It was the summer of '87, when The Simpsons had just debuted as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, Margaret Thatcher had been re-elected for a third term, Teddy Seymour had officially been designated the first black man to sail around the world, and a young Canadian upstart called Bryan Adams performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Anyone who witnessed these events would probably have bet on Adams' performance to be the one to sink into the quicksand of history without leaving a trace. The music critics certainly thought so.
"But if a wholesome image and shrewd craftsmanship have made Adams a popular commodity, his music also seems diluted and second-hand," stated Stephen Holden of The New York Times. "The hits that Adams and his band performed Thursday all sounded as if they had come from the same three cookie cutters. And the cliches of their titles-'Heat of the Night, 'Run to You 'Somebody, 'Heaven, 'OneNight Love Affair; 'Straight from the Heart' were compounded by verses that strung together hackneyed lyrical phrases and made each song the equivalent of a trite rock-and-roll greeting card."
This story is from the December 15, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 15, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Doctors' Wish-List
The first wish is a no-brainer-safety, considering the number of attacks on doctors. But there is more. Such as upskilling. THE WEEK brings you what's on the mind of your doctor
Only India Can Question Adani
INTERVIEW - ERIK SOLHEIM, former executive director, UN Environment Programme
Stay with Kochi Biennale
The organisers of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale have just begun preparations for its sixth edition a year from now. I still remember its start, on the euphonious date of 12.12.12-December 12, 2012-when a group of idealist artists embarked with some trepidation on a bold attempt to transform India's art scene.
Formula won
With Senna, Netflix seems to have finally found its footing in sports programming
The horror of not ageing
Every morning, I look in the mirror and begin E to pullfaces I strew up to pull faces at myself. I screw up my mouth like a mouse about 10 times.
At the centre of Life of Pi is the story of a boy looking for the truth
INTERVIEW - Lolita Chakrabarti, playwright
THE ROCKSTAR ROMEO
Bryan Adams can't stop this thing he started
TECH UP THE CHALLENGE
Precision technology is revolutionising cancer care
TECHNOLOGY FOR GOOD
There is a pressing need to marry digital innovation with a deeply human context
FRIENDS IN LAB COATS
They have many things in common, like being driven individuals, patient-centric doctors and excellent communicators. THE WEEK used their time together at the Cleveland Clinic as a thread to chat with Dr Jame Abraham and Dr Madhu Sasidhar