Replay America: The Ultimate 80s Festival Set for MPAC Tonight

Go back to the future with the best of 80s pop at Replay America: The Ultimate 80s Festival, tonight, July 9, 2014 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $75-$150.

Featured performers include The Go-Go's ("Our Lips Are Sealed," "We Got the Beat"), Martha Davis and The Motels ("Suddenly Last Summer," "Only the Lonely"), Patty Smyth and Scandal ("Goodbye to You," "The Warrior"), Cutting Crew ("I've Been in Love Before," "(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight"), and Naked Eyes with Pete Byrne ("Always Something There to Remind Me," "Promises, Promises").

The Go-Go's were the most popular all-female band to emerge from the punk/new wave explosion of the late '70s and early '80s, becoming one of the first commercially successful female groups that wasn't controlled by male producers or managers. While their hit singles -- "We Got the Beat," "Our Lips Are Sealed," "Vacation," "Head Over Heels" -- were bright, energetic new wave pop, the group was an integral part of the Californian punk scene.

Led by the charismatic Martha Davis, the Motels were one of the most successful and acclaimed bands to emerge from the fertile Los Angeles new wave scene, reaching the Top Ten in 1982 with their biggest hit, "Only the Lonely." Other hits included "Suddenly Last Summer" and "Remember the Nights."

After opening for acts like the Kinks and Hall & Oates, Patty Smyth and Scandal released their debut single, "Goodbye to You," in 1982; their self-titled debut album followed soon afterward. "The Warrior" was released two years later. The title track was a Top Ten hit and the album went platinum.

The pop/rock group Cutting Crew formed in England in 1985, just one year before "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" made them stars at home and across the Atlantic. Founding members Kevin Scott MacMichael (guitar) and Nick Van Eede (vocals) met in Halifax, Nova Scotia, while both musicians were on tour with their respective bands.

A key presence in the synth pop movement of the early '80s, Naked Eyes formed in Britain in 1981. Comprised of former schoolmates Pete Byrne (vocals) and Rob Fisher (keyboards), the duo debuted in March 1983 with the LP Burning Bridges, reissued in the U.S. a month later (minus several tracks) as a self-titled effort. The lead single, a majestic cover of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David perennial "Always Something There to Remind Me," emerged as a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching the U.S. Top Ten on the strength of its video, which received heavy airplay on the fledgling MTV network. The American follow-up, "Promises, Promises", was also a major hit.