In a new interview with Greg Prato for Songfacts, Huey Lewis discusses his classic album Sports, he and his band The News approach to music videos, how he's dealing with hearing loss, and what he learned from late Thin Lizzy frontman, Phil Lynott. An excerpt from the interview follows...
Songfacts: Some people don't realize that you were a friend and admirer of Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy. Around the time of his passing wasn't Huey Lewis & The News going to back him on an album?
Lewis: "We cut three songs with Philip. His management asked if I would produce a record for Philip, and I said, 'Well, I don't know if I have the time to do a whole record, but I'll do three tracks.' And they said, 'OK, fine.'
So, he came over to America and we cut three things. He only had eight days or something and we didn't finish them - we didn't get the vocals done. We got them most of the way, and unfortunately he went back to Britain and then passed away [on January 4, 1986].
Philip was my mentor. First of all, there was nobody better on stage. There was never a better hard-rock band than Thin Lizzy. They were unbelievable. He took me under his wing and really taught me everything - not musically, necessarily - but everything about being a "rock-and-roll star," if you will.
Philip was an amazing rock star. He was a black kid born in the middle of Dublin, Ireland, and went to an all-white school. He was a peacock to begin with – he was different – and he loved being a rock star. He taught me everything about how to deal with your band, your crew, the critics, the record label, management, fans. He really was just instrumental in forming my education. I miss him every day."
Read the full interview at Songfacts.com.
“Nearly every song on Sports has a huge hook… there's no denying that the craftmanship on Sports is pretty infectious,” says All Music Guide about the third album by Huey Lewis & The News.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Capitol/UMe is reissuing the Grammy-nominated, 7X platinum, chart-topping album on vinyl on September 15 in two different colors - classic black and olive green. Originally released on September 15, 1983, Sports was a breakthrough for the San Francisco-based band, reaching the #1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 albums and generating four top ten hits.
A cultural touchstone upon its release, Sports not only made a star out of its frontman vocalist Huey Lewis but also thrust the band into the global spotlight. Combining the unlikely concoction of power-pop, blue-eyed soul, doo-wop, and rhythm & blues, the album found itself posited in the Top 40 in numerous counties across the globe, including Norway, Canada, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and, of course, their native US.
Launching itself from the get-go with the first single “Heart And Soul” which peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles, Sports was a frequent visitor in the charts. “I Want A New Drug” found the band reaching #6 as did the third and fourth singles “The Heart Of Rock And Roll” and “If This Is It” respectively. A fifth single “Walking On A Thin Line” broke the Top 20 at #16 on the Top Rock chart. The album charted in the Top 200 for 160 consecutive weeks, earning the album the remarkable designation of being the second biggest-selling album on Billboard’s end-of-year sales chart, beat only by Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
“In the early 80’s, there was no internet, no alternative scene, and really only one avenue to success; a hit single on CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio). We produced the Sports album ourselves because we wanted to make commercial choices we could live with while we aimed most of the tunes directly at CHR radio. Sports was a collection of singles. We needed a hit single … didn’t know we’d have five of them.” - Huey Lewis
A monumental breakthrough, Sports garnered Huey Lewis & The News two Grammys - in 1984 for “Best Rock Vocal By A Group” for “Heart And Soul” and in 1985 for “Record Of The Year” for “The Heart Of Rock And Roll.”
Sports is available for pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
Side One
"The Heart Of Rock And Roll"
"Heart And Soul"
"Bad Is Bad"
"I Want A New Drug"
Side Two
"Walking On A Thin Line"
"Finally Found A Home"
"If This Is It"
"You Crack Me Up"
"Honky Tonk Blues"
(Huey Lewis photo - Deanne Fitzmaurice)
