It's time to go back...back in time...to the time of banana clips, stone washed overalls, colossal bangs, Teen Beat, Guess Jeans, Giorgio Body Spray with the yellow cap, and Back To The Future. It's 1985. Adulthood is eons away. You're only care is which color KEDS you want to wear, which day you go to get your braces tightened and how you're gonna survive high school if you don't get to see Prince in concert (or in my case Lionel Richie). For those of you from Minneapolis it was the days of WLOL 99.5 FM with Hines and Berglund. And if you were listening to the airwaves closely that summer you would have heard this in between We Are the World and Shout (Tears of Fears):
(Music playing:"Get Me Up with the Music (the music on my mind). Get me up WLOL")
"This is Hines, Berglund and Roger getting you up. Hey, I have a chance for some lucky kids out there to possibly get to see themselves on TV. The Jets will be recording a music video this Friday. Show up early at Windom Elementary in south Minneapolis."
Well, Heather Locklear, Lisah and I were most definitely tuned in. We dressed in our most trendy gear and made our way to what we were sure would be instant fame. The Jets would surely have one look at our cute faces, hip clothes and sharp dance moves and invite us to tour with them. (Ahh, youth)
For those of you that aren't certified card carrying members of the 80's crew ("Ain't no stoppin' us, no stoppin'. No one does it better" - that's my song), you probably are not familiar with The Jets, so let me fill you in. The Jets were a family with 17 members. Their parents originally hailed from the island of Tonga in the South Pacific and settled in the Twin Cities to raise their family. The 8 oldest of the Wolgramm children, Eugene, Elizabeth, Haini, Moana, Eddie, Rudy, Kathi, and LeRoy, made up the band. Like most bands the story goes that they were playing weddings in the Land of Lakes, yada, yada, yada. They crashed onto the scene in 1985 with the dance hit “Curiosity”. Their appeal was in their perfectly styled leggings, long button up shirts, hair bows, cherub like faces, rhythmic beats, sweet lyrics and just the right hair height (thanks to those Tongan curls). This formula kept them on the charts through 1990 with hits like, Crush on You, Private Number, and Cross My Broken Heart.
OK, now flashback to 1985. Remember, you’re that teenager listening to the radio. You spent all day dancing to the same song over and over again in a hot gym. Then you go home to wait. Weeks later while taking a break from Atari you turn on Friday Night Videos just in time to hear them announce the World Premiere of The Jets “Curiosity”….
The Jets - curiosity
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BONUS: About half way through the video, right around the time she sings “One thing that I learned…” have a look at the bottom of the screen. There is a cute, little brown girl in a dark pink shirt, white overall straps and her hair pulled back in a white barrette. She is doing her own little version of “The Carlton” long before Alfonso Ribeiro made the transformation from break dancer to TV nerd. That’s our favorite girl, Heather Locklear!
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