-pop band capable of turning out a few songs that I liked! (Speaking of Buzzcocks and Gen X, stay tuned for a coming thread/tournament centered on a brief discussion around those bands at our recent Sausagefest!)

Andrew Gold also died, also in his early 60s. I first heard him as the man behind the soft-rock anthem “What a Lonely Boy.” Prior to his solo career he was a key contributor to Linda Rondstadt‘s big ’70s albums. He would later strike paydirt writing and performing the theme songs to television sitcoms. Then, with money in the bank, didn’t he release some pseudo-’60s psych albums under a pseudonym and become a hero of the Audities power pop crowd? Or am I thinking of someone else? I do not recall Wax, an ’80s band he formed with 10 cc’s Graham Gouldman that seemed intent on showing Tears for Fears who was boss. Dig the trick Gold pulls at the end of his sax solo!

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