Sue Saad and the Next was an American new wave band from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Their self-titled first album reached No. 131 in the

US Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recordi ...

in 1980. Sue Saad and the Next also provided part of the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

s for several films during the 1980s such as '' Roadie'' (1980), ''

Looker ''Looker'' is a 1981 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, and Leigh Taylor-Young. It follows a series of mysterious deaths plaguing female models wh ...

'' (1981) and ''

Radioactive Dreams ''Radioactive Dreams'' is a 1985 post-apocalyptic science fiction-comedy film written and directed by Albert Pyun and starring George Kennedy, Michael Dudikoff, Don Murray, and Lisa Blount. The names of the two main characters are homages ...

'' (1985). Saad performed in ''Radioactive Dreams'' and voiced the main theme for ''Looker''.

Band members

* Sue Saad (1978–1986): Vocalist and songwriter * James Lance (1978–1986): Drummer, vocalist and co-songwriter. He worked with Richard Perry to produce the band's first album. * Tony Riparetti (1978–1986): Guitarist, vocalist and co-songwriter. After leaving the band, he started his own studio and frequently worked with director

Albert Pyun Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...

. * Billy Anstatt (1978–1981): Backup guitarist * Bobby Manzer (1978–1981): Bass player

History

Sue Marie Saad, James Lance and Anthony "Tony" Lloyd Riparetti met in

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

while growing up in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. Given their mutual interest in music, they began collaborating and eventually formed ''The Calliope''. They achieved some success and released several singles. One of these, "We've Made It", dealt with the

generation gap A generation gap or generational gap is a difference of opinions and outlooks between one generation and another. These differences may relate to beliefs, politics, language, work, demographics and values. The differences between generations can ...

and so angered a local

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

that he destroyed the record while still on air and voiced a tirade against the band. The three formed a new band around 1978, Sue Saad and the Next, whereupon they moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and then

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

hoping to find work as sidemen. It was during this time that they began writing songs and recording them on their ''Rodney Sound'' four-track tape recorder. They were later joined by guitarist Billy Anstatt and bass player Bobby Manzer, studio musicians who had played together in the

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...

''Zen Boogie'', wanting to perform in a regular band. The band played in clubs and similar venues throughout Los Angeles and were eventually signed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

to develop as writers. Then-chairman Ed Silvers brought the band to record producer

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (June 18, 1942 – December 24, 2024) was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late ...

who immediately signed them to a contract with his company

Planet Records Planet Records was an American record label founded in 1978 by record producer Richard Perry. It was distributed by Elektra/ Asylum Records until 1982, when Perry sold it to RCA Records. Label history Beginnings The label was founded in 19 ...

in late 1979. They, along with Marc Safan and the Cretones, were the first new wave groups signed to the label.Grein, Paul. "Perry Turns To 'New Music' For Latest Signings On Planet Live." ''

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 advertis ...

'' 8 December 1979: 4+. The band's debut album was co-produced by James Lance and Richard Perry, the first time Perry had ever shared a production credit, with all the songs being written by Lance, Riparetti and Saad. The album, self-titled ''Sue Saad and the Next'', took less than twenty days to finish at a cost of $50,000. This was well below the industry standard, generally between $125,000–150,000 financing, and at least 3 to 6 months production time. It was released in 1980 and reached No. 131 on the

. Perry later said the album's songs "evoke youthful passion seasoned with wry adult knowledge, as well as a toughminded picture of daily American life and the ways it can be lit up by moments of rock and roll celebration." It was the fourth album to come out from Richard Perry's label and received some positive reviews, earning comparisons to

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...

and Blondie, and made its way overseas months later. That same year, their music was featured in the 1980 comedy film '' Roadie'' along with

Eddie Rabbitt Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as " Kentucky Rain ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

and

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

, The Joe Ely Band,

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

, Jay Ferguson and Pat Benatar. The film's director

Alan Rudolph Alan Steven Rudolph (born December 18, 1943) is an American film director and screenwriter. Early life Rudolph was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Oscar Rudolph (1911–1991), a television director and actor, and his wife. Care ...

liked the band so much that one scene was written in specifically for one of their songs, "Double Yellow Line", which took place on a highway. The band continued performing throughout the United States and toured

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

and the

Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock/ new wave band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including " Like Clockwork", " Rat Trap", " I Don't Like Mondays" and " Banana Republic". T ...

. They also appeared in concerts run by Texas promoter Jack Orbin in late 1981. During the next few years, Sue Saad and the Next performed the main themes for the

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

s ''

'' (1981) and ''

'' (1985). "Radioactive Dreams" and three other songs, "Guilty Pleasure", "She's A Fire" and "When Lightning Strikes", were among those released on the official Radioactive Dreams soundtrack. It was also in ''Radioactive Dreams'' that Sue Saad had a small role as a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

er who performed a musical number, "Guilty Pleasure", and is regarded by many fans of the film as one of its most memorable moments. It was while working on "Radioactive Dreams" that director

made an offer to James Lance and Tony Riparetti to score music for film and together composed the music for '' Say Yes'' (1986), '' Commando Squad'' (1987), ''

Alien from L.A. ''Alien from L.A.'' is a 1988 science fiction film directed by Albert Pyun and starring Kathy Ireland as a young woman who visits the underground civilization of Atlantis. The film was featured on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. This film is lo ...

'' (1988) and '' Brainsmasher... A Love Story'' (1993). Though Lance eventually left the partnership, Riparetti remained with Pyun and continued to compose scores for his films including ''

Omega Doom ''Omega Doom'' is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Albert Pyun and starring Rutger Hauer. It was written by Pyun and Ed Naha. The story, set in a dystopian future, concerns a robot warrior who, during a nuclear winter, play ...

'' (1997), '' Mean Guns'' (1997), ''

Postmortem An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...

'' (1998), ''

Invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

'' (2005) and '' Left for Dead'' (2007). He also worked with

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

for a time. Riparetti's success led to his starting his own company, Sound Logic, which composes film scores and sound editing for low-budget films from his North Calle César Chávez studio in Santa Barbara. In April 2008, Riparetti and his company were featured in the ''

Santa Barbara Independent The ''Santa Barbara Independent'' is a news, arts, and alternative newspaper published every Thursday in Santa Barbara, California, United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a ...

''. The band's second album ''Long Way Home,'' recorded in the 1980s under the band's own initiative and funding, was released digitally in January 2016.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

* *Note: the 45-Rpm single version of "Looker" is about 1 minute longer than the version used for the movie and is mixed & played differently.

Covers

* "Prisoner" was covered by

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

on her 1981 album ''

Take My Time ''Take My Time'' is the debut album by UK pop singer Sheena Easton. Released in January 1981, the album reached number 17 in the UK and earned her a Gold Disc. Two months later, a ten track version of the album was released in the US and Canada ...

'', then again by Uriah Heep on their 1982 '' Abominog''.

Cherie Currie Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and h ...

and Marie Currie covered "Prisoner" on the 1997 re-release of '' Messin' with the Boys''. * "Looker" was covered by

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...

on her 1982 album ''

Voyeur Voyeurism is the Sexual attraction, sexual interest in or Human sexual activity, practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. ...

''.

References

External links

Sue Saad and the Next
at

Artistdirect Artistdirect (stylized as ARTISTdirect) is an American online digital media entertainment company. Overview Founded in 1996, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affi ...

* * *
Unofficial website
* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1979 American new wave musical groups Punk rock groups from California Progressive rock musical groups from California Warner Records artists