{"id":12139,"date":"2019-07-16T12:32:35","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T19:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=12139"},"modified":"2019-07-22T10:42:20","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T17:42:20","slug":"sue-saad-and-the-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/sue-saad-and-the-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Sue Saad and the Next: The Indie ’80s Soundtrack Band That Time (Almost) Forgot"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s a normal path that most bands take between record companies and Hollywood, odds are it looks nothing like the one traveled by Sue Saad and the Next. Consider that until three years ago, the band had only a single album to their name; then consider that their music has featured\u200a \u2014 \u200aand featured prominently\u200a \u2014 \u200ain some of the most beloved cult classics of the 1980s, with one former member even going so far as to launch a decades-long writing partnership with independent filmmaker Albert Pyun. Typically, one album doesn\u2019t equate to songs across a half-dozen films, but that just speaks to the kind of career the band left behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite their unique history\u200a \u2014 \u200aand a surprisingly comprehensive Wikipedia page\u200a \u2014 \u200anot much is available online about the band\u2019s contribution to \u201980s cinema. Fans who want to learn more about lead singer Sue Saad\u2019s show-stealing cameo in Radioactive Dreams <\/i>(1985) or the band\u2019s dynamite theme song from Looker<\/i> (1981) <\/i>were often left to their own imaginations. Thankfully, a Hail Mary email to the moderator of one of the band\u2019s few fansites led to a connection with Saad and longtime collaborator Tony Riparetti, who were more than happy to open up about the band and their work in Hollywood.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sue Saad and the Next<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"Long before Sue Saad and the Next became an \u201980s underground favorite, they were a group of friends trying to make it in the California music scene. Guitarist Tony Riparetti and drummer James Lance had played together since middle school. \u201cTony and Jim were the side people in this band called Vance or Towers,\u201d Saad said, the short-lived band best known \u200a\u2014 \u200aif known at all\u200a \u2014 \u200aas the group that plays the high school prom in Brian De Palma\u2019s Carrie <\/i>(1976). When the lead singer was no longer interested in touring, the band broke up, and Saad, Riparetti, and Lance dedicated themselves to honing their songwriting skills, eventually getting contracts with Warner Bros. Records. <\/span><\/p>\n

The three then attracted the attention of Richard Perry, a producer who had worked with artists like Barbara Streisand and Diana Ross. Perry had recently launched his own label, Planet Records, and Sue Saad and the Next \u2014 the new band that Riparetti, Lance, and Saad had formed \u200a\u2014 \u200awould be one of the first acts signed. The band\u2019s rock-heavy first album was released at the height of the New Wave movement in 1980; as a result, they were frequently compared to established artists such as Blondie and Pat Benatar even though their own influences ran contrary to the moment (Saad and Riparetti list The Beatles and Buffalo Springfield as two of their biggest influences).<\/span><\/p>\n

While many critics were quick to note Sue Saad and the Next\u2019s packaging as the next big thing in New Wave, the group\u2019s skilled songwriting was enough to warrant serious consideration on its own merits. Even critics who found the group\u2019s music too familiar for their own liking admitted that there was plenty of room for growth in future releases. And there was no denying Saad\u2019s vocal talent as the lead singer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to Hollywood<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>With a dynamic sound and a steady stream of gigs in California, it wasn\u2019t long before someone in Hollywood took notice of the group. Sue Saad and the Next made their soundtrack debut in Roadie<\/i><\/strong>, a 1980 comedy starring Meat Loaf (and featuring Deborah Harry) as a long-suffering roadie for a traveling rock band. \u201cI think it was Richard who told us that [director Alan Rudolph] really liked our music and wanted to introduce us to him,\u201d Saad said. \u201cHe gave us an idea of what it was that he was looking for. I think we went home that day and came up with a piece.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Roadie <\/i>soundtrack represented prime real estate for the band. While the movie itself was something of a mixed bag, it did feature onscreen performances from an impressive mix of artists playing versions of themselves, including Alice Cooper, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Jr., and Blondie. Sue Saad and the Next\u2019s song \u201cDouble Yellow Line\u201d<\/a> appears at the film\u2019s halfway point as the characters make the cross-country drive to California, serving as the driving force for their life on the road. The song was a strong fit for the eclectic musical stylings of the film; this was, after all, a movie where Blondie performs a full cover of Johnny Cash\u2019s \u201cRing of Fire.\u201d Sue Saad and the Next\u2019s blend of old-school songwriting and New Wave sound fit Roadie <\/i>like a glove.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band got its next movie credit courtesy of an old friend. Michael Towers, who had previously performed with Riparetti and Lance in Vance or Towers, had co-written several tracks for Michael Crichton\u2019s Looker <\/i><\/strong>and recommended Sue Saad and the Next for the soundtrack. This gave them their first theme song, \u201cLooker,\u201d the synth-heavy track that plays over the film\u2019s opening credits (another track performed by the group, \u201cHigh Wire,\u201d would also feature on the soundtrack).<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many of Crichton\u2019s films, Looker <\/i>may not be well-remembered, but it is a smart piece of science-fiction in desperate need of rediscovery. Albert Finney plays a Los Angeles plastic surgeon who is wrongly accused of murder when several of his models end up dead. Again, Sue Saad and the Next are the perfect artists for the soundtrack. The title song itself is undeniably catchy\u200a \u2014 \u200aKim Carnes would cover the song on her album Voyeur \u200a<\/i>\u2014 \u200abut Saad\u2019s strong vocals add an undercurrent of darkness to an otherwise catchy piece of pop. We watch in the opening credits as a soon-to-be victim applies her makeup for the last time; the sharpness to Saad\u2019s voice combined with the lack of expression on the actress\u2019s face gives the song an added element of poignancy.<\/span><\/p>\n