"Starry Eyes" - John Wicks & The Records!

[enndaley]

This sounds great! I wish someone would post their cover of The Kinks "See My Friends"-that and "Man With a Girlproof Heart."

[excelerater]

C L E M !!!!!!!!!! Kickin asss

[BonoMeArse]

Pat James on nova100 here in ireland loves The Records..plays them most weeks...excellent ...btw cant find Insomnia anywhere...sad face...

[emilywicks]

how old is john wicks?

[daddyoti]

What a great song. This is a timeless tune that is as fresh today as ever. I especially like the smashing "train-wreck" style ending tagging this splendid live version. Bliss.

[wsidejack]

Great live version of a killer song. Superb bit of rock n roll craftmanship with awesome guitars and lyrics and a beat that is beyond frenetic. Just freaking amazing. For those who can dance to a four count/step (at lighting speed) from a closed position, nothing better. Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!

[mrbadx19]

two words... "just awesome!",  nuff said

[Metrobilbao]

thought I was the only one in the world listening to the records in 1980...

[malbuff]

@Metrobilbao I was the other one.

[kjedrusiak]

I saw the Records way back when they were the opening act for Joe Jackson's first American tour.

[SteinbergerHack]

Cool - I remember these guys from college. Still have their LP!

[excelerater]

the drummer,.....looks familiar

[mickyboy212]

@excelerater Sounds familiar too.

[rastaptc]

@excelerater

The drummer is the Clive Burke, Blondie's drummer.

[khwalt2]

@rastaptc Clem Burke...

[sheradio1055]

AWESOME.. Memories Memories. Thank You For This.!

[MrHooker2]

seen them support the jam rainbow theater 79 legends

[MrHooker2]

see the records support the jam 79 rainbow thearter legengs

[TiggerPleeze]

There are certain songs that haunt you. From the first time you hear it, you know it is a new song yet it feels like it's been around forever. There were many songs at the time that received far more airplay, but this stays with me even after 30 years. I saw The Records as an opening act in 1979 when I was a teenager, and it was the first time I ever heard this. I don't even remember who the main act was. But I knew I was witnessing a classic in the making.

[crapple009]

Perhaps it was Joe Jackson who The Records opened for then?

[TiggerPleeze]

Yes, you are right, thanks! I saw Joe Jackson at the Calderone Theatre in Hempstead, NY ! I saw quite a few acts there that year.

[crapple009]

Well,lucky you!!! Many of those acts never played Louisville,KY where I grew up.

Also would love to have seen The Records open for The Jam! Ah,those were the days!!

[patpong2000]

I was at that show. Music was fun was very much alive on Long Island in 1979 at the Calderone and My Father's Place. In fact, I could swear I also saw the Records at a place in Amityville or Farmingdale. Any recollections?

[TiggerPleeze]

No! How did I ever miss that one? I did see The Pretenders in Hammerheads in Bay Shore, of all places. And I think I paid all of $2 to see Blondie and Rockpile at Belmont Raceway

[patpong2000]

Good memory - It was hammerheads. I also saw Blondie and Rockpile at Belmont Raceway, I think it was part of a WLIR Party in the Park

[espabilation]

Fantastic video!!

Clem on drums!!!!! wooooou

Jamie & Lynne muy buenos !!!!!!!!!!!

The Records,, the best band.

[beowulven]

Clem Burke!

[TimDean66]

Clem... You're a big "headphone drumming practice" hero. The records... You define Power Pop. The Crash Street Kids need to have some Kudos as well, but thanks for the vid. Wish I was there!!!

[thedove76]

Wow! I wish I could have been there to see this. I've loved the Records for over 30 years. Did the set include "Affection Rejected"?

[TerribleCinema]

This is easily the most underated song of all time. Second would be drain you by Nirvana!

[TimmytheGeek2009]

ain't much sexier than a chick playing bass....maybe if she was wearing a baseball cap with a pony tail popping out the back...lol...great great performance by all

[pitastrat]

Jamie - You're playing here just made an already perfect song even better. You and the band do it justice. Love the bass player. I could never tire of hearing this. Thank you so much for posting. Pop perfection...

[jrounds]

Thanks so much for the kind comments...I've also loved the song for years, never thought I'd be playing it with the original writer and singer.

Best,

Jamie

[dennyandpennie]

@pitastrat John only had her in the band because he couldn't find a guy who could consistently hit that third above his already high melody. also she was cute as a kitten He's been through many since but I always though Jamie was the best guitarist since Huw Gower and he was one of the nicest guys I ever met. God Bless you Johnny-you're the best ever.

[drewster1118]

Clem is the man. Such a professional musician and one of the best drummers of the last 30 years.

[suej6969]

Clem is a brilliant drummer!! and hes so yummy.

[TimmytheGeek2009]

Pure pop goodliness. one of the best songs....ever.

[Stainboy669]

Great performance of this song! Love it. Buckle up, Jamie, for those ascending and descending octave runs. One wrong turn and you're off the road into the cones! Great job with the classic riffs as well as adding your own touch at the end.

[marlogic]

it's their song backass

[jrounds]

Kind comments very much appreciated...yeah, the octaves gave me nightmares

Best,

Jamie

[hofnersinla]

how about showing the guy playing the 12 string...yikes

[jrounds]

So right about the octaves...pain in the ass.

Thanks for your kind comments

Best,

Jamie

[dyet]

Thanks Jamie for the video! Much appreciated!

Been a fan for years up here in the Great White North.

This past week The Records have been on heavy rotation on my mp3 player as I was walking to work...and I thought I should search some 79' videos...BUT even better this vid!. Great job!.

Dave

[arack1]

Oh dear God, this makes me so happy!!!! Stuff like this makes life worth living...

[wexy56]

great song and i haven't heard in ages, making me forget my toothache that's keeping me up at 2 in the morning.

[noahcarter]

how cool is Clem Burke?

[espresso50]

I like this version of the song. The vocals still sound fresh.

[rhysboy24]

I didn't know this existed!! (The performance, that is..) My fav song of all time.. AND this version, with Clem Burke on kit. I'm verklemt...

[JenJenEL]

This song gets me really emotional... I remember listening to this in my early 20s... "Get me out of your starry eyes and be on your way." Not to mention that I had just left Britain to finish university..and the thought of being "stranded in the British Isles" was a confusing thought at the time.

[frankrfranklin]

awesome song, awesome vocals, awesome arrangement, awesome sentiment, awesome backings, just awesome

[berserkley]

The Records did an amazing cover of The Rolling Stones "Have you seen your Mother, baby, standing in the shadow?" that was only available on a promo 45. Wish they'd done a video of that one. One of the smokingest covers ever!

[LanceThruster]

I think I remember that one. I love covers that do the original material justice. Starry Eyes was one of my favorite 45s. It has everything going for it a great pop song should have. These guys are awesome!

[ozzieh]

love this song! thanks for putting it up

[RandallJonesey]

Anybody who knows who the lead guitarist behind wicks is? I recognise Burke and got the remote notion that i've seen the guitarist before but can't place the man. Anybody knows?

[lomaspez]

not sure but brinsley swarz?

[RandallJonesey]

John Wicks, as stated above, knows how to rock. Period.

[Biomechanicalman1]

John Wicks knows how to rock!! His latest release' "Rotate" is rated highly at amazon. Got it on order. I wish there could be a DVD release of all original,"The Records" works as well.

[JoeChrisMorris]

I think hes trying to get the Midnight Special by the group released to dvd

[theonlytruepunk]

How come this is the only fucking video of the Records doing this classic pop tune??? Isn't there a real video for this??? Just curious.

[pernicketty]

If you get in quick you might download the store window video posted by mudrocker before it gets pulled.

[problem49]

There used to be a vid of them performing this live back in the day, but for some reason it was withdrawn.

[theonlytruepunk]

Got the original one in my favorites thanks to pernickity..

[FrankieFurillo]

One of the most Rickenbacker sounding songs ever.  And no one's playing a Rick!

[jrounds]

Great observation...I also assumed it was a Rick playing the lead lines. Then I realized I had to learn all those octaves...

[problem49]

Irristable; an absolute classic pop song.

[agnesagnes666]

good!!!!!!!

[omehoehthelje]

I still got their LP!!

[007Barbarella]

Pure alt-pop genius! This has to be one of the most under-rated singles from its era. No college-charts anthology could be complete without this song. There's a brilliant Singer/Songwriter named Declan Zimmerman based in Brooklyn that does a very affectionate cover of this song.

[itravel59]

Another Power Pop influence from the 60s would be The Honeybus...Has anyone posted their stuff?

[meuselini]

The Virgin storefront video version has been removed!!!!!

[robskane]

Fantastic song!! And Clem Burke is such an awesome drummer - one of my all time favorites.

[headphone355]

He sure is! The maniac drummer from Blondie!

[fenderman0463]

clem is one underrated drummer...very influenced by keith moon...

[TheGun11]

Thanks for posting this video. I was a college radio DJ and played the heck of "Starry Eyes" when it first was released in 1979 and it is still one of my favorite songs. While playing in various bands over the years, I always lobbied my bandmates to play it and was fortunate enough to drum to this song for over 15 years. John's vocals still sound great, the guitar player nails the lead and he couldn't have picked a better drummer than Clem Burke.

[greyhall1]

The bassist Lynn Davis is a monster. She is a first call session player and has played on zillions of albums.

[Dullard63]

Watched the records support the Jam 1979 at Liverpool Uni, I thought they were great "power Pop" not appreciated on the night but I bought the singles and they hold a place in my heart. Thank you

[MaestroVibes]

Looking good, John!

Stay well, Justin Tunstall

[novice8814]

I thought it was Will Birch and The Records. What did I miss?

[jrounds]

Will & John were bandmates, and co-wrote almost all the Records tunes. John sang 'em, Will played drums.

Thanks for listening,

Jamie

[headphone355]

Which of the Records are original?

[jrounds]

John Wicks is the one original Record. It's still a valid act, though, since he co-wrote the tunes and sang lead on all of them.

Thanks for the question,

Jamie

[fisher2521]

Now that I think about it, they sound a lot like the Flamin' Groovies, too.

[novice8814]

It's that whole "Pub Rock" sound of the 70s. Flanin'Groovies sound. Influenced by the 12 string Byrds sound. Stiff records picked up many of these bands, Wreckless Eric is notable.

[fisher2521]

Classic tune!!! Somewhat Beatle-esque, or even Nick Lowe and Rockpile. Nice Byrd's influence at 2:16 and 3:40.

[CaptMikeOR]

Wow. Never thought I would find a video of this song. Still have the 1979 45rpm single. One of the all time great power pop tunes. The guitar work is phenomenal. Now if only someone could dredge up Teenarama.

[ggspotter]

Thanks mate. You should take a look at Eddie and the Hot Rods, still touring and a great band.

[ggspotter]

Liked the track - when was it written? Sounds just like Eddie N The Hot Rods. Love clem Burke thats why i found it. Nice

[jrounds]

Song is circa 1979; this performance is from 2004, Knitting Factory in Hollywood, CA.

Thanks,

Jamie

[joeyc09]

good to see clem still out there playing ,im from bayonne nj too!!lol!!

[28if]

In my MP3 player back to back with Eddie and the Hot Rods "Do anything you want to do". Kinda the same song

[AmyMeacham]

Oh my God!! Yhank you!!

[rflan42250]

John , Respect mate!!! what a great song!!! reminds of all the great nites at the ahem New Wave clubs of the late 70's early 80's. and everybody's go to drummer Clem Burke how could it be better?? Keep Rocking Always!!

[TheRecordsJohnWicks]

Thanks so much! Happy New Year!!

John

[jayjay4000]

John. This is one of the best songs ever. This song too as much as 10 year old made me a fun of rock music forever. thanks for the joy you brought and continue to bring

[JoeChrisMorris]

You made fun of rock music forever. My goodness!

[Biomechanicalman1]

Do you know how to rock? Have you made it in at least the top 500 rock hits for that year or any year? I be glad to look at your work. If your good maybe I will remember you 30 years from now.

[TheRecordsJohnWicks]

Thanks. Oh the "good" old days!

Yes, Jamie is a fine guitarist and a super guy.

Just promo in the UK right now. Dates to follow next year in support of "Rotate".

[ThePennyDrops]

Thanks so much for posting this. I just bought the reissues CDs and decided to do a bit of research, so was so pleased to find it. Brilliant songs! Saw The Records at the Marquee when it was in Wardour Street in the Jude Cole era. Glad to see the new guitarist does Starry Eyes justice. John - you doing any dates in the UK?

[billygtexas]

Great version - Clem's been one of my favorite drummers to hear and especially watch for years.

[veriard]

bloody great.... clem was the guy who wanted me to drum cuz he is just so dam good

[BushInJail]

Thanks for posting...awesome!!!! and yes that is Clem Burke!!

[JohnWicksTheRecords]

Thanks for the kind words. Plan to play more shows when the new CD - ROTATE - is out. Used to have two LP Jnrs a '56 and a '57. The former was stolen!

JW

[mistertoogreat]

John, you're a rock legend bro. Please come back to play more concerts in the USA. PS- I have a vintage Gibson Les Paul Jr. almost exactly like yours before, they went to the scuplted double cut body SG design.

[throwbackmike]

Clem Burke!!

[SideThree]

Thanks for the video Jamie. You seem to be channelling Huw Gower...high praise! The Records were one of my fav bands of the period. I never could figure out why they added a vocalist for their third album...John Wicks has a perfect voice for that style of music.

[jrounds]

Thanks for the kind comment...yes, I did my best to get it right, as Huw's part on "Starry Eyes" is one of my favorites of all time. I first learned it playing in a cover band years ago, then found myself onstage doing it with the Records...surreal.

Best,

Jamie

[hollies65]

I'd LOVE to see that mini concert!

[pwrpop]

I used to have that promo film that Meuselini mentioned(stupidly got rid of it about 3 years ago); it aired on one of those late-night shows, perhaps DKRC or The Midnight Special. One of those shows also aired a mini-concert of theirs; two of the three songs were "Teenarama" and "Affection Rejected." Another music video I deeply regret getting rid of is 20/20's "Cheri."

[mrsandyq]

Yup, that's the real John Wicks...

WE LOVE YOU JOHN!!! MrsQ

PS when we left the gig last nite and got in my car, Starry Eyes was the next song on my iPod... :)

[JohnWickssolo]

Thanks Mrs. Andy Q.  We love you too! :-)

And Starry Eyes on the iPod... Wow! Is it the 21st. Century already?! LOL!!!

Best.

J & V

[jolivia]

a wonderful performance..sounds as great as it did years ago!

[summerspg99]

The Records were a great band following the in the tradition of Badfinger and the Beatles. Surely someone out there has some other videos of the Records???

[mangansis]

You guys might like my blog: http://powerpop.blogspot.com.

[Sodgeling]

That song, along with the Shoes (tomorrow night), and the Motors (Love and Loneliness) were the epitomy of PowerPop. I've been on the lookout for this on Vinyl for years...great to see it here. Wicked,,,Callum

[jrounds]

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has commented on this video. It's great to see how many Records fans there still are out there!

I am not John Wicks, but you can find him at his website: www.johnwicksandtherecords.com­. I played lead for a couple years with the band, and my own site is: www.jamierounds.net.

Rock on, kids...

[StephenCotterell]

Thank you for bringing so much joy with your music

Stephen

[davidduran]

Holy crap was that the real John Wicks?

[albinocobra]

Starry Eyes inspired me more than anything else in the long run !

Thanks for posting !

[newwavepopman]

Great song and one of my favorite power pop New Wave songs of all time.Now if anyone can produce the videos to Teenarama and Hearts In Her Eyes that will really make my day.Glad to see that John Wicks has posted in here as well.Long Live New Wave and the 80's.

[chokito91]

The Records are the best... been waiting for some records videos on here for sooo long!!

[jrwicks]

Thanks for the posts.

Whilst I do have a copy of that original storefront videoclip, it's very poor quality. The woman in question was Britt Eckland. I now wear the specs almost all of the time, accordingly I can now read the setlists, unlike back in the day! LOL!!

Regards,

John

[briankaz]

THIS IS A WONDRFUL TUNE! THANKS

[davidduran]

Does anyone recognize the drummer? It's Clem Burke from Blondie, also The Romantics and The Plimsouls. I read somewhere that Clem has the record for highest jump while playing the drums, no idea if it still holds true. Also, the original video of Starry Eyes had a woman rubbing a storefront window at the very beginning. The filming was very late 70s and I'm thinking John Wicks was not wearing his trademark sunglasses in that video.

[28if]

Yes! Clem is allwe have left after Keith Moon. Don't forget hinm as "Elvis Ramone"

[hollies65]

One of the best songs of the era....they still sound great!

[meuselini]

Great to hear/see this classic. Any chance that anyone has a copy of the original videoclip of the band from the Virgin storefront?