Songoftheday 2/17/14 - Well I'm not uptight not unattracted turn me on tonight...
The Firm - "Radioactive"
from the album The Firm (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6
Today's Song of the Day is from the hard rock "supergroup" The Firm, which was a pet project for Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page after the dissolution of the group after the death of drummer John Bonham. His former bandmate Robert Plant had already released a couple of successful solo albums, and scored a couple of top-40 hits, while they both worked on the retro EP by the Honeydrippers ("Sea Of Love"). Joining together with singer Paul Rodgers from Bad Company and Free, along with drummer Chris Slade from Manfred Mann's Earth Band and bass player Tony Franklin, the newly-minted Firm released their debut album in 1985. Rodgers wrote their first single, "Radioactive", and the track became a rock and pop hit for the group...
Radioactive became the Firm's sole top-40 pop hit in April of 1985, while topping the Mainstream Rock radio chart in Billboard for a week the month prior. Even though both Page and Rodgers are British, their home country gave little love, with the single stalling at #76 in Britain and #75 in Canada.
They would have a couple more minor pop hits, and with their second and final album, another #1 rock hit with "All The King's Horses". Shortly after, the band split, with Rodgers and Page going solo and Slade joining Australia hard rock kings AC/DC.
I gotta say that as much as I love the chorus on this song, this is in my humble opinion the worst guitar solo I have ever heard, which poisoned the song for me back in the day.
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Here's The Firm live in 1985 with "Radioactive" (along with minor rock hit "Live In Peace")...
Up tomorrow: the charity record to end all charity records.
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