The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Isn’t about time you Wang Chung-ed while you stayed home?
Wang Chung, which will take place in online concert, recalls a memorable loan
Three and a half decades ago, Wang Chung was still riding high based on No. 1 song “Dance Hall Days.” Looking back, founding band member Nick Feldman (vocals, bass, guitar and keyboards) said it was apparent early on the tune was magical. “I remember when we first recorded it, you could just feel there was something special about it,” said Feldman, calling from Wimbledon, England. “The rhythm was very idiosyncratic, mixing African beats with good old rock ‘n’ roll.” Not only did Feldman note Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones even considered the track for “Thriller,” but the recording by Wang Chung includes a crazy story that took place in the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. “When recording ‘Dance Hall Days,’ we weren’t quite happy with my bass sounds, so the engineer disappeared, saying he was going to get another left-handed bass guitar,” Feldman said.
“The next minute, this guy walks in holding a bass, saying he’s from the bassrental company. We were like, OK. When we looked up, it was Paul McCartney. He lent me his bass to play on ‘Dance Hall Days.’ It’s another bit of magic around that song.” Over the last decade, Wang Chung’s music has remained in pop culture, appearing on television (“The Walking Dead,” “Breaking Bad,” “South Park,” “Glee,” “This Is Us,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Goldbergs”) and feature films (“Bumblebee,” “Deadpool” and “The Fighter”). The success has led to participation in package tours, including visiting Cleveland roughly a decade ago. “We got to finally visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which was really cool because, as we walked in, there was an exhibit with our faces on a bunch of TV screens,” Feldman said. “They were playing the video for ‘Everybody Have Fun Tonight.’ It was kind of like, ‘Hey, we’re in the Hall of Fame.’ That was cool.” Next up for Wang Chung is taking part in June 13’s “Back to the Basement” online concert event, which finds ‘80s bands performing at home. The bill includes A Flock of Seagulls, Naked Eyes, Animotion, Cutting Crew, Nu Shooz, Annabella
“I remember when we first recorded it, you could just feel there was something special about it” — Nick Feldman, Wang Chung member, on the band’s hit “Dance Hall Days”
(from Bow Wow Wow), The Vapors and Tiffany. Proceeds from “Back to the Basement” will benefit Direct Relief, an international humanitarian-aid organization with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies — without regard to politics, religion or ability to pay. “Obviously, it’s for a really good cause in this difficult time,” Feldman said. “Anything we can do to sort of raise money and raise awareness for brave people on the front line and people who are helping out first responders — that’s something we feel good about.” Other news finds Wang Chung transforming one of its hits into a pandemicmessage song. “Since we got involved with ‘Back to the Basement’ we decided to record a new, sort of slightly updated version of ‘Everybody Have Fun Tonight,’” Feldman said. “It’s called ‘Everybody Stay Safe Tonight.’ “It sounds like the original with different lyrics. We just want everybody to be healthy and safe.”