Gentlemen Afterdark were an American rock band from Tucson, Arizona. Formed as a successor to the punk group The Pills, Gentlemen Afterdark played new wave music until their breakup in 1989. They saw a revival in the 2010s, particularly after a song of theirs was prominently featured in Season 3 of the show ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

''.

History

The Pills formed in 1979 in Tucson and played locally in venues on Tucson's North Fourth Avenue bar strip.Gentlemen back together for night

Tucson.com The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'' ...

, August 28, 2008. They released a four-track, self-titled EP soon after, and the song "DC-10" received airplay on local station

KWFM KWFM was a classic hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to South Tucson, Arizona, serving Tucson, Arizona. KWFM was last owned by AM Radio Licenses, LLC. History The station went on the air as KMOP in 1957. It became KHYT in 1965, KM ...

. At this time, the band's members were Brian Smith, Robin Johnson, Mark Smythe, Rex Estell, and Fred Cross. Smythe departed around 1981 and was replaced by Brian Smith's brother Barry Smith. In 1982, the members decided to move to Phoenix and change their name to Gentlemen Afterdark, which was the name of a song the Pills had written. There, they opened for groups such as X, Wall of Voodoo,

Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...

, and New Order. In 1983, Alice Cooper saw them perform and co-produced (with Dick Wagner) their debut EP, which they released shortly after moving once again to Los Angeles. They then were featured in '' People'' as a "star of the future" in the magazine's tenth anniversary special issue, alongside Tom Cruise and Glenn Close. They opened for

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

and

Midge Ure James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s ...

on tours in 1984.Almost Famous
'' Tucson Weekly'', September 3, 2015. Keyboardist and violinist Barry Smith left the group in 1984 to start a solo career,Electric Violinist Barry Smith Returns After Taking a Slightly Different Path
'' Phoenix New Times'', December 2, 2016. shortly after the release of the ''Gentlemen Afterdark'' EP. The group's constitution at this time was Brian Smith, Winston Watson, Fred Cross, and Robin Johnson. The group took a hiatus in 1985, and Brian Smith returned to Los Angeles to write songs with Doug Hopkins, later of the Gin Blossoms, though the partnership did not last long. Smith then reconstituted the band with Johnson and Watson, but Watson eventually left, and the group solidified again with the addition of Jon Norwood on drums and Kevin Pate on bass. They signed with A&M Records in 1989 and recorded a demo with

Rob Jacobs Rob Jacobs (born 15 October 1943) is a Dutch former association football player and manager. A right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prev ...

, but were unable to release any material with the label. They broke up for good shortly after. In 2008, the group reunited for a single performance at the HoCo Festival. They reunited again for two shows in Arizona in 2010, and then for HoCo again in 2015.Heritage Hump Day: Gentlemen Afterdark - "Promises"
'' Phoenix New Times'', September 2, 2015. Arizona musician

Cait Brennan Wendilyn Marielle Caitlin Brennan (born February 14, 1969), better known by her stage name Cait Brennan, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and screenwriter. Brennan's musical style contains elements of glam rock, psychedelic s ...

covered "DC-10" in 2017.How 'Stranger Things' revived the career of an '80s band from Phoenix, Gentlemen Afterdark
'' Arizona Republic'', July 26, 2019. In 2019, the third season of the Netflix show ''

'' prominently featured the song "Open the Door", which appeared on their self-titled 1983 EP.Gentlemen Afterdark Land On Stranger Things Soundtrack
'' Tucson Weekly'', July 10, 2019. The placement happened due to Gentlemen Afterdark's partnership with

Fervor Records Fervor Records is an American independent record label based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company was founded in 1989 and is now owned and operated by David Hilker and Jeff Freundlich. The label creates compilations of previously released and unrele ...

, which also licensed a Pills track for an episode of '' GLOW''. "Open the Door" appears in the first episode of the third season of ''Stranger Things'', during a scene at breakfast.'Stranger Things' Music Supervisor Nora Felder Talks 'Retroactive A&R' on Season 3
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', July 26, 2019. ''Stranger Things'' musical supervisor Nora Felder used "Open the Door" to illustrate what she called "retroactive A&R" - providing a wider platform for overlooked artists and songs from past eras.

Members

*Robin Johnson - vocals, guitar *Kevin Pate - bass *Jon Norwood - drums *Brian Smith - vocals *Stuart Smith - keyboards, guitar, vocals *Winston Watson - drums *Barry Smith - violin, keyboards, saxophone *Mark Smythe - guitar, vocals *Rex Estell - drums *Fred Cross - bass

Discography

Notes

References

{{reflist Rock music groups from Arizona Musical groups from Tucson, Arizona