Lost 80s Live Takes Pompano Beach – Fl Back in Time

Ivan Romero 16 September 2022

51 4 minutes read

Pompano Beach, Fl – An outdoor summer show in South Florida is always a roll of the dice. Luckily the Pompano Beach Amphitheater, or how it is more commonly known, The Amp, in Pompano Beach, Fl has you covered both literally and figuratively speaking. On September 9, 2022, The Lost 80’s Live Tour arrives with 80’s music legends Wang Chung, Naked Eyes, Missing Persons, A Flock of Seagulls, The English Beat, Stacey Q and Musical Youth expected to perform. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Missing Persons and Musical Youth do not perform on this night. Nonetheless, fans enjoy more extended sets from each of the other artists.

A September Friday evening in South Florida can guarantee two things; rain and traffic. This evening delivered on both. As fans arrive, many display disappointment in response to a handwritten sign advising them that neither Missing Persons nor Musical Youth will be performing. Some fans are visibly upset while many just take it in stride and are happy for a night out and the opportunity to relive the younger years through the magic of music.

The Lost 80’s Live Tour hit the road starting in August of 2022. The tour, now in its twentieth year, will be touring the US through September 23rd. The tour features some of the biggest names to grace the screen during the MTV era when MTV actually played music videos. Other stops on the tour feature additional artist such as Annabella’s Bow Wow Wow, Animotion, Dramarama, Josie Cotton, The Untouchables, Trans X and Burning Sensations.

The evening starts with a very energetic set from Stacey Q. The native of California has been in music, movies and TV. She charged off the crowd with a handful of songs that included “Insecurity”, “We Connect” and finished her set with the mega-hit, “Two of Hearts”. “Two of Hearts“, released in 1986, topped the charts in Canada, made it to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted top 10 in 5 additional countries.

Naked Eyes are next to take the stage. Naked Eyes peaked in 1983-1984 with the release of their first album, Burning Bridges. The album produced their two highest charting songs in “Promises, Promises” and “Always Something There To Remind Me“. It charted in the top 10 across four countries. Lead singer, Pete Byrne performs a handful of songs, including new material. The crowd comes alive as they hear the intro to “Promises, Promises” almost instantly. There is a sense of energy and excitement, fans are standing, dancing and singing along. The enthusiasm overflows as Pete introduces “Always Something There To Remind Me”. He proceeds to perform a fantastic rendition of the song ending with a soft Acapella version of the chorus. Fans are appreciative.

As the sun sets on Pompano Beach, The English Beat comes on to perform. Led by Dave Wakeling, also of General Public fame, the band spends no time getting fans to their feet. Their set included “Save it for Later”, “Tenderness”(General Public), “I’ll do it for you”, and “Mirror in the Bathroom”. All in all, a solid and entertaining set from Dave Wakeling and The English Beat.

The venue is now close to capacity, or at least is loud enough to feel that way. Fans are excited. They have had some time to get into their 80’s groove with Stacey Q, Naked Eyes and the English Beat. Wang Chung kicks off their set with “Wait“. They proceed to play “Let’s Go“, “I Never Wanted to Love You in a Half-Hearted Way“, “Rent Free” before jumping into fan favourites “Dance Hall Days” and “Everybody Have Fun Tonight“. The intro to “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” was quite clever with the band playing the Clash’s hit “Should I Stay or Should I Go“ but ending the chorus with “Should I Wang or Should I Chung“.

A Flock of Seagulls deliver. The band proceeds to play a 6 song set that includes “The More You Live, the More You Love“, “Say You Love Me“, “Telecommunication“, “Space Age Love Song” and “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)” before closing strong with the biggest commercial hit, “I Ran”. While founder Mike Score’s performance is rather static as the centrepiece and lead vocalist, his bass player, Pando, is quite animated and provides colour to the set along with lead guitarist, Gordon Deppe. Pando proceeds to ask fans to come down to the front row area of the Pompano Beach Amphitheater for a very crowded standing room space while A Flock of Seagulls thrills fans with “I Ran“.

All in all, the Lost 80’s Live team delivers a great show. As mentioned, there were a few disappointed fans due to the untimely cancellation of both Missing Persons and Musical Youth. Nonetheless, by the end of the show, fans were thrilled. There will be many looking forward to seeing what year 21 has in store for the Lost 80’s Live Tour.