Tour pairing of ’80s duos offers twice the nostalgia
The parts of the 1970s and ’80s hit-making duo Hall & Oates aren’t tied to the whole.
“Think about it: There aren’t many bands that have achieved what we’ve achieved and are as popular as we are that have (also) established individual careers that are still valid,” said John Oates, 69, who with Daryl Hall forms the enduring musical partnership.
In addition to the pair’s 18 studio albums, Oates — who plays guitar and sings and wrote many of the Hall and Oates songs — has released seven solo records; Hall has five of his own.
Last year, Oates appeared on an episode of Columbus-produced, nationally broadcasted TV show “Songs at the Center.” Hall, 70, hosts the monthly webcast “Live From Daryl’s House.”
With 50 years of friendship behind them, the two responsible for “Maneater” and “You Make My Dreams” have no plans to record another album under the Hall & Oates byline.
“We’ve done so many records,” Oates said, “we can’t even play the songs we have.”
They still hit the road together, though, with a show scheduled for Monday at Value City Arena that will also feature the equally independent-minded Tears for Fears, a synth-rock duo of the ‘80s.
Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith turned out addictive tunes such as “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” before their longtime friendship deteriorated into nine years of silence. A tentative reunion in 2000 led to one more album and several tours, but Smith is quick to say that the two still maintain a distance.
“The key is that when we’re not working together, we don’t see each other,” he said. “And that’s helped, believe me. Back when we were working together, we were in each other’s pockets.”
Smith and Orzabel, who met as teenagers in Bath, England, adhered to primal therapy, a psychological method popular in the 1980s
that leveraged screaming and howling to rid patients of anxiety.
Their 1983 debut, “The Hurting,” followed a similar mental vein as the two sifted through painful family ties, ruined romance and internal turmoil.
The content and tone lightened up in subsequent albums, thanks to the aging process.
“In your teenage years and early 20s, you tend to be full of angst,” said Smith, who, like Orzabal, is 55. “You tend to be very self-centered because there’s nothing more important than you. Then you grow up and have a family and have things that are more important than you. I think that’s a very healthy thing.”
Both bands might have matured, but their music remains as youthful as ever, thanks to the onslaught of modern groups borrowing from their classic songs.
New Zealand pop queen Lorde covered “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” in 2013, earning a gushing accolade from Smith.
Artists ranging from Kanye West to Drake have used bits of Hall & Oates music — something Oates considers an honor.
“It’s a tribute because there are a million songs in the world that have been written and recorded,” he said.
“If a band or artist decides to choose one of ours, it means what we’ve done has resonated with them — and that’s important because that’s what music is all about.”