Aldo Nova - "Fantasy"
1982
Aldo Nova burst upon/was forced by the Powers That Be upon the scene in 1982 with an AOR gem in "Fantasy": The tune has a great riff, synths that don't hold the song back, and a decent guitar solo. Problem was, there was a video …
Nova - and I like calling him "Nova", kinda like how when Mr. Carlson is being terse with Dr. Johnny Fever he simply calls him "Fever" - simply looks like a goof while sporting a ridiculous leopard one-piece outfit tucked into boots (needed, a friend once rode in an elevator with him, said he's tiny) and Oasis-brothers-like eyebrows. The beginning is some sort of caper movie, it turns into a performance - Aldo-and-band-rock-a-club! - then has asides where Nova steps out of character, points at the ladies of the night, and informs us they aren't there for true love. (Thanks dude, most of us had been misled to believe such ladies are secretly harboring hearts of gold!) And I don't know if it's the quality of the YouTube video, but I experienced some Fight Club-like editing flash stuff while watching it. I didn't see this video until months after the song raced up the charts, I had been assured during lunch time in high school that it was powerful, powerful stuff. Doh-kay.
I got to see Nova live when he opened for Blue Oyster Cult in West Fargo, North Dakota in September of 1982. He was trying to warm up the crowd and said:
"North Dakota is a great town!"
Years later, I related this tale on an email list (pre-social-media communication thing, tweet me if you want further definition) I was on with some fellow musicheads. One guy chipped in with this Nova onstage quote, also from September of 1982 but this time in Sioux Falls, South Dakota:
"Alright, Sioux City!"
As I theorized at the time of reading that:
Nova said these things as an inside joke with his Canadian bandmate buddies as a way to get some laughs while out on the weary road in heartland America as an opener for an American smart-metal band who was hanging onto its last act of stardom.
Aldo Nova would go on to co-write the lead track off Blue Oyster Cult's next album, The Revolution By Night. As these things go, that album was also the one that signified the end of BOC's powers.