This time that awesomeness is Paul Young. He is the English pop musician who had a #1 hit in 1985 with his cover of "Everytime You Go Away". In the U.S., he is certainly best known to 80s fans for that great song as well as later successful covers of "Oh Girl" in 1990 and "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" in 1992. In the UK, he enjoyed six Top 10 singles and three multi-platinum albums in the 80s, but the interview will be more from the American perspective. He was one of the artists to be spotlighted singing solo lyrics in the 1984 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and would be asked to perform at 1985's Live Aid. You'll find out more about his biggest hit single, being a part of those iconic charity events and much more as we get on to some selections from my interview with Paul Young...

Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a musician and performer? How did you get your start in the music industry?

Paul: Yes, from about 14. I had a job which I quit at 20. I was in a couple of bands; the second one was a great live band and got a lot of attention from people in the business, but not enough sales. When I went solo, the DJ's that had seen my second band, The Q-Tips, gave my records a lot of support and airtime until eventually the third release went to #1 here in the UK!

Q: Please discuss your musical influences and who molded and inspired your voice and career.

Paul: When I was young, I liked Free (Paul Rodgers) mainly, with a little James Taylor and Stevie Wonder. By the time I was in my first band, it was The Who, Small Faces, The Faces, Patto, and the emerging talent at that time was Dire Straits, Robert Palmer, The Stranglers. By my second band, I was influenced by Junior Walker, Joe Tex (big time!), Otis, Sam Cooke, and Wilson Pickett. By the time I'd gone solo I was discovering the lesser known soulsters; Garnet Mimms, Chuck Jackson, Johnny Taylor, plus the talent at the time (Talking Heads, Soft Cell) and I was interested in African High Life & Ju-Ju music.

Q: "Everytime You Go Away" became a huge hit topping the charts in both the U.S. and UK in 1985. What can you tell us about how you decided to record a cover version of this amazing song? Did you feel like you had something special when you recorded your version? Could you have ever anticipated the reaction this song would get not only in the UK , but in the U.S. as well?

Paul: I almost passed on the song because I was getting into the relatively darker material (darker than my first CD) that was making up the album. But when we compiled what we'd got, my manager suggested we lighten up a little!! So we went back to the cassettes of songs that we'd saved as "likers" and waddya know? Both "Everytime You Go Away" and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" were on the same tape from the same publisher. It's a little known fact that although one guy got the kudos, they were actually suggested to him by the temp secretary who had been a Q-Tips fan! We did feel we had something special, in fact by the time we knew it would get a U.S. release, my keyboard player predicted a U.S. #1.

"Everytime You Go Away" was written by Daryl Hall and originally recorded for his 1980 Hall & Oates album Voices. It was not released as a single by Hall & Oates and most were not aware of the song until Paul Young released his version of the song in February of 1985 and on his The Secret of Association album. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on July 27, 1985 and remains Young's only #1 hit up to this point. Here is the music video for "Everytime You Go Away" by Paul Young...

Q: Did you know Daryl Hall previous to or following recording the song? Did he ever tell you or did you ever hear his feelings on your outstanding version of his song?

Paul: Well, I heard my very cursory and blunt mention on the Hall & Oates Live album, but he softened a little after that. A sharp guy, he spotted the Joe Tex influence which I thought had gone by this time!

Here's what Hall said on their Live at the Apollo album recorded and released in late September of 1985:
"We'd like to do a song that was on our Voices album about five years ago. And it was recently done by an English artist. It's called "Everytime You Go Away". This is the original and we're going to do it our own way." Hall is kind of laughing when he says English artist and does not even refer to Young by name. Hall did write an amazing song, but I feel he owed Young a little more respect for taking that song and making it a hit. As mentioned earlier, Young had taken his version of "Everytime You Go Away" to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of that same year. There's a good chance that Hall & Oates wouldn't even be performing the song if it weren't for the attention that Paul Young brought to it.

Q: How did you come up with the arrangement on your version of "Everytime You Go Away"? The electric sitar works so nicely. What made you decide to use that?

Paul: Rev (my keyboard player) wrote the lovely keyboard patterns in the verses, and already had what he called the "doctor's theme" in his head (the main one the sitar plays). I always loved the sound of the sitar, on The Box Tops' "Cry Like A Baby" and Freda Payne's "Band Of Gold". I thought it was a soulful sound, so we decided to play the theme with that.

Q: Please discuss the unique sound of the fretless bass that Pino Palladino provides on this song and many of your other songs.

Paul: Pino's done that fretless sound to death and is not so keen on it now (witness anything he plays with The John Mayer Trio. Still bloody good though, ain't he?!). But at the time he was the only guy that could do that essentially Jazz-Rock style and make it Pop. Because of his incredibly melodic ear.

Q: Your song "Love of the Common People" appears on the soundtrack to the 1984 John Hughes film Sixteen Candles. Then in the 1987 John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles, the song "Everytime You Go Away" is used but it is performed by a group called Blue Room instead of by you. As far as you know, were you ever approached or considered to use your version of that song for the movie? The song is perfect for the moment it is used in the film (which is one of my favorites), but I always wish it was your version of the song.

Paul: Damn it! I wanted my version of "Everytime You Go Away" in that movie so bad. I was a big Steve Martin fan, and a friend had seen the rushes of the movie with my version cut in. But [Walter] Yetnikoff (head of CBS at the time) and the head of Warner Bros. had a little war going on, so Yetnikoff said he could have it if he could price it out of his ass (or something like that). So I lost out! I always wondered who did it... and who were Blue Room??

Q: When you have a mega hit song like that, do you (or did you) ever get sick of playing it?

Paul: My God, it's probably the ONLY song I do that I don't get tired of... that's really sayin' something. I think it's because, although it's a ballad, the arrangement has big dynamics, so you can do all the James Brown tricks, you know, knee drops and the music stops, call & answer with the crowd, ad-lib repeats over and over at the end... great fun!

Q: I have to ask about "Do They Know It's Christmas?" from 1984. You had the honor of singing both the opening and closing lines of that iconic song. It is reported that the first line was originally intended for David Bowie. How did it turn out that you received those great solo lyrics both at the beginning and end? Please tell us a little about your memories of recording that song. You must be proud of what that song went on to accomplish and the good it has done.

Paul: I remember that David Bowie was going to get the first line, but Bob Geldof begs to differ! So who's right? I'm not sure now. I do know that someone said I was all over it, and next time I listened to it I realized I was mixed pretty high all the way through. Wow... It was an honor and a pleasure though, and I'm chuffed I got the opening line.

If you want to find out much more about and listen to "Do They Know It's Christmas?" please check out my special issue on the 1984 charity song by Band Aid.

Q: Similarly, what memories do you have from performing at the Wembley Stadium portion of Live Aid on July 13, 1985? You finished up your set with "Everytime You Go Away" and Band Aid also performed "Do They Know It's Christmas?" during the finale. What an iconic day in pop culture history. What are your memories of it now over 25 years later?

Paul: It was a blur... all I remember is Bob running on & saying that we are now worldwide (gulp!), and having to clear the dressing room (trailer) in 15 minutes because Queen had to use it! I went out to apologize that we were a bit slow and they were so cool about it, you wouldn't believe. Everybody was cool that day.

Here is the video of Paul Young performing "Everytime You Go Away" at Live Aid...

Q: In 1988, you performed Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" at the 70^th Birthday Tribute for Nelson Mandela. First, that had to be an honor getting to perform for that great man. Why did you not perform one of your own songs at the tribute? What made you choose "Don't Dream It's Over"?

Paul: I had no song of my own that had any reference to what the day was all about, and I remembered the Crowded House song, the least oblique reference being, "in the paper today, tales of war and of waste, but you turn right over to the TV page", so I decided on that one.

"Don't Dream It's Over" was written by Neil Finn and Crowded House reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with it in 1987. After performing it at the Mandela tribute, Young would eventually release his own cover as a single in 1991 as part of his greatest hits compilation From Time to Time - The Singles Collection. Here is the video for "Don't Dream It's Over" by Paul Young...

Q: MTV was becoming a major factor right at the same time your career was blossoming. What are your thoughts on the impact that MTV had on music in the 80s?

Paul: I never felt that I made good videos, but considering that, I think I did OK out of it! When I did start getting my own ideas and visions, the record company would refuse to put up the money. I suppose they were a bit grand. But MTV definitely shaped the sound of the 80s.

Q: Any other comments or stories about 80s music or pop culture?

Paul: Yes, I felt a little outside it! Being an old soul fan and all, maybe I fitted in a little better with the U.S. acts, but the UK music was very synth driven at the time. My biggest problem in the U.S. was the radio segregation (College radio, AOR, R&B, M.O.R., Rock). I felt I fitted into all of them, but that wasn't allowed, you had to be one or the other. An easy concept for an American artist, but a UK one?

Q: Some 80s pop superstars "run away" from the 80s and some embrace the success and fans from that decade. How do you personally deal with and keep the 80s alive and in perspective?

Paul: I ran away from it for a while, because I was still shaping my music into the 90s and getting hits here in Europe, but once we got into the Naughties and I was far enough away, I could go back and appreciate the hits I'd had.

Q: Of all your hit songs over the years, which is your personal favorite? Is there a song that never was released as a single or never became a hit that you have always really loved?

Paul: Well, "Everytime You Go Away" would be my favorite because I felt it was the perfect Pop arrangement; but the one in all my career that I can say, great song, great vocal, great musicians and big heart is a song called "Won't Look Back" that was on an album called The Crossing [1993] that I recorded in Ocean Way Studios, L.A. with Don Was. Anyone who has to move out of a relationship because you just can't forgive anymore will feel this one.

Q: In 1992, you performed with the surviving members of Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Again, this must have been an honor. Were you a big fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury? What memories do you have from your performance of "Radio Ga Ga" with the remaining Queen members?

Paul: Great honor, again. I was a fan since the early days, and I remember when these three musicians did the opening few bars of "Ga Ga" at rehearsals, I said to someone, "After 40 years of Pop music, how the f**k can three musicians make such an unmistakable sound?" It was incredible.

Q: I read this quote from you, "Every artist wants to change, yet every record company wants them to stay the same." Can you expand on this thought and how it specifically applied to you?

Paul: I was doing the self-titled album on East West, and (probably foreseeing the hash they were gonna make of it) I was saying that an artist wants to experiment, to move forward, but a record company want the same sounding stuff so that they don't have to think... they just put adverts in the same magazines as with the last CD, use similar soundbites, go to the same radio stations, etc. etc.

Q: After over three decades in the business, from your perspective, how has the music industry changed over that time? And how do you see the future?

Paul: Massively! It's turned on its head. The records, which made us the most money, are now expected to be for free. Concerts, which ran at a loss to promote albums, now are the main source of income, but the fans are being driven away by market saturation and sky-high ticket prices. What hasn't changed is that there is still plenty of great music around, lots of diverse styles, and the good side to the internet is that it's easier to find.

Q: There were reports that you were working on releasing a new studio album. Is there a new album in the works? What can you tell us about it?

Paul: Slowly, slowly... I've done four tracks to get a bit of interest drummed up (that's happened), now it's looking for/writing the next lot of material. For a long time I didn't see the point if noone buys albums any more, but now I feel I've got something inside that needs to come out...an ALIEN! No, not really...

Q: What else is Paul Young up to nowadays? Musically and otherwise?

Paul: I do Paul Young concerts, I've had a Tex-Mex band (Los Pacaminos) for 17 years now and love doing shows with them, I have a big family, I'm now known in the UK as being a foodie (Hell's Kitchen and Celebrity Masterchef TV shows), so a cookbook could be in the pipeline, and maybe my own little restaurant too...

I am so pleased that Paul took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. Special thanks to Mick Cater who helped coordinate the interview. If you want to find out more about Paul Young and stay up to date with what he has going on, please be sure to visit his official website at www.paul-young.com/. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Paul Young for his contributions to 80s pop culture especially with his version of "Everytime You Go Away" and, even more, for taking a moment to go back to the 80s with us here as well.

That's all for another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: As you know, I often share signs that are either amusing or ironic (or both). Here is one that came with a caption that makes it both amusing and gives it an 80s connection. It would probably be even more amusing to see the video of people actually crossing the bridge in this manner...

Quote of the day: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill

This time that awesomeness is Allison Smith. She is probably best known to 80s fans as "Jennie Lowell," the daughter of Jane Curtin's character, on the sitcom Kate & Allie for six seasons. Previous to that role, she starred in the title role of Annie on Broadway for nearly three years which received rave reviews and demonstrated her incredible singing voice. Since the 80s, the beautiful Smith continues to sing and act in roles on television, movies and stage. You will find out a little more about her experiences as "Annie" and on Kate & Allie as well as what she has been up to more recently as we get on to some selections from my interview with Allison Smith...

Q: You started professional acting/performing at a young age. How did you get your start? Did you ever have any formal acting or singing training?

Allison: I sang in a school play at my public school in New Jersey in the 4^th grade. Everyone was "wow-ed". A teacher's husband who was a stage hand on Evita on Broadway told my mom they were replacing some of the children's chorus. I went and got it. That was the beginning. I really felt called to be doing it. I never had any formal training at that time.

Q: When you were 10 years old, you received the lead role in the Broadway musical Annie. What are your memories of getting that role and then performing it for nearly three years straight? Were you enjoying yourself performing such a high profile role at such a young age?

Allison: Doing Annie was an absolute pleasure through and through. As I got older, around 11 and had been doing the role a while, I started to come into my own and understand that I had some control over the audience's reaction, making them laugh or feel sad, and I started to experiment more vocally. It was such a blast and I loved every minute of it.

Smith belted out "Tomorrow" for nearly three years (and over 1000 performances) as "Little Orphan Annie". At that time, she became the youngest person ever (one month past her tenth birthday) to star in a Broadway musical. Smith's run ended in September of 1982 and the show ended up closing in January 1983.

Q: After leaving Annie, how did the 1983 opportunity to play daughter "Jennie" on Kate & Allie come your way? Did you have any expectations or reservations going into the series? Did you ever expect this role to last as long as it did (6 seasons)? How was the transition from Broadway to a television series?

Allison: I left Annie in September, 1982 and got Kate & Allie in March of 1983. At that time from doing Annie I was known in New York as a working performer, so just continued being offered roles until I got the role of "Jennie" for Kate & Allie. Who would have known I'd be on that show for the next 6 years?

I never would have auditioned for a Kate & Allie if it hadn't shot in New York. I still had many brothers and sisters at home and we were never interested in leaving New York and disrupting the family. At that time and being a teenager, I was happy to break out of my Annie musical image and play someone different on TV.

Kate & Allie was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed sitcoms of the 80s, consistently ranking in the Top 20 shows until its final season. It starred Susan Saint James as the free-spirited "Kate" and Jane Curtin as her more traditional childhood friend, "Allie". They were strong, independent, divorced women raising families together. During the show's run, Curtin won two Emmy Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series while Saint James was nominated in the same category three times. The show also starred Allison Smith as Allie's daughter "Jennie", Frederick Koehler as her little brother "Chip" and Ari Meyers as Kate's daughter "Emma". Kate & Allie premiered in March of 1984 and lasted six seasons (122 episodes) ending in May of 1989.

Q: You got to work side by side with both Jane Curtin, who played your mother, and Susan Saint James. Please tell us what you remember about working with them both on and off the screen. Were they very "motherly" to you on set? What did you learn from working with those two talented and funny ladies?

Allison: Jane and Susan were both motherly and both fabulous. I learned comedic genius from being around Jane and all around greatness from Susan.

Q: You also worked with two other young actors in Ari Meyers and Frederick Koehler. Were you close as a cast? Did you and Ari become good friends in real life? Do you still keep in touch with any of your cast mates?

Allison: We all were very close at the time. You basically live with each other every day. Ari and I became best friends at the time. We all still keep in touch. And Freddy at the time really did feel like our little brother.

Both Allison Smith and Ari Meyers were trophy presenters at the 8th Annual TV Land Awards which aired in April of 2010.

Q: I would imagine that you became the crush of many young boys and were also recognized in public a lot back then. Do you have any memories of the fan mail or interactions you had? Did you enjoy the attention?

Allison: I preferred not being called out or recognized in public. When I was with my friends from home, I really just wanted to blend in and not be made to feel different. Between Annie and Kate & Allie, there was always thousands of letters of fan mail. That just felt so nice to know that people enjoyed my talents. But mostly, I preferred very little attention.

Q: You were going to high school and then attending NYU during your time on the show. What do you remember about having to work and attend school at the same time especially the final two years as you began college?

Allison: I felt really busy the years at NYU and still on Kate & Allie. I felt lucky to be able to do both at the same time and not have to give up one for the other.

Q: Any interesting stories about making Kate & Allie that you can share with us and let us in on?

Allison: Oh, Kate & Allie is so long ago now. We have tapes and tapes of outtakes. That was the most fun. Doing a taping and messing up a scene or getting the giggles. That was always so fun. One time, I remember Ari and I doing an interview with Dick Cavett and getting the giggles over his shoes during the interview. It was pretty inappropriate.

Q: Kate & Allie was both a wholesome and funny show that was loved by many. It featured strong, independent women raising families on their own, but together. At the time, this might not have been as appreciated as it deserved to be. Looking back now, what are your feelings about the series in general? How about your work in particular on the show?

Allison: I think Kate & Allie was ahead of its time in representing different kinds of families. I think my work was just OK. I see a naturalness not yet developed.

Q: I asked a similar question in my interviews with Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg and The Fall Guy's Doug Barr. Since you were on a series that was wholesome yet entertaining, I will ask the same question. I know ratings ultimately dictate the programming, but are you surprised and/or disappointed in the lack of wholesome family shows on television today? As a mother, do you find it difficult to allow your daughters to watch the shows available on television today?

Allison: I think television desperately needs wholesome family shows today. I really miss that kind of television. There's not much I let them watch because there's very little that's wholesome or smart on television now. Little House On The Prairie is in re-runs and we'll watch that.

Q: Are there any 80s roles (TV or movies) that you auditioned for and did not get that would be surprising or interesting especially looking back now?

Allison: I didn't audition for any other stuff back then. I did the show and then laid low on my time off.

Q: With your first hand experience (or the experience of those you've known/observed), what are the positives and negatives of being a child actor? How does being a successful child actor affect your ability to be a successful adult actor?

Allison: The positives of child acting are getting the jobs and having the experiences and doing the work. The negatives are auditioning and not getting the work and then involving rejection into your existence that wouldn't normally be there. I don't know how being successful at a young age affects being successful at it as an adult. I try not to think about whether it helps or hurts. There are strong examples of both. I don't really think of what was but what is and live in that place.

Q: It seems that many of the child actors from back in the 70s and 80s have created strong friendships and sort of a fraternity over the years. Did you find this to be true?

Allison: Since we shot in New York, we weren't much around other television performers from that time. That was more a California thing.

Q: After three decades in the industry, from your perspective, how has it changed both for the good or bad?

Allison: For the most part, the industry has become star or celebrity driven. There are less good stories with just good actors.

Q: Do you still get recognized in public a lot? I'd imagine that, if so, it is not likely as "Jennie" anymore?

Allison: I don't think I'm recognized much anymore. If so, it's more for The West Wing.

Smith had a recurring role during the entire seven-year run of The West Wing which was one of the most critically acclaimed and more popular drama series of its time (1999-2006). She played "Mallory O'Brien" who was the daughter of John Spencer's Chief of Staff character. She was a potential love interest of Rob Lowe's "Sam Seaborn" character yet nothing materialized much in that regard. An interesting bit of trivia is that Smith's "Mallory" is the only non-regular character to appear in both the first and last episodes of the series.

Q: How was your experience working on The West Wing? In particular, 80s fans are probably most interested in what it was like working with Rob Lowe. What can you tell us about him both on and off screen?

Allison: Rob Lowe was awesome and wonderful and superb in the role of "Sam Seaborn". He really was so talented at that part. He's a fun guy, an energetic guy, an inclusive guy, and a hard worker.

Here is a scene from season 4 of The West Wing with both Allison and Rob Lowe together...

Q: You have remained relatively busy working over the years. What has Allison Smith been up to more recently? Both acting or otherwise?

Allison: I have 2 children who keep me busy in my home life. I participate in their lives in a real mom way; in school and their extra activities. I'm married. I still do a lot of TV work; mostly guest spots lately. I'm still singing. I write. I'm looking into directing.

I am so delighted that Allison took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. If you want to find out more about Allison and everything she has going on, please be sure to visit her official website at www.allisonsmith.org/. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Allison Smith for her contributions to 80s pop culture especially through Kate & Allie and, even more, for taking a moment to go back to the 80s with us here as well.

That's all for another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I usually enjoy the After Hours gang over on Cracked.com. Here is their take on Five Classic 80s Movie High Schools That Would Suck to Attend. Do you agree with them or would you add any to the list?

Quote of the day: "The sun'll come out tomorrow, so you gotta hang on till tomorrow, come what may! Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, Tomorrow! You're only a day away." - from the song "Tomorrow" as featured in the musical Annie (lyrics by Martin Charnin)

This time that awesomeness is Gloria Loring. She is a singer and actress probably best remembered by 80s fans for her duet "Friends and Lovers" with Carl Anderson. Loring portrayed the character "Liz Chandler" on Days of Our Lives from 1980 to 1986 and first introduced the world to her hit song on that show in 1985. She also is the voice you hear singing the popular theme song to the 80s sitcom The Facts of Life which she co-wrote. She released her first album in 1968 and her impressive career which also includes stage and screen has now spanned across six decades. The focus here will mostly be on the 80s and her big hit single as we get on to some selections from my interview with Gloria Loring...

Q: When did you first know you wanted to be a singer? When was your amazing voice discovered? Please tell us a little about how you began your career as a professional singer.

Gloria: I have always sung. My mother told me that when I was three I would stand in front of the television and mimic the singers we watched. I began singing in school and church choir. (Actually, I'd sing for anyone who would listen.) When I was 14, I joined a group of three folk singers; it was me and three young men with a stand-up bass and two guitars - sort of Peter, Paul and Mary plus one. When I turned 18, I moved on to local clubs with my partner Richard on guitar and then by myself at the Miami Playboy Club in their Penthouse Room.

Q: With your then husband Alan Thicke, you co-composed the theme songs for Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. How did the opportunity to compose those songs come to you both?

Gloria: Alan had written some theme songs and producer Al Burton asked him to write one for a new show, The Facts of Life. Alan asked me to work on it with him.

"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have..." Yep, that song was written by Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring. In the first season of the series, the cast performed the theme, but the remainder of the show's run (1980-1988) featured Loring singing it herself. She sang two versions of the song; one used from seasons 2-6 and a second used for seasons 7-9. It is one of the most popular and remembered TV theme songs of the entire decade. Here is The Facts of Life intro featuring the theme song sung by Gloria Loring...

Q: The version of The Facts of Life theme song with you singing is such an iconic part of 80s pop culture. It seems almost no effort goes into TV Theme songs today. What are your feelings regarding TV Theme songs in the 80s (and before) compared to what they are today?

Gloria: The theme songs we grew up with were (and are) an indelible aspect of American childhood. So much so that my creative partner, Cheri Ingram, and I have created a stage show called TV Tunez, a celebration of the most memorable TV theme songs. A major announcement is imminent regarding TV Tunez having its own theatre in Las Vegas and becoming a major attraction of an unprecedented hotel and casino complex.

With the current pressure to keep a television audience tuned in, one show now segues directly into another with hardly any musical interlude. So in the years ahead, we may not have many new themes to enjoy, which will make the older seem more like treasures.

Q: In 1980, you joined the cast of Days of Our Lives as "Liz Chandler" and played that role until 1986. How did the opportunity to take on that role come your way? Did you enjoy getting to sing on the show? What memories do you have from your time on Days of Our Lives?

Gloria: My agent sent me on an audition. Then I screen-tested and won the role, my first acting job after studying for ten years. I was hired to act, and the producer didn't even know me as a singer. After I'd been on the show several months, they had me sing a little and it was well received. What I most recall about Days was the excitement (or disappointment) of getting your script and seeing what your character was up to. And I loved the camaraderie of working week after week with the same people and developing a sense of flow and belonging.

Q: That brings us to "Friends and Lovers" which you originally performed on the show in 1985. Who wrote the song and how was it chosen for your character to perform? Was it written specifically intended for you to sing on the show? Did you have a feeling that this song was going to be special the first time you rehearsed/performed it? Please tell us a little about Carl Anderson and how he was chosen to sing the duet with you?

Gloria: The full story of "Friends and Lovers" is in my new book, but basically my associate producer Beth brought me the song after I complained that I would never have a hit record because now I was identified in the industry as a soap opera actress. She played the song for me, which had been sent to the show by its writers, Jay Gruska and Paul Gordon. I stopped the tape after the first chorus and told her that it was undoubtedly a hit song. I sang it for the first time that following week. It was a month later that I heard Carl Anderson sing and decided to do it as a duet with him. Carl and I decided to record the song and try to get it released by a record company. He was such fabulous singer. It was an honor to sing with him.

It is reported that her performance of "Friends and Lovers" on Days of Our Lives generated the largest mail response of any song in NBC daytime history. Later, the song became the theme music for Shane and Kimberly, one of the show's popular supercouples in the mid-80s. When ultimately released as a single in the summer of 1986, it would quickly climb the charts reaching #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart by September. The single would remain in the Top 40 for 14 weeks. "Friends and Lovers" ranks on my Top Duets of the 80s list. Prior to his duet with Loring, Carl Anderson was best known for his portrayal of "Judas" in both the film and stage versions of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. He passed away in 2004 due to leukemia complications. A country version titled "Both to Each Other" by Eddie Rabbitt and Juice Newton reached #1 on the Country chart in the same year. Here is a video from Days of Our Lives of "Friends and Lovers" performed by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson...

Q: The commercial release of the song was delayed almost a year due reportedly to legal hassles. What can you tell us about these delays, what caused them and how they were resolved? It ended up allowing a country version of the song to be released before yours.

Gloria: It wasn't legal hassles that held it up. We just couldn't find a company that would take the song. It was turned down by every major record label. My producer Beth got her cousin to play it for his new boss at a small French label named Carrere Records that had just opened an American office. His boss loved it and then altered the recording a bit, adding more effects, but then we had to wait a long time for him to get around to releasing it to radio. There were legal hassles after the record was released, but it didn't stop it from soaring to the #1 and #2 positions on the charts within 8 weeks.

Q: Your version was finally released in the summer of 1986 and it became a huge pop hit. How did it feel to have a legitimate pop sensation? Did things change at all for you personally after this song's incredible success?

Gloria: Nothing changed personally, but it did add to my career stature, of course. It was a time of great joy for me, especially since it took so long to happen!

Q: When you have a mega hit song like that, do you (or did you) ever get sick of performing it?

Gloria: The point of performance is to entertain people, and when I sing "Friends and Lovers" and see people singing along, I know I am accomplishing that. So, no, I don't get tired of singing it, because first of all, it's a lovely song, and secondly, the audience loves it, so what's not to like?

Q: Surprisingly, "Friends and Lovers" would end up being your only pop hit to date. Did this surprise and/or frustrate you at the time or now?

Gloria: It doesn't surprise or frustrate me. It is what it is. My life has followed its path and I, more than most, have no reason to complain. And frankly, I'm not done recording yet.

Q: After the tremendous success of your first duet, did you ever consider collaborating on additional duets with Carl Anderson? From your experience, what makes a duet work or not work? Is it the song, the chemistry between singers, the talent/popularity of those singers?

Gloria: It's the song, the voices, the timing, the promotion - the whole package. Carl and I did record "First Time on a Ferris Wheel" for his follow-up album, but it didn't get much notice.

From 1970 to 1986, Loring was married to Alan Thicke, best known now as the Dad on Growing Pains. The marriage produced two sons. One of those sons is Robin Thicke who has achieved incredible success of his own as a Grammy-winning R&B artist, songwriter and producer.

Q: You have to be incredibly proud of the success your son, Robin Thicke, has had in the music industry. Tell us a little about what influences you have had on Robin's career.

Gloria: I think Robin is the best one to talk about my influence, although he did tell me recently that it was seeing me onstage that prompted him to realize that he wanted to be there as I was, singing for others and making them happy. He saw the power and joy of it in me. Whenever he has a show, I tell him "Spread the joy."

Q: Your other son, Brennan, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age. This seemed to inspire you to become an advocate for diabetes research. For the past 30 years, you have served as a spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Please tell us a little about this worthy cause and your involvement with it.

Gloria: JDRF is the largest non-governmental funder of diabetes research in the world. They continue to make significant progress toward their goals. For more information, go to www.jdrf.org. I continue to support them with my presence at fund raising events. I was very active years ago, raising $1 million for JDRF with the Days of Our Lives cookbooks and spending two years as the president of the Los Angeles Chapter.

Q: I read that you are working on a new spiritual autobiography. Please tell us about this project and your previous work as an author.

Gloria: My book proposal says: Coincidence is God's Way of Remaining Anonymous, a quote by Albert Einstein, is a celebrity autobiography detailing singer-actress Gloria Loring's spiritual transformation prompted by a series of extraordinary coincidences.

After the Days Of Our Lives Celebrity Cookbook, I had two commercially published books: Kids, Food and Diabetes and Parenting a Child with Diabetes; plus The Kids, Food and Diabetes Family Cookbook that I self-published for JDRF.

Loring has been honored with the Lifetime Commitment Award from JDRF, and received the Woman of Achievement Award from the Miss America Organization, an honor she shares with past recipients Barbara Bush, Roslyn Carter, and Hillary Clinton.

Q: You have 10 albums to your credit with the last appearing to be 2008's A Playlist. I read that you may be working on a new album now. Is this true?

Gloria: I am currently working with master musician and producer Ted Perlman recording songs by songwriting legends such as Burt Bacharach and Desmond Child, as well as a song or two written by Robin and me. Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden and I are talking about writing some songs together when she comes to L.A. next month. I will love that!

Q: What else is Gloria Loring up to nowadays? Musically and otherwise?

Gloria: Well... recording, writing, being a member of a growing family, a friend, a wife, a dog owner. It's busy. After three months of preparation, I just completed six concerts of the "Streisand Songbook" with the Palm Beach Pops symphony orchestra that earned standing ovations every night, so that was a very happy experience. And there's still so much more to do! I've had a long and varied career, and I have lots more to accomplish. My life is centered in this year's opportunities and choices.

I am so pleased that Gloria took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. Special thanks go out to Karen who helped coordinate the interview. If you want to find out more about Gloria and everything she has going on, please be sure to visit her official website at www.glorialoring.com/. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Gloria Loring especially for her contributions to 80s pop culture whether through "Friends and Lovers" or The Facts of Life theme song and, even more, for taking a moment to go back to the 80s with us here as well.

That's all for another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: There is a new trailer for 1986's John Hughes classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off re-cut by young filmmaker Joseph Brett to make it look more like an indie coming of age film. He does an outstanding job and I wanted to share it here...

In a similar vain, there was a trailer for the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally re-cut by John Piscitello as a dark, erotic thriller instead. Another great job worth sharing...

Quote of the day: "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." -Carl W. Buechner

This time that awesomeness is Andy McCluskey. He is best known as the lead singer and bassist for the group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Along with co-founder Paul Humphreys and core members Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper, OMD achieved great notoriety and success especially in the UK. This initially did not translate to the U.S. (unless you were on the cutting edge) really until the band had a song featured in the 1986 John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. Hughes prided himself at being on that cutting edge and helped introduce OMD to America with "If You Leave". As is usually the case here, I will focus on the American perspective which means unfortunately not much attention will be given to their outstanding UK hits. Though you will still be able to find out more about the origins of OMD, their biggest U.S. hit and what they are up to now as we get on to some selections from my interview with Andy McCluskey...

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a musician and songwriter? How did you get your start in the music industry?

Andy: Paul Humphreys and I grew up in a suburb of Liverpool and became fascinated by Kraftwerk when I was 16 and he was 15. We used to make weird noises in the back room at his mother's house on Saturdays never thinking that we had a hope of a career because even our friends hated what we did. Slowly we accumulated a mixed bag of cheap old instruments and finally dared to do a one off gig in September 1978 at our local club called Eric's. The owners asked if we would like to play again at their friend's club in Manchester. This is how we met Tony Wilson who was about to start Factory Records. He told us that what we did was the future of pop music and offered to release our first single, "Electricity".

Q: When and how did you meet Paul Humphreys?

Andy: Paul and I grew up in a little place called Meols across the river from Liverpool [England]. We went to the same school. His friends were looking for a bass player and I joined their band, but it quickly became obvious that Paul and I had a different musical influence than the rest of them.

Q: Please discuss your personal musical influences and who/what molded and inspired your sound and your bass playing.

Andy: We only liked a handful of artists: Kraftwerk, Neu, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Velvet Underground and Eno. This was our inspiration. I owned a bass because just before I heard Autobahn [Kraftwerk's 1974 album] I had bought the only one in a second hand store that I could afford. It was left-handed and I am right-handed. So my bass style was really influenced by playing upside down.

Q: After you and Paul formed your own band, how and why was the band name Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chosen? What are your thoughts on the band name today and have you ever regretted choosing it?

Andy: We used the name because we wanted people to know that we were not your typical rock or punk band. It means nothing, but it didn't matter because it was only for one gig... or so we thought. We have grown to love it. We say OMD for easy talking but we prefer Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

Q: How did the opportunity to join Gary Numan's first major British tour in 1979 come to OMD? Please tell us about Gary Numan and what this opportunity meant to OMD at that point in time.

Andy: Gary bought our first single "Electricity" when it came out on Factory. When he hit it big just a few months earlier, he was looking for a band to compliment his style on tour and it helped that there was only 2 of us so it didn't interfere with his huge stage set. He was very kind. We paid no "buy on" and he carried our gear and let us travel on his tour bus. It gave us an opportunity to get to know the theatres that we ourselves would headline exactly a year later after we had had our first two hit singles.

Q: In the early 80s, OMD had huge success in the UK, but it did not seem translate to the U.S. market right away. Did this matter to you at all at the time? Were you surprised or frustrated? How do you explain the fact that OMD did not seem to catch on in America right away like so many other British bands were at the time?

Andy: There was no Virgin USA label at the time so we were licensed in a bundle with XTC and Japan. The U.S. label made very little effort to promote us and English electronic music had such a low profile underground audience in the U.S. because no radio stations would play us. It was frustrating and weird. We would do big venues in Europe than be back to our roots in tiny clubs in the USA.

OMD's first five albums were all certified Gold or higher in the UK with four of those reaching the Top 10 of the UK album chart. Those albums alone generated nine Top 40 singles in the UK as well with five of those reaching the Top 10 (with even more to come in the future). At the same time, none of those songs even broke into the Billboard Hot 100 and the highest album peaked at #144 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. This demonstrates the band's incredible popularity in the UK and lack thereof in the U.S in the early 80s.

Q: Then in 1985, your single "So In Love" was OMD's first to finally crack the Billboard Hot 100 [peaked at #26]. Why do you feel that this single finally caught the attention of the U.S. market? How much do you feel producer Stephen Hague is responsible for this success?

Andy: After our fourth album, Dazzle Ships, was too experimental even for Europe, we pulled back and started to be more conservative. I think that this fact and our move to A&M records really made the difference in the USA. Also MTV was becoming important and UK bands initially made better videos than the U.S. bands. Hague created a more polished sound for us that probably helped on U.S. radio.

Q: You had your biggest U.S. hit with "If You Leave" from the 1986 John Hughes' film Pretty in Pink. Were you commissioned to write this song specifically for the film? What is the back story about how that song was conceived and written?

Andy: John Hughes was a big fan of English music. He had asked Simple Minds to do a track for The Breakfast Club and then asked us to do one for Pretty in Pink. We went to Paramount and met him, Molly [Ringwald] and Jon Cryer on the set of the movie. He told us where he wanted the song and we went home to write one. Unfortunately, by the time we returned with a 2 inch tape ready to mix, they had tested the film and the audience didn't like the ending so they re-wrote it and our song didn't work lyrically. [The original ending had Andie choose Duckie instead of Blane and that original song was "Goddess of Love".] John Hughes asked if we could write another, so we went into Larabee Studios and wrote "If You Leave" off the top of our heads in one day. The lyrics were fitted to the film story. The original was so long that we really had trouble editing the end for radio. We ended up lying about the final length and wrote 3:59 on the tape although the track is well over 4 minutes long!

Surely aided by being featured in the final scene of the popular film, "If You Leave" went on to become OMD's first and biggest hit in the U.S. reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over time, this song has evolved into one of my very favorites from the entire decade. Here is the video for "If You Leave" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark...

Q: It is such a beautiful and emotional song. You can feel the emotion in your voice. What brings that emotion forward for you in a case like that? Also, how was it decided to modulate it with so many key changes within this song? I believe it does add to the emotion.

Andy: I was really trying to capture the intense emotional impact of the ending of the film where all hope for Andie's dream of love looks doomed. Seven years is the length of time from Middle to the end of High School and the Prom is the last chance to say goodbye. I can't remember why we modulated it; probably because it was so bloody long we thought it needed a key change to keep the interest going. We also made a couple of programming mistakes and liked the accidents so we kept them, e.g. the steel drum in verse 2 is not supposed to be off the beat but it sounded better that way.

Here is another insight to the song that McCluskey mentions in another interview:
"If You Leave" had to be 120 BPM [beats per minute] because that's the tempo of "Don't You (Forget About Me)," which is the track they actually shot the prom scene to. Unfortunately, the editor obviously had no sense of rhythm because they are all dancing out of time in the final film.

Q: What were your feelings about this particular song when you wrote and recorded it? Did you feel you might have something special?

Andy: Because we did it so quickly, we had no time to really appreciate what we had done. The next day we went off on a 3 month tour with the Thompson Twins. It was really only when it was released and got such a huge boost from being in the film that we realized what was going to happen. The movie premier was amazing... all the cliches: red carpet, limo, Chinese theatre... fantastic!

Q: Do you know what Hughes' feelings were about your outstanding contribution to his film? What were your thoughts regarding the film Pretty in Pink then and now?

Andy: As I have said, John Hughes was a fan and it was great that he encouraged us to do another song when the first one wouldn't fit anymore. I always had the impression that he felt that our song created a great emotional crescendo that helps enhance the final scenes of the movie. The film is a wonderful snapshot of 80s American high school. I am proud to have been involved.

Q: As I mentioned, this single went on to have huge success in the U.S. peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, but surprisingly did not have nearly the same reaction in the UK [peaking only at #48 there]. How do you explain this turn of events?

Andy: I think that our career was in trouble in the countries where we had previously been successful. Perhaps because we seemed a brand new band to most of the U.S. audience, it was a great way to really kick start our sales in the U.S. Also many of the Europeans saw it as a "sell out" pop song.

Q: When you have a mega hit song like that, do you (or did you) ever get sick of playing them?

Andy: I am proud of the song and we never get tired of playing songs that we are proud of, though we seldom play "If You Leave" in Europe as it was not a big hit there.

Q: You mentioned MTV earlier and some of your videos received lots of exposure on MTV back then. What are your thoughts on the impact that MTV had on music in the 80s, especially in America?

Andy: MTV initially was a wonderful tool for spreading the word without having to tour for months and do all the interviews. I never thought it would take off... just shows you what I know.

Q: Any other comments concerning 80s music or pop culture?

Andy: The 80s were the last decade where the pop groups actually wrote their own songs and tried to create the future.

Q: Some 80s pop superstars "run away" from the 80s and some embrace the success and fans from that decade. How do you personally deal with and keep the 80s alive and in perspective?

Andy: The good music is still good. Every generation rejects its immediate predecessors, so it was no surprise that 80s was out of fashion. But now people are reassessing what was done and finding the quality. Also many people just stick with what they grew up with. We are happy with what we did and we are loving the opportunity to play again to enthusiastic audiences.

Q: Please describe the circumstances surrounding Paul Humphreys' decision to leave the band in 1989 and the eventual reduction to you being the only one left as OMD. You retired the OMD name in 1996, but then in 2006 reformed the band with the original members. What triggered and made it the right time for a reunion?

Andy: Paul and I were always very different personalities and had different musical feels. After a while, I guess we got sick of all the touring and being together non-stop. We knew that OMD was beginning to struggle but had different ideas about which way to go. He left taking Mal and Martin and I decided to continue which was actually very strange. We never really fell out and when the time seemed right to play again all four of us really wanted to do it. The new found success live and with our recent album has justified our decision.

Q: OMD released its 11^th studio album, History of Modern, in late 2010. What are your feelings about this latest work? What inspires you to continue to write and record new music after all this time? How do you feel OMD fits into the contemporary musical landscape now?

Andy: Our sound has been rediscovered and is now applauded. This leaves us in a very fortunate position that we were able to play again live. However, we had to be sure that the quality of the music was up to standard or it would have been stupid and self-indulgent to make an album that ruined our credibility.

Q: You are returning to the U.S. for a tour this year (for the first time in over 20 years). To underscore the point earlier, "If You Leave" was not even on your set list for the previous leg of your tour in the UK. I assume it will be added for the U.S. dates? Are you looking forward to touring in the United States again?

Andy: It has been too long since we played in North America. We are very excited to be finally coming over and the ticket sales look great. Can't wait! "If You Leave" will be in the set, so don't worry!

Q: What else is Andy McCluskey up to nowadays?

Andy: Totally involved in OMD... and very happy about it.

I am so delighted that Andy took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. Special thanks go out to Phil Marsh who helped coordinate the interview. Again, I could not do OMD's overall accomplishments justice, but at least wanted to best cover the American perspective. If you want to find out more about Andy or the band and what they have going on now, please be sure to visit the OMD official website at www.omd.uk.com or you find them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/omdofficial) and MySpace (www.myspace.com/officialomdmyspace). I want to take this opportunity to again thank Andy McCluskey for his contributions to 80s pop culture especially with "If You Leave" and, even more, for taking a walk down memory lane with us here as well.

That will do it for another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Gary Numan was mentioned earlier in the interview and he is best known for his 1980 hit "Cars". Somewhat recently, Numan did a commercial for DieHard where he performed his hit song on actual car horns. In the commercial, a single DieHard Platinum battery is used to power the entire 24-car organ for the song. When Numan presses a key on the keyboard, the corresponding car illuminates its headlights and honks its horn, which is tuned to the proper note. Here is the actual commercial and that is followed by a video on how it was made. I applaud the creativity as well as the 80s connection.

Quote of the day: "Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it." -J. Petit Senn

This time that awesomeness is Haviland Morris. She is best known by 80s fans as Jake Ryan's original girlfriend "Caroline Mulford" in 1984's Sixteen Candles. She had many memorable scenes in that film which were mainly a result of having a little too much to drink at a party. This included getting her hair caught in a door and cutting it with a scissors to get loose and later waking up in a car the next morning with someone she didn't even know. She went on to appear in other films like Who's That Girl (1987), Gremlins 2 (1990) and Home Alone 3 (1997). She has had several television roles as well including shows like Family Ties, One Life to Live, Law & Order, Sex and the City, One Tree Hill and As the World Turns. We will find out much more about the actress, her experiences making Sixteen Candles and what she is up to now as we get on to some selections from my interview with Haviland Morris...

Q: When and how did you get bit by the acting bug?

Haviland: When I was about 8, I saw my first live theater production of Oliver, which just blew me away.

Q: At what point did you decide that acting/performing would become your career?

Haviland: As soon as I knew that such a thing was even possible. There wasn't the focus on celebrity and the media then that there is now and it didn't even occur to me until embarrassingly late that one could study acting in college, etc. My parents were horrified and tried really hard to disabuse me of the idea, but my Aunt Rosalie convinced them to let me pursue it.

Q: From there, how did you go about pursuing that career?

Haviland: I started out at Northwestern University in the Theater Arts program and then transferred to SUNY-Purchase. While I was there, a manager saw me in a Shakespeare production and signed me, so when I graduated I moved to New York City and started working pretty much right away.

Q: How did it happen that you grew up in Hong Kong? How did that impact your childhood and who you grew up to become as a person or actor?

Haviland: My father manufactured consumer electronics. When he was in the Korean War, he fell in love with that part of the world, so when I was 7, we moved over there and I lived there and Singapore until I came back to the States for college. It's useful for any life pursuit to be exposed to a wide variety of cultures and living situations and to gain flexibility in that way, I think.

Q: How did the role of "Caroline Mulford" in 1984's Sixteen Candles come your way? What were your expectations of the film and role when you first began?

Haviland: Just went to an audition with the rest of the girls. Seemed like it would be a lot of fun - which it was!

Q: Please tell us about having to wear a blonde wig for your role as "Caroline". What were the challenges of wearing that wig, if any? It had to make the scene when they cut your hair out of the door easier when it was only cutting a wig.

Haviland: There is a widely accepted falsehood which is that I am a redhead and had to wear a blonde wig for that movie. In fact, I am really a blonde. Caroline was a blonde because I was a blonde. For most of the movie, what you are seeing is my real hair (including its real color). Paul Huntley made us a fabulous wig to match my hair so that we could chop it up in the door. Obviously, you couldn't do that without a wig unless you were shooting the movie in sequence and were also 100% sure you were going to get the shot you wanted on the first take. I wore the wig for a scene or two before the actual cutting scene and the primary challenge was that it was Chicago in the summer time and was HOT!

Q: What can you tell us about the great John Hughes and your experience working for him?

Haviland: It was John's first directing job and we all had the time of our lives with him! He created such an amazing and fun atmosphere and it was really like we were all at a big fun party at summer camp for six weeks. He was kind, generous, hilarious -- we improv'd a lot of dialogue and behavior and when it was funny and worked he laughed harder than anyone.

Q: Was making Sixteen Candles overall a fun experience for you? Was the cast close during filming? Did you keep in touch with any of the cast members after?

Haviland: It was the best. We weren't all close -- there were a lot of different "generations" on that movie. Debbie Pollack [Donger's girlfriend Marlene/Lumberjack] and I have kept in touch over the years.

Q: Your scenes were mostly with Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. What can you tell us about either of them and your memories of working with them?

Haviland: They were both terrific -- Michael Schoeffling was a really serious, quiet, nice guy and Michael Hall was great fun -- he and John were a comedy team extraordinaire.

Q: What were your feelings about it when the film was released in 1984? Were you proud of your performance and what you helped create?

Haviland: I don't really remember -- of course we were all excited that it came out, but it really wasn't such a huge hit... it has kind of morphed into a cult classic and is better known now than it was then. Well, proud? No, it's pretty much universally horrifying to see yourself on film but I thought the movie was great.

Q: What changed for you personally after the success of the film?

Haviland: Absolutely nothing. Contrary to all predictions, I did not work for a year and a half after I finished that movie.

Q: What are your feelings about Sixteen Candles now over 25 years later?

Haviland: I just saw it on the big screen for the re-release on Valentine's Day and I just loved it!!! It made me so happy to see it again and hear all that 80s music and remember how much fun we had. It also made me sad to think of John and how much happier he had been then than in his later years.

Q: At what age did you (or will you) allow your daughter to watch Sixteen Candles?

Haviland: She's 20 now and saw it a few years ago. I actually let my son see it in the re-release, even though he is only 10, so it is completely inappropriate for him. I just felt like he would probably never have the opportunity again to see it on a big screen and it was one of my first movies and I knew that it would appeal to his sense of mischief (he loved it!)

Q: I see that you appeared in a 1986 episode of Family Ties. What was your role in that episode? What do you remember from that experience? What do you remember about working with Michael J. Fox?

Haviland: I played Alex's first date after Ellen (Tracy Pollan) left the show. I was really awful and had the most terrifying hairstyle I have ever seen. Michael J. Fox is one of the nicest, most generous actors ever born.

Q: You were in 1987's Who's That Girl. What do you remember about getting to work with Madonna?

Haviland: I didn't really work with her too much -- I think I had one or two scenes with her. She was a nice, smart girl with a big entourage and a lot of screaming fans on the street.

Q: You played "Marla Bloodstone" in the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. What can you tell us about director Joe Dante and your experience working with him? Did you enjoy making that film and what memories do you have of acting with the puppets?

Haviland: I have been really lucky to work with some great, fun directors. And Joe is definitely one of them! There's something really freeing and fun about working on a movie as silly as Gremlins 2. Everyone is working really hard but acknowledges that it isn't brain surgery or solving world peace, so it's very light. So much of working with puppets is actually working with nothing -- screaming/reacting to nothing, etc. And then some interacting with stuffed animals, some robots... we had the greatest puppeteers alive, so it went pretty smoothly.

Q: You were also in the 1997 sequel Home Alone 3. How had Hughes changed (if at all) from the first time you worked with him 13 years earlier?

Haviland: He was definitely a darker, less happy guy. I didn't see much of him during the shoot.

Q: Are there any 80s roles (TV or movies) that you auditioned for and did not get that would be surprising or particularly interesting especially looking back now?

Haviland: Hundreds. I'll never tell. Well, ok, one -- evidently, according to Gretchen Rennell and Bonnie Finnegan, who were the casting directors, I was very close to being cast in Jennifer Beals' part in Flashdance. I must say, I think they made a very wise decision -- I am one of the very worst dancers on the planet and even with a double, I think it would have been a travesty.

Q: What role do you feel you get remembered most for? Do you still get recognized in public a lot?

Haviland: Yeah, surprisingly enough, I do. Probably Sixteen Candles is the main one, but I am always surprised at what people come up with.

Q: You continue to act, but also have taken on a second career of selling real estate. When and why did you become a realtor? How has your acting career prepared you to excel in this endeavor?

Haviland: I went to real estate school about 3-1/2 years ago. Acting work had slowed down quite a bit and I needed to take something else on. Real estate works because it's incredibly flexible, so I can still act and do homework with my son, etc. It's been great fun and there is no shortage of drama! And all the people-study of acting is great prep for this work.

Q: What else has Haviland Morris been up to more recently? Both acting and otherwise? Any remaining ambitions or regrets?

Haviland: Well, let's see... right now I have 3 movies in production for release in 2011: Jack and Diane and Burning Blue are in post-production and we are in the middle of shooting Nor'easter. We are touring middle schools for my son for next year, my daughter just moved to L.A. and joined L.A. Ballet, I have a listing on 30th Street to sell and a few customers to find apartments for, the dogs need walking several times a day, one of these days I have to clean out my closet...

I am thrilled that Haviland took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. It was a pleasure getting perspective from someone who worked directly for the late, great John Hughes. Also, I was surprised to find out she was a real blonde and only wore the wig to allow for the haircutting scene, not because she was a redhead. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Haviland Morris for her contributions to 80s pop culture especially in Sixteen Candles and, even more, for reminiscing with us for a little while here as well.

That wraps up another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here's a little fable that always makes me chuckle, so I thought I would share it here. Hope you enjoy it, too...

The Husband Store!
A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband.
Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE !
There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch . . . you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
--So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.
--The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.
--The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking. "Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
--She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads: Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead good looking and help with the housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"
--Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads: Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework and have a strong romantic streak.
--She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads: Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Quote of the day: "Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of." -Charles Richards

This time that awesomeness is Carol Decker. She is a singer and songwriter best known as the front woman for the band T'Pau. The British band found international success in the late 80s from their 1987 debut album and especially the hit single "Heart and Soul". You'll find out more about how they got started, created their signature hit and much more as we get on to some selections from my interview with Carol Decker...

Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a musician and performer? How did you get your start in the music industry? Please discuss your personal musical influences and who molded and inspired your voice and career when you were starting out.

Carol: My start in the music biz came late. I was mature student (22) at Shrewsbury School of Art & I started mixing with creative types and got encouraged by a fellow student who heard me singing along to the radio (I had always been able to sing well but had not considered it a possible career) to meet a guitarist mate of hers at a party. This was Julian Ward who had a band but no singer, so I auditioned and we formed the Lazers, my first band. When I met Ronnie Rogers who had joined the Lazers on rhythm guitar, we started living together and writing constantly. Finally after six years, we got a deal. My early influences were very much from my father's record collection, Dusty Springfield, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, plus opera, which gave me a sense of the melodramatic. Then I loved Blondie, early Michael Jackson, the Pretenders and quite a lot of disco. Very eclectic.

Q: What is the story of how T'Pau formed in 1986? What were your goals/intentions at that time?

Carol: As I mentioned above, meeting Ronnie Rogers in 1981, we got management, a deal with Siren/Virgin and put the band together from two local guys Mick Chetwood on keys and Paul Jackson on bass. Then we added Tim Burgess on drums and Taj Wyzgowski on guitar in London. My goal was world domination!

Q: Was the band name "T'Pau" really taken from the character in the Star Trek films? If so, why did you all decide to name your band after a Star Trek character?

Carol: We couldn't agree on a name. We had the album in the can and a release date but no name, so I was watching TV and Star Trek was on. I liked this sound tpau, tpau, tpau plus she was a cool Vulcan bird. The boys liked it too, so that was that.

In June of 1987, T'Pau released their first single "Heart and Soul" which became a hit in the U.S. reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certainly one of my favorite songs from that year and it was certainly different than anything else in pop music at the time. The overlapping lyrics of the rap, a powerful chorus and a softer melody along with a killer bass groove give the song layers and a truly unique sound. The single was included on the band's multi-platinum debut album titled Bridge of Spies in the UK but renamed simply T'Pau in the U.S. Here is the original video for "Heart and Soul" by T'Pau...

Q: Your debut single, "Heart and Soul" was a huge success. You are credited with writing the song along with Ronnie Rogers. Please take us back to when you conceived and wrote that great song and tell us all that you remember. Is there any back story to its creation? What inspired it? How and when did you come up with the unique idea to record the overlapping lyrics like you did?

Carol: Ron had just bought a new keyboard with a built in sequencer, so he was just trying to get used to the gizmos in it and while messing around with the sequencer he started the "bum bum buh buh bum bum bum" of the bass riff. I started to sing a melody over it, the wafty vocal and came up with "more than an ocean keeps us apart". The lyrics were about when I went on holiday with my parents and Ronnie couldn't come. I missed him so much, but then I morphed the story into a fictitious one of not being loved back (which I was). The rap was the idea of Andy Piercy, our then producer. He said the gaps needed filling, so I started these syncopated sort of nonsense noises. I then turned those noises into words which took about a week to get right.

Q: When you recorded "Heart and Soul" did you have a feeling it was going to be something special? Could you have ever anticipated the incredible reaction this song would have? How did the song end up being used in a Pepe Jeans commercial and what impact do you feel that this exposure had on the popularity and success of the single?

Carol: Yes, I loved it! It was so different. But you know, it was released in the UK and stalled at number 98! We thought we were over before we began, but thankfully Pepe Jeans used it for a cool cinema ad campaign. I don't know how Pepe got wind of it. America loved it, so we got a second chance and it was re-released [and ended up reaching #4 on the UK chart as well].

Q: What do you feel makes this song so special and loved by so many?

Carol: It's unique still and has a killer chorus plus a universal message. We all want to be loved, don't we?

Q: When you have a mega hit song like that, do you (or did you) ever get sick of playing it? What are your feelings regarding "Heart and Soul" today over 20 years later?

Carol: I love "Heart and Soul" but get bored with "China in Your Hand" which was at #1 here in the UK for five weeks as well as other places around the world. My career has distilled down to that one song which can be frustrating sometimes.

Q: Speaking of "China in Your Hand", it was a #1 in the UK but the single did not chart or receive radio airplay at all in the U.S. Did this surprise or frustrate you at the time? How do you explain how certain songs enjoy success in both the UK and U.S. markets, yet others can be hits in one without almost any attention in the other?

Carol: Yes, it was very disappointing. As it was told to us back then, with the U.S. radio format they didn't like eclectic diverse songs. We were asked, "What are you? A white rap act? A rock band? A ballad band?" Whereas, here at home, they loved the different flavors of Bridge of Spies, our first album.

Q: Please discuss the circumstances surrounding the breakup of T'Pau in 1991. Then what made the time right to bring T'Pau back in 1998? What were your goals/intentions this time around?

Carol: It was over professionally, sales were down, we got dropped, Ron & I had fallen out with the band over money, crap management, the usual stuff. It's an intense experience and hard to hold on to plus we took two years to come back with The Promise, our third album, which only went gold. Bridge of Spies went quadruple platinum and Rage, the second album, had gone platinum. The world had changed. They wanted The Stone Roses and rave. We didn't fit in. I decided in 1998, after meeting a new manger, to start work again after years of no confidence. We toured Red, my fourth album, and put it out on my label Gnatfish. I would've loved to have gotten the same level of success again but it didn't happen although I did sell a lot of albums on the road. I was no longer bankrolled, so I couldn't get the PR and TV coverage which you so need.

Q: I know you have more recently participated in several of the specialized 80s tours. What has your experience been touring with those other great bands who had such great success in the 80s?

Carol: It has been great fun. I am good pals with a lot of them and we have a real laugh. It has suited me well as I have two kids now, 12 and 8. When I started in 2001 with these concerts, Scarlett was 3 and then Dylan came along a year later. So it wasn't too much of a strain on our young family plus I got to get back on those big arena stages and I quite liked the lack of pressure by just being part of a show instead of responsible for being the headline act. I am now however getting bored of being just wheeled out for 20 minutes and wheeled back in again. It's frustrating as I am worth more than that as a singer, but it pays well so it's hard to turn down and I have a family to look after.

Q: After 25 years in the business, from your perspective, how has the music industry changed over that time? And how do you see the future?

Carol: That's a big one. I haven't been in the eye of the biz for a while. I have had to go cottage industry a long time ago and it seems to me you have to sort yourself out. I really wouldn't know how to advise young emerging artists now. We just wrote and gigged and knocked on doors until someone listened. Then your label supported you (for a while!) There is no money now. Labels are crashing. I am confused about the future. I'm stumbling through it taking what work I can when the phone rings.

Q: Is there new music in the works from T'Pau? What inspires you to continue writing new music after all these years? Where do you feel that T'Pau fits in to the contemporary musical landscape?

Carol: Yes, I have ideas. I need to broaden my views a bit or it's all just moon, June, spoon. I can be lazy, but I also feel that I have good strength as a singer and maybe some cool covers would be an idea. Now that my kids are older, I have more time so I MUST get my finger out of my arse and get working. I do find it very hard to sit and write though, afraid of failing. Then I hear some crap on the radio and think, "God, I can do better than that!"

Q: What else is Carol Decker up to nowadays? Musically and otherwise? Any remaining ambitions or regrets?

Carol: Lots of regrets, as far as my career goes. A crippling lack of confidence has stopped me from battling my way back and, now at 53, it's too late. But personally, I am very lucky. I have a wonderful family, my husband is gorgeous and a true rock in my life. Our kids are beautiful and family life is very busy. And there is my job as a chauffeur now of course! I'd love one more hit record before I fall apart, if I'm honest, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'm probably a psychiatrist's dream with my need for the applause, but I do feel that it was taken away from me as opposed to my leaving on my own terms, so it is always unfinished business.

I am so delighted that Carol took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. To find out lots more and keep up with everything she has going on, please be sure to visit the official T'Pau website at www.tpau.co.uk/ You can also follow her on Twitter as @caroldecker. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Carol Decker especially for "Heart and Soul" and her T'Pau music and, even more, for going back to the 80s with us for a little while here as well.

That wraps up another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Have you heard about the campaign to have a statue of Robocop built in Detroit, Michigan (the city where the film takes place) similar to the one in Philadelphia for Rocky? Here is the website where they are raising funds for the project: www.kickstarter.com/projects/imaginations tation/detroit-needs-a-st atue-of-robocop Well, now Peter Weller who starred in the Robocop film has spoken out via Funny or Die in support of the statue. It is very funny and I wanted to share it with you here:

Quote of the day: "It's not the load that breaks you down. It's the way you carry it." -Lena Horne