by John Johnson, photo by Jay Gilbert
Rick Springfield “I Want My ’80s Tour 2025 to Ruth Eckerd Hall with special guests John Waite, John Cafferty, & Wang Chung”
Wednesdy, May 28th -7pm https://www.facebook.com/events/2101441816984167
If I said that I was interviewing Richard Lewis Springthorpe, I don’t believe that would generate any type of buzz. But when I recently mentioned on Facebook that I would be interviewing 80’s Pop Icon Rick Springfield, well, that got quite a bit of traction. Being a teenager during that neon tinted decade was more fun than I can remember (on purpose or otherwise), so I was thrilled at the opportunity to chat with such a symbol of that era. Whether if you were into pop, punk, new wave, hair metal, the tail end of disco or the beginning spark of rap, you were still aware of who Rick Springfield was. And although I enjoyed MOST of those genre’s, and my hair band street cred notwithstanding, I was a fan of Rick Springfield. Forty plus years later I’m still a fan of his, and I will always be fanatical about the 80’s.
If you consider yourself to be an admirer of the MTV era as well, the show he’s bringing to town next Wednesday is right up your alley. The 28th of May, he’ll be kicking off his “I Want My 80’s Tour” at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. The “festival” will include John Waite, Wang Chung, Paul Young and John Cafferty. Young and Cafferty are alternating dates, so the Clearwater show will open with Cafferty, but sadly Paul Young will not be performing. So this past Friday, at approximately noon, I got to chat with one time Mr. Springthorpe about his upcoming tour, and more.
His lovely PR rep connected us and by some background noise, I could tell that he was in a vehicle. In my mind of course, he was in a convertible with the top down, hauling ass around the hills overlooking Malibu. But alas, he informed me that he was “just out running some errands before he heads out on the road”. After letting him know of the incredible response I was getting on Facebook, from mostly women, he replied somewhat bashfully that “we get a lot of couples at our shows as well”. Regardless of gender, anyone that sees Springfield can see that he’s in amazing shape, especially when you consider he’ll be 76 on August 23. Being a Virgo, I wonder if he considers himself one as well, having a birthday on the cusp. “No, I’m a Leo. I was born in Australia, so that makes me a Leo.” My Virgo sensibilities were a little disappointed, but I jokingly ask if it’s like the toilet water going backwards. He informs me with a chuckle, “Exactly. Because of the time difference and all that. Over here it says I’m a Virgo”.
With that appeasing news filed, I wonder with the numerous acts he had to choose from did he handpick the bands on this recent tour. “Yeah, you look for a certain type that you like to go out with. I was a big fan of John (Waite), Paul Young and Wang Chung in the 80’s” he continued, “I know a couple of them very well, so it’s good to hang and it’s a great show. It’s like wall to wall hip and a good crowd pleaser, so we have a blast.” Being a huge fan of The Babys, I ask if there’s a chance that he and Waites would consider performing any of that groups material on this tour. “Yeah, we haven’t worked that out yet. We did do each others music on…Sirius radio does a Town Hall, and we did a couple of each others songs on that.” Excitedly I inform him that I will be digging that up off the interwebs. He continued “Yeah, it was a live acoustic thing with Colin Hay (Men at Work), me and John (Waite).” That should definitely be worth the dig.
I harken back to 2014 when Dave Grohl gave him his much deserved props as an accomplished musician on Grohl’s docu-series, Sonic Highways, and that he’s more than just a pretty face. “Musicians have a different understanding of other musicians. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 13 years old so if I don’t have chops by now, there’s something wrong” he says with a slight snicker. “I’ve been writing since I was 15, and I came over to America from Australia to pursue my music. I was interested in acting but it wasn’t my prime focus” he says with contemplation, “Getting on a show like General Hospital, that became the big show of that summer…there was a double edge sword, musically for sure.” Perhaps bittersweet, but his role as Dr. Noah Drake on that 80’s soap opera was a foot in the door, that he took and ran with.
We happened to be speaking on the same day his “Big Hits: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2” deluxe box set was to hit the shelves. He offers with pride, “Yeah, it’s a great record. It’s kind of the best stuff that I’ve written since the beginning of the 90’s”. The new collection takes off where his first compilation ended. He continued informatively, “There’s surprise tracks on there, some unreleased stuff. There’s a song with Sammy Hagar, called “Party at the Beach Bar”. The song with the Foo Fighters, which was on their Sound City, but it’s never been widely released, that’s “The Man that Never Was”, there’s a new song called “Lose Myself”, and there’s even a recording of “Jessies Girl” that is actually better than the original.” Springfield of course is referring to his all time greatest track from his 1981 (American) debut, Working Class Dog.
The new deluxe set will include a large coffee table book, I inquire about that collector’s item. “It’s actually a pretty cool book. I mean, I don’t love looking at photos of me necessarily, but there’s some great shots in there from a very talented photographer, who’s been my photographer for the last 20 years, Jay Gilbert”. His PR rep was gracious enough to provide a few images of Mr. Gilberts that we used in this article. “He’s taken a lot of photos, a lot of live stuff and a lot of studio stuff. You know when you do a session, a photo session, you usually use like four or five shots and the rest you don’t use, so he pulled out the best of the stuff that people haven’t seen”. I inform him that I will be ordering the set after our call, and that my wife will definitely enjoy the book.
After mentioning Sammy Hagar, I ask if he and Hagar have discovered the fountain of youth, and if so, does it consist primarily of Rum. With a chuckle he says “Yeah, we have a rum company called Beach Bar Rum.” He’s referring to the libation corporation that he and Hagar began more than a decade ago. I’m aware of Hagar’s tequila bent but let Springfield know that it get’s me into trouble and that rum has been my only safe bet when drinking something stronger than beer. With a knowing laugh, he says “There’s one of the flavors called The Kola Spiced and it’s really like Bacardi and Coke on steroids in a bottle. It’s amazing.” I tell him that it looks as though I’ll have to be grabbing that as well, and he jests “You’re gonna be busy after this.”
I let him know, that in fact, I will be busy attending the AC/DC show that evening. “Oh great, Angus!” he says with excitement “One of my all time favorite players.” We speak for a moment how impressed we are with the amount of energy fellow Aussie Angus and singer Brian Johnson have after all these years.”I knew Bon back in the day when I was in a band called ZOOT and he was in a band called The Valentines. He was a great guy and obviously became one of the greatest rock voices of all time.” He’s of course referring to AC/DC’s original vocalist Bon Scott, who sadly passed away in 1980 at the age of 33. I remark how incredible it must have been in the early years of Australian rock, he says “It was a pretty small scene. Everybody knew everybody. Melbourne was kind of the center.”
Staying on the geography topic, we discuss briefly the fires in Malibu. It’s where he resides, and he asserts “Everybody gets hit hard in Malibu when the fires come down, even if they don’t lose their house. It’s pretty insane. The new normal I guess”. Confirming with him that he luckily dodged losing his house, he has recently had to deal with some head trauma based on a fall that occurred over 25 years ago. “It’s nothing that’s really affecting me. I was made aware of it and have to keep an eye on it. No biggie.” He discloses like a true rock star trooper that he is. I reply that, as a fan, that we don’t want anymore falling. He simply responds with “No. No, Please.”
We continue by discussing the 80’s show kicking off next week, and that although John Cafferty will certainly put on a great performance, Paul Young will be missed because I express that he has “great pipes”. “I think Paul has a job, so it’ll be John Cafferty from the Beaver Brown Band. But Paul does have amazing pipes.”
About this time during the interview, my two dogs decided to join in the conversation. I ask him if he has the same breed of dog from his debut album cover. He was bull terrier mix that famously wears a shirt and tie on the album front. He replies with a chuckle “No, Ronnie would be 300 years old if he was still alive. He was a great boy.” We share our love of canines and he asserts with conviction “Yeah. Always gotta have a dog.” I concur.
I wanted to wrap up our conversation by introducing my wife, who had taken the day off for our big concert event and wanted to peek in on my interview with the 80’s heartthrob. “Hi Alicia, how are you?” he asks kindly. She of course breathlessly responds and tells him that we look forward to seeing the show on the 28th. I end by proudly apprising him that he holds a soft spot in our hearts. This is due to the fact that, in 1993 on the old St. Pete Pier, he was our very first date. “First date?! I love that” he reacts. We love it as well Rick.
Whether it’s your first time seeing him perform or you’re fiftieth, or if you’re simply a lover of 80’s music, then you should absolutely attend his concert at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Be sure to check out his Big Hits: Vol. 2 and grab a bottle, if you’re 21 and over, of his Beach Bar Rum.
Now, go out and See, Hear and Feel some live music.
Link to Big Hits: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2” deluxe box set
https://rickspringfield.com/products/vinyl-album-big-hits-rick-springfield-s-greatest-hits-vol-2-copy
Link to Beach Bar Rum
https://sammysbeachbarrum.com/
