The one-man musical based on Rick Springfield’s memoir “Late, Late at Night” that has toured throughout Australia over the past year is now going to be available to RS fans outside of Australia!
The book was adapted for the stage by award-winning Australian playwright Kieran Carroll and the musical is performed by Sydney singer-actor Jackson Carroll (no relation).
“Late, Late at Night (The Rick Springfield Story)” will stream in the U.S and worldwide on Saturday, May 18 and will be available for 72 hours.
According to the site, “‘Late, Late At Night’ is a vast one-man work moving between the text and the songs throughout. It is a tumultuous and exhilarating journey of an Australian-American songwriter whose 17 top 40 hits in America with sales of 25 million albums worldwide make him one of Australia’s most successful musical exports of all time.”
In case you missed the news, two more songs off of “Automatic” were released this week: “Exit Wound (In the Shape of a Heart)” and “Love Aint’ Cool (Sha Doo Wup).”
Catchy songs! Really digging those background vocals by Windy Wagner!
Those who only associate Rick Springfield as the ’80s “Jessie’s Girl” singer may be surprised to know that he’s released more than 20 studio albums, with the newest one, “Automatic” to come out on Aug. 4.
The title track was released yesterday. Here’s “Automatic,” a techno-driven song reminiscent of the Tao album, but with the social commentary feeling of “Songs for the End of the World” and some “The Snake King” aspects.
It took me a few listens before it resonated with me. My first thought that it would sound great in a movie soundtrack, like a real hip social commentary type of movie. Next thought was that it’s going to sound great live because it has some powerful energy. When I dove into the lyrics, that’s when it hooked me. It all goes so well together – the lyrics, the singing, background vocals, the production.
The second song that was released yesterday is “She Walks with the Angels.”
This one hooked me right away. At first it was because I knew that it was inspired by the memory of Matty Spindel, which I thought was really moving. The sound of this one reminded me more of the “Venus in Overdrive” album, one of my favorites. Maybe a little “Working Class Dog,” too.
It’s a really beautiful song and, according to a news release, the song includes secret references about Matty. He mentioned in the released that he wrote it in feminine wording because Matty “was very in touch with that side of himself.” I can picture Matty smiling when hearing the song and it’s still hard to believe that he ‘s gone.
This line hit hard: “I said goodbye and then I waited in the hall.”
According to an article on ultimateclassicrock.com, RS played all the guitars and keyboards on the upcoming album himself.
I can’t wait to hear the rest of the songs!
In other “Automatic” news, it looks like he’ll be doing another TalkshopLive event on June 20 at 8 p.m. Eastern, promoting autographed copies of “Automatic” on CD and vinyl. More details here.
According to a Facebook post by SVR Music, the first two songs off of Rick Springfield’s new album “Automatic” will be released this Friday, June 16.
This coming Friday (June 16th) SVR Music is proud to release the first two singles from Rick Springfield‘s upcoming full-length album titled “Automatic.” The pre-save/pre-add links for all major music streaming services are included in the link below for the single “She Walks With Angels.” We’ve been privileged to hear the new music and think you’ll love it! Rick’s “I Want My ’80s” tour launches the same day as the album release date (August 4th), and it will make for a great summer for his fans!! SVR Music
According to a comment from SVR Music in the post, there will also be a vinyl release. Check the SVR Music Facebook page for more updates here.
One observant fan noted the words “Major Spindel” on the strap. Sweet. As mentioned in a recent concert, the song was written in memory of Matty Spindel.
As announced at a recent concert, Rick Springfield’s new CD will be coming out soon and will have 20 new songs!
It’s now listed on Amazon and ready for pre-order. It’s scheduled for an Aug. 4 release (aka my birthday week… what a great gift – thanks, RS!)
Here’s the “Automatic” description:
The album, described by Springfield, as 20 new songs stylistically somewhere between “Working Class Dog” and “Tao”. Sonically, the album sees Springfield returning to his first love of guitar-based power pop and keyboards, while lyrically featuring his favored subjects of love, sex and death. “My goal was solid three-minute tunes with the biggest hooks I could come up with.” As Springfield explains, “the album is called ‘Automatic’ because the songs just kind of came out on their own.”
Last night I attended my first Rick Springfield concert since the pandemic began, at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.
It was a little bit surreal, like the past 2 1/2 years was a bad dream because how could it be that this type of communal gathering ceased to exist for so long? RS was in full rock-star mode and it was a celebration from the moment the first note played, as RS and the band rocked that revolving stage like no other.
I hadn’t splurged on tickets in the first few rows this time because just days before the show was announced, I had splurged on last-minute Billie Eilish tickets at a local stadium. That particular splurge meant two tickets (one for me and one for my oldest son) way up in the nosebleed section and since each far-away ticket was about the cost of one front-row ticket for RS, I wasn’t able to do that again a few days later. But, I thought, that was OK, it would be enough just being at the concert since it had been so long since I saw him in concert (June 2019). (In case you were wondering, the Billie Eilish show was amazing, even so far from the stage.)
Of course, once I got to Celebrity Theatre last night, I wished I had splurged because although our seats were fine (it’s a fairly small venue), it was a whole different experience from the previous shows when I was near the stage.
It was my husband’s first RS show in awhile – he was at a show years ago with two of our sons (when they sang “Don’t Talk to Strangers” with him), a Stripped Down show in Tucson (when we briefly met RS after the show) and on an overnight in Sahuarita, Ariz., when I kind of left him back in our seats when I found an unoccupied spot by the stage (and we stayed at the same hotel as RS and the band). So he was a good sport to go with me again and he had a great time and was so impressed by how RS and the band rocked from the second the show started.
Display in the Celebrity Theatre’s downstairs lounge
Although it felt more like I was watching the show from afar this time around, I was overwhelmed by a strong sense of gratitude to even be there at all and appreciated all the aspects, from the rose explosions to the lighting and sound. During the pandemic, I wondered if the opportunity would ever return. And yet there they were, RS and all of the band members, surrounded by other fans as excited to be there as I was.
A couple of my favorite moments were hearing “World Start Turning” and being able to sing “Happy Birthday” to him again. In 2018, I was in the very same theater two days before his real birthday (Aug. 23) and it struck me how much the world has changed since we were “together” in that space last. He mentioned how he just finished filming “Gonzo Girl,” a movie with Patricia Arquette and William Dafoe. (During the 2018 concert, he told us that he was going to film an episode of “The Goldbergs” TV show the next day, if that puts things in perspective for anyone.)
RS played third, after John Waite and Men at Work, so the encore came after 11 p.m. I probably shouldn’t confess this here, but since it was a school night/work night, I decided last minute that we should leave during “Jessie’s Girl” because I’ve heard it a gazillion times, saw him perform it live lots of times and remembered that getting out of the parking lot after the Billie Eilish concert took nearly an hour. Plus I knew there was no chance of possibly “running into” RS after the show (although I did briefly run into drummer Jorge in the audience before the Men at Work set) because it was so late. So, ignoring the impulse to stick around for a slim possibility to meet him again (like I did back in 2016 when I was able to get a selfie with him before he climbed onto the bus and rode off into the night), we headed out the no-re-entry doors to the parking lot across the street as the pre-Jessie’s Girl video began and were home about 20 minutes later.
Of course it was my loss because, as I learned this morning after the fabulous Rick and the News Flash Facebook fan page posted a beautiful video of that very performance, he returned to the stage shirtless. So even though I missed seeing it live, I was relieved I still got to experience the full concert (and had a better view of the encore then I would have if I stayed in my seat).
When I woke up this morning, I felt a sense of calm. Although last night was another missed opportunity of meeting RS and possibly putting the words together to tell him the impact he’s made on my life, I thought about the dream I had before waking up.
In the dream, I was in a dining room of a house with RS and my husband and a few other people. RS mentioned to the people in the room that I was married to both him and my husband. Even in the dream I felt a little unsure how this would work (both logistically and morally), but was thrilled that he would even say this. I offered to make him tea and he chose a pack of tea leaves from a big colorful box with a brown kangaroo on it. I wasn’t sure how to use his fancy tea infuser so he showed me and I made a cup of tea for both him and my (real-life) husband.
Weird, I know, and I have no idea what that could mean, but as I said, being able to have that encounter with him even only in my dream made me feel peaceful.
Anyway, RS and the band are off for a few more shows of this Working Class Dog tour and then once that’s over, perhaps we’ll hear more about the album he’s been working on!! To all the RS fans headed to upcoming shows – have fun!
Update on Aug. 31 I thought I’d share a video from the Aug. 29 show that I found on YouTube since I initially posted this. Thank you for sharing, you had a much better view than I had!
Rick Springfield fans got a chance to hang out live with him in his home studio yesterday, as part of the promotion for the the 40th anniversary of his Working Class Dog album.
That would have been totally unimaginable 40 years ago. The very thought of doing that would have blown my teenage mind. Just him and about 2,000 fans who had a chance to ask him questions live. Pretty cool.
If you missed it, it’s still available here at talkshop.live- at least on the day I’m writing this. Quick, stop reading this now and go watch it!
He’s very entertaining. He talked about the upcoming summer tour and the next (and last) fan trip (in development, probably 2023 though no date or other details set yet), shared stories from his career and sang a song (“Jessie’s Girl”).
Topics included how he recorded ‘Working Class Dog’ in the wee hours of the night between paying customers; his vocal warmup technique (which includes a PSA about tea tree oil dissolving Styrofoam); Keeper of the Purple Twilight from “The Outer Limits,” “2001: A Space Odyssey”; the sequel of ‘Jessie’s Girl” (yes, ‘Tonight’ on “Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet” is a sequel and has a different outcome than in Coheed and Cambria’s version); drummer Jack White; the cancellation of the Zoot tour; and whether any acting or writing projects are in progress. And of course because this was a live Q&A, it was required that someone ask him if he planned to ever return to “General Hospital.”
He also described the stickers he has on an Australian guitar that he decorated to look like a suitcase, noting that they represent things that he likes: Tutankhamun, Australia, hot girls, Ganesh, Apollo and a magpie.
And of course a fun shoutout to my 13-year-old self, he even said my name! (He was talking to someone else with the same name, but that’s not relevant in this case.)
He also shared his feeling about recreating the photo on the back of “Working Class Dog.”
Also this week was the release of the video of “Jessie’s Girl” that was filmed with the band in his living room for this 40th anniversary celebration. Hi there, band members!
Speaking of RS band members, there was also a fun interview with bassist Siggy Sjursen on “PS After Dark with Tristan Rogers,” which also features keyboardist Tim Gross.
In case you missed the latest Rick Springfield news, here’s an update: Presales are happening now for the “Working Class Dog 40th Anniversary Special Live Edition CD/DVD” and RS will be on talkshoplive this Friday, May 6 at 7 p.m. Eastern to talk about it.
Here’s the description of the CD/DVD, which features Ron on the cover like the original album, but with an updated picture of RS in the pocket (like as in 40 years later, as in last year.)
In April of 2021, 13 months into quarantine, Rick Springfield and his band performed his most iconic album, “Working Class Dog, ” from start to finish live at Rick’s home in Malibu in celebration of it’s 40th Anniversary. The resulting work is a renewed interpretation of a classic. The DVD features behind-the-scenes footage, all the joyful live performances, plus 4 bonus Rick Springfield hits: “Love Somebody, ” “Don’t Talk to Strangers, ” “State of the Heart, ” and “Affair of the Heart.”
I’m excited about this because it’ll be fun to hear the new, live versions in order as they appear on the album, as originally heard 40 years ago: 1. Love Is Alright Tonite, 2. Jessie’s Girl, 3. Hole in My Heart, 4. Carry Me Away, 5. I’ve Done Everything for You, 6. The Light of Love, 7. Everybody’s Girl, 8. Daddy’s Pearl, 9. Red Hot & Blue Love and 10. Inside Sylvia.
But I’m also eager to hear more about the new album he’s been working on, too!
I wrote this song about a couple in trouble but it fit my feelings about the war in Ukraine. More must be done. I send it out with prayers for peace.
The post didn’t mention the name of the song, though it seems like it may be “Make Your Move.” Mixed in with the Ukraine images is video of RS playing chess (to go along with the lyrics), singing in front of a graffitied wall and playing a chalk-drawn keyboard. The video includes the text “play” and the video counter marking the time passing. The presentation of the video makes it seem like it’s historical war footage. Sadly, the scenes are not from years ago, it’s happening right now. Truly heartbreaking.
If you’re interested in learning more about Rick Springfield’s new album with Russell Morris, “Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz,” which celebrates Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Ambition Music Group has put together a playlist of songs videos and interviews.
There’s another RS interview on the album, on ABC Radio Melbourne (click here to listen) where you learn more about his wife’s popular tacos, his new car and memories from Australia, and an interview with Studio 10 in Australia.
Russell Morris also posted about the new album reaching #1 on Australia’s Jazz & Blues charts, #34 on the overall national charts, #14 on iTunes and #6 on the Australian national charts. Good job, mates! See his post here.
In other news, RS and the band had a concert in Redondo Beach last night and “Living in Oz” was on the playlist! It’s so fun to hear some of the older songs live again!
My Rick Springfield crush 