Lost 80s Live Returns with Biggest Lineup Yet

“You hear that synth swell, those angular guitars, that melody you haven’t heard in 40 years—and suddenly, you're 17 again.”

That’s how Richard Blade, the voice of a generation and curator of the Lost 80s Live Tour, describes the spark that still ignites in crowds across America each summer. In 2025, that spark’s become a firestorm, with the tour’s biggest, most ambitious lineup to date: A Flock of Seagulls, General Public, Big Country, Icicle Works, Peter Godwin, China Crisis, The Vapors, and more.

"This year’s lineup is spectacular,” Blade tells Sinclair Broadcast Group. “Peter Godwin hasn’t toured the States in decades. Big Country—seven platinum records in the UK—people here forget how good they are. And then you’ve got bands like Icicle Works or China Crisis, who had small U.S. hits but massive back catalogs. The audience is on their feet saying, ‘Why didn’t I know this music?’"

Blade would know. 

As one of the first radio DJs to champion alternative and new wave on American airwaves—and the first to play Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” video before MTV would touch it—he’s been the gatekeeper of cool since the early '80s.

From MV3 and Video One to his current gig on SiriusXM’s 1st Wave, Blade’s voice has introduced millions to Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Smiths, and more.

In the 1980s, Blade became one of the most influential figures in shaping the sound of modern rock radio in Los Angeles. As a DJ on KROQ, Blade was instrumental in championing the emerging wave of British synth-pop, post-punk, and new wave acts that mainstream radio was still ignoring. He had an instinct for spotting talent before it broke and used his platform to introduce American audiences to artists like Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Duran Duran, and The Cure. Blade didn’t just play the hits—he curated a sound and culture that spoke to a generation of disaffected youth looking for something outside the pop and rock mainstream.

His popularity on KROQ made him more than a DJ; he was a cultural guide.

At the same time, Blade brought his charisma and music knowledge to television as the host of MV3 and later Video One, L.A.-based music video shows that aired during the early days of MTV's rise. On MV3, he gave exposure to bands that weren’t getting airtime on the East Coast-driven MTV rotation, spotlighting West Coast trends and up-and-coming alternative acts.

His presence on both radio and television made him a rare crossover figure—someone who not only introduced new music but also visually contextualized it for a young, style-conscious audience. Richard Blade didn’t just report on a scene—he helped create it.

At the heart of the Lost 80s Live tour is the swooping synth, soaring guitar, and unmistakable sound of A Flock of Seagulls.

"Back in the day,” Mike Score tells 80s Central. “We weren’t making videos. We were in clubs, playing ‘Telecommunication’ to 200 college kids on a weeknight. No one cared about our look—they cared about the sound."

For Mike Score, frontman of the ever-iconic A Flock of Seagulls, the Lost 80s Live tour is less about reliving the past and more about sharing it — with a new generation.

“These tours are, they're quite long, but because you only play for half an hour, it doesn't physically drain you,” he says with a laugh. “I quite like doing these tours where I don't have to work so hard, except for getting there.” 

With a rotating lineup of new wave legends and synthpop pioneers, the tour is a crash course in neon-era cool, wrapped in nostalgia and delivered with a wink.

But it’s not just about the music — it’s about the cultural handoff. “When we play these kinds of shows, they're more like family shows,” Score explains. “I like it when a kid does the hairdo — that's fun. A little bit of education, a little bit of nostalgia, sure.”

For Score, it’s part history lesson, part celebration. “It’s almost like a musical history class for the kids... they get a chance to taste a little bit of what it was like back in the day,” he says. And when the unmistakable shimmer of “I Ran” kicks in, it still hits.

"They hear the old stuff like 'I Ran' on the radio then they come and get it live and realize the band is still a powerful force."

One of the most unexpected turning points in Richard Blade’s career came when he found himself DJing the bar mitzvah of Jason Gould, son of Barbra Streisand and Elliott Gould. The guest list read like a who’s who of the music industry, but it was more than just a surreal night—it became the unlikely moment that led to his first meeting with Michael Jackson. 

A lifelong fan of soul legends from Stax, Motown, and Atlantic, Blade was deeply familiar with Jackson’s talent. 

So when Epic Records approached MV3, the syndicated music video show he hosted, with the now-iconic Billie Jean video, they made their pitch clear: MTV wouldn’t touch it. “They won’t play a Black artist,” the label said. But Blade didn’t hesitate.

"We were already playing Prince and George Clinton,” he recalled. “It was never about skin color—it was always about the music."

The decision happened in real time. The show’s producer stormed into the studio, watched Billie Jean once, and said, “We’re cutting this into tomorrow’s show. Do a stand-up in the corner—we’ll edit it in.” Just like that, MV3 aired the first-ever “World Premiere Video”—long before MTV coined the term.

The effect was immediate and explosive. MTV had been resisting Jackson due to racial bias, but MV3 beat them to the punch. Jackson’s video exploded in popularity, putting pressure on MTV from fans, artists, and the industry alike. 

Behind the scenes, CBS Records had even threatened to pull every artist from MTV's rotation. Mark Goodman, one of the original MTV VJs, later told Blade, “You got one part wrong [in your book 'World In My Eyes']. MTV wasn’t dragging their feet—they were fighting CBS tooth and nail.” 

But when Billie Jean blew up, corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola and Ford jumped in, saving the fledgling network. MTV quickly reversed course and created their own “World Premiere Video” format—first used officially for Jackson’s Beat It.

In Blade’s words: “Michael Jackson didn’t just break the color line—he saved MTV. And MV3 lit the fuse.”

A Flock of Seagulls’ signature sound—those swirling synth waves, shimmering guitar lines, and space-age textures—was born from Mike Score’s discovery of the Korg MS-10. That quirky little synth, with its raw, gnarly tones and endless knob-twisting possibilities, became the foundation for the band’s otherworldly vibe.

Mike still remembers the day he first laid eyes on the Korg MS-10 like it was a scene straight out of a retro sci-fi flick.

"I walked into Hess in Liverpool — the same shop where the Beatles used to gear up — and there it was, this weird little keyboard with a bunch of knobs all over it. Everyone in the store was standing around going, ‘What the hell is this thing?’ It looked like it belonged on some ‘50s space movie set."

The shop owner, knowing Mike was a musician, asked for his take. “I started turning the knobs and was hooked immediately. So the owner said, ‘Why don’t you take it home for a week, mess around, figure it out, and then come back and teach some of the guys here how to make sounds with it?’"

Mike took the synth to the band’s rehearsal space just a street away and dove into it headfirst. “After a week, I went back to the shop, and they’d gotten a couple more in. I showed them some tricks, and the owner just said, ‘You know what? You can keep that one.’”

That humble little synth became Mike’s secret weapon.

"That MS-10 made all these fat, huge sounds that defined what we were doing. I ran it through some weird effects and chorus pedals, messed with it by ear — there were no presets or memories, so you had to really learn it."

Then came the big guns.

“A couple years later, the Jupiter-8 dropped. That thing blew the MS-10 away — it had memory, polyphony, lush programming, and a polished sound that was in a league of its own. But that little MS-10? It’ll always be the best synth I ever had. It shaped our sound, man.”

"The MS-10 had this raw, gnarly character — that growl you just couldn’t fake. When I switched over to the Jupiter-8, the sound shifted. It didn’t have the same snarling edge — the filters were different — but damn, it was richer, cleaner, more polished. The Jupiter was polyphonic, so suddenly I could play two-finger chords, stack those layers, and really thicken the sound. I got into tweaking the tuning, fattening things up, making it my own."

The Jupiter-8 was lightyears ahead of its time. It could do everything: bells, pads, booming bass, those sweeping, swooping effects that made synth music feel alive. My first moments messing with a Korg were just silly sounds — “meow, meow,” I’d joke — but that’s what hooked me on synthesis. You could sculpt weird, unique noises that just fit perfectly.

Later, the Jupiter-8 evolved into what they’d now call a workstation — a powerhouse synth for playing, layering, creating entire sonic worlds. It wasn’t just an instrument; it was the future of music.”

Depeche Mode's initial success in the United States came gradually in the early 1980s, fueled by the growing popularity of new wave and synth-pop. While their debut album Speak & Spell (1981) garnered limited attention, their darker, more mature sound on albums like Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1986) and especially Music for the Masses (1987) resonated with American audiences.

In 1988, putting Depeche Mode in the Rose Bowl—a massive 60,000-seat football stadium—sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. At that point, the band had just one Top 40 hit in the U.S., “People Are People,” and the idea of them headlining such a massive venue seemed laughable to many.

Radio personality Rick Dees famously mocked the move on KISS FM, calling them a “one-hit wonder in a football stadium.” But Richard Blade, a key sounding board on KROQ and a passionate champion of alternative music, saw something different. Along with Sire Records, he believed Depeche Mode had a bigger fanbase than mainstream metrics could measure—and they were right.

But there was real fear behind the scenes.

Blade and the team at Sire Records even drew up a backup plan. If ticket sales sputtered, they would cut off half the stadium with giant curtains and play to 20,000 or 25,000 people, hoping to avoid the embarrassment of empty seats. It was a safety net for a high-stakes gamble.

But it never came to that.

Within just four hours—long before the internet or Ticketmaster apps—35,000 tickets were gone. The demand was explosive, and it shocked the skeptics. Suddenly, what looked like career suicide turned into one of the boldest and most successful moves in alternative music history.

The energy in Los Angeles at the time was palpable. “You could feel the buzz in L.A.,” Blade recalled. “Play ‘Master and Servant’ in a club, and the floor would fill.” Depeche Mode weren’t just riding a radio hit—they were tapping into something deeper. They had become the voice of a generation that lived in the shadows of the mainstream, and they gave that crowd something hypnotic, danceable, and undeniably theirs. Blade recognized early what others didn’t: Depeche Mode had moved beyond being a synth-pop novelty. They were evolving.

After Vince Clarke’s departure following Speak & Spell, many assumed the creative magic had walked out the door with him. But Martin Gore stepped into the songwriting role with a darker, more emotionally resonant tone, blending introspection with electronic muscle. Depeche Mode took the cold machinery of early synth-pop and injected it with soul, sex, and tension.

And Richard Blade, a true believer when few others were, helped give them the stage—and the moment—that would define their American breakthrough. 

The Rose Bowl wasn’t just a concert; it was a coronation.

Recording A Flock of Seagulls’ debut album was far from the tortured creative process some bands endure — in fact, Mike Score describes it as surprisingly straightforward.

“The tricky part was the studio itself: Dive Studios in London had just been totally rebuilt and landed one of the first SSL mixing desks ever made. Problem was, nobody really knew how to use this beast yet.”

Luckily, they brought in an engineer from Australia, Mike, who had experience with the new desk. “He told us to just start playing. So for a couple days, we jammed, ran through songs, no pressure, just pure playing. Then we hit the control room and listened back — and damn, it sounded incredible.”

With Mike Howlett producing, who understood the band’s blend of synths and guitars without trying to mold them into something else, the sessions focused on capturing the live energy. “All he wanted from us was to play live. No crazy overdubs or studio tricks — mostly everything was tracked live. Sure, we had to do a few takes, sometimes five or six times, but it just clicked.”

The result was a fresh, atmospheric record that perfectly showcased the band’s futuristic sound.

The breakthrough single “I Ran (So Far Away)” emerged from a rather organic place. 

“It started as just a little jam, a snippet we’d mess around with in rehearsal,” Score recalls. The spark came when Mike saw a black-and-white photo in Liverpool’s Zoo Records of two people running from a flying saucer — a perfect visual for the band’s sci-fi aesthetic.

"Back at rehearsal, we picked up that little riff again, and the lyrics just started flowing — flying saucers, running away, escape. It was like the song wrote itself in a couple of hours. I always say, I don’t write songs; they write me."

Though Mike initially thought another track, “Space Age Love Song,” better represented the band, Jive Records pushed “I Ran” as the lead single. When legendary producer Mutt Lange, of AC/DC and Def Leppard fame, mixed it, the band knew they had a hit on their hands.

"We threw it out there in the U.S., and they were right on the money. The song broke big, hitting the Top 10, and six months earlier we were just wondering what to do next."

Suddenly, the band was filling stadiums and touring with The Police, with “I Ran” becoming the electrifying centerpiece of their live shows.

A Flock of Seagulls’ massive success in America felt both like lightning in a bottle and the natural outcome of their live prowess.

“We were definitely a step ahead of the pack. Part of it was because we were a real live band — not just studio guys messing around with machines. When we hit America, we could just jump on stage and play.”

Their mix of synths, guitars, and driving rhythms clicked with diverse audiences. “You had the radio crowd digging the guitars, and the New Wave kids totally vibing on the synths and the edgy lyrics.” Score credits radio as the key to their American breakthrough:

"People say, ‘MTV helped,' but it was really radio that broke us in the U.S. — we were getting played before MTV was even available in a lot of areas. The band’s rise was dizzying. We went from playing pubs to 50,000 people a night in six months. It was bewildering, really."

While the band’s iconic music videos helped define their image, Mike admits the process was never his favorite part of being a pop star. “I’ve never been a fan of making music videos. I’m not an actor — hell, I’m barely a musician. I just mess around, come up with some songs and ideas.”

Back in the ’80s, videos were an expensive necessity: “You had to dump a fortune into a video just to keep up with everyone else. These days, it’s way different. Everyone’s got an iPhone and can shoot a video on the cheap, which honestly feels way more authentic to me.” 

Despite his ambivalence, Mike acknowledges their importance.

"Record labels love them. Sometimes, when I’m filming now, I feel a bit boxed in, but then I see the final cut and I’m like, ‘Wow, how’d they pull that off?’"

Reflecting on the “I Ran” video, he laughs, “No way did that cost that much. Ours was maybe $150,000, which, for us Liverpool lads, was enough to keep us alive for three years.”

After their debut album in 1982, A Flock of Seagulls released several follow-up albums that showcased their continued exploration of synth-pop and new wave sounds. Listen (1983) featured the UK hit "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" and demonstrated a more polished production style. The Story of a Young Heart (1984) took on a darker, more introspective tone but struggled to match earlier commercial success. Their fourth album, Dream Come True (1986), marked a decline in popularity and internal band tensions.

Despite these challenges, the band maintained a cult following and later released reunion projects, including Ascension (2018), which reimagined their classic songs with a full orchestra.

These days, Mike Score continues to tour with A Flock of Seagulls, bringing the band’s iconic synth-driven sound to a new generation while reconnecting with longtime fans. He’s no longer chasing chart positions or radio play; instead, he’s embracing the legacy the band helped create in the '80s. “Lost 80s Live shows are more like family reunions,” he says. “You’ve got kids doing the hairdo, parents dancing to ‘Wishing’—it’s a whole new thing.” For Score, it’s about celebrating the music that defined an era and still resonates decades later.

Despite the passage of time, the band’s live energy remains strong. “When people hear ‘I Ran’ live, it’s like they’re shocked at how powerful we still sound. It’s not nostalgia—it’s muscle memory. The band’s still tight.” Now seen as a synth-rock elder statesman, Score reflects on his journey with self-deprecating humor: “I never loved doing videos. I’m not an actor—I’m barely a musician. But somehow we made songs people still care about. That’s enough for me.”

For fans, it's clear that the music—and the man behind it—still strike a meaningful chord.

Between Richard Blade’s expert curation and Mike Score’s enduring sonic legacy, the Lost 80s Live Tour has evolved into far more than a nostalgic throwback. It’s a dynamic celebration of a decade defined by innovation, style, and unforgettable hooks. 

As the frontman of A Flock of Seagulls, Score brings authenticity and energy to the stage, reminding fans why these songs left such a lasting impact.

With a lineup that highlights the depth and diversity of 1980s music, the tour feels like a time capsule that’s very much alive.

“This tour isn’t just about retro,” Blade insists. “It’s about rediscovery. It’s about realizing that these songs were always good—sometimes ahead of their time. They just needed the right stage again.” And this summer, that stage is set.

With Score leading the way and Blade crafting the experience, Lost 80s Live continues to connect generations through timeless music, proving that great songs never go out of style—they just wait for the right moment to shine again.

CLICK HERE for more information on the Lost 80s LIVE Tour.