Smoky Hill High School - Yearbook (Aurora, CO)

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'- if .fix ,dv - F151 Q35 VA t I av' 'X ls, ltllilikliill Above left, Prince's Purple Rain, LP was one of this year's best selling albums, and one of the best selling movie soundtracks in history. Above right, Flatt was one heavy metal band that saw enormous success in 1984 and 85 with their Out of the CelIar LP. Middle left Hall and Oates Big Bam Boom album was followed up by a Big Bam Boom tour which made it to Denver this year. Bottom left Frankie Goes to Hollywood, a British poplnew wave band was a surprise hit this year in the U.S. with their Relax single, which was banned in several European countries. Black-N-Blue, above, was one L.A. heavy metal band to get exposure and success with their hard driving debut album featuring the hit single and video Hold on to 18 . Sophomores!Music Review 73

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'Hb' Ax A mx X 5 L .4 .1 . 4 af is V- ! K , V -ff r t, . as K' . KX ' J i X ' l greaf mubic ma ea mar in 84-85 72 Music Review!Sophomores This past year was a good year for great music. As well as seeing albums from quite a few aspiring new acts, we saw some new albums from some old favorites. There was quite a variety of music, including pop, soul, and heavy metal. Of course, along with the many new releases came some great con- certs which made their way to the Denver area. Some established groups who put out albums were Bruce Springsteen and the Jacksons, of course, as well as Hall and Oates, Chicago, U2, and Prince's phenomenal Purple Rain, sound- track. All of these shot up the charts within weeks of their release. We also saw many new acts put out albums that made it to radio airplay and into the charts. Some of the most popular were Frankie Goes to Hollywood, General Public, Madonna, Whaml, Corey Hart, Sheila E, and Twisted Sister. ' 'There was a great diversity in the types of music that gained popularity. The most widely listened to was top 40, midline-type rock. Among the most successful were Cyndi Lauper, Madon- na, Chicago, Hall and Oates, and the The Jacksons, above left, brought their Victory tour 'to Denver this year, and performed to two of Mile High stadium s largest concert audiences. 1984-85, a big year for Van Halen, showed them not only on the road playing to sellout crowds, but also in the charts with their top-selling album 1984 . Jacksons. Soul music gained a lot ol popularity. Such groups as The Time. Chaka Kahn, New Edition, Vanity, anc Midnight Star were just a few whc made it to a fairly regular radio rotation. Heavy metal was also on the uprise. As well as keeping its faithful audience, heavy metal gained new followers, and even made it onto several AOR, or album-oriented radio stations such as KPKE. The groups which were most prominent were Ratt, Motley Crue, Van Halen, Twisted Sister, the Scorpions, Black and Blue, and Dokken. With wild enthusiasm, this year we witnessed not only the Jackson's Victory Tour at Mile High, but the Boss spent two incredible nights at McNi- chols on his Born in the U.S.A. tour. Some other great concerts that passed through Denver were Iron Maiden, Billy Squier, Quiet Ftiot, Chicago, Hall and Oates, Sammy Hagar, and Deep Purple's reunion tour show. Whether a headbanger or a new waver, a dedicated top 40 listener or a breakdancer, 1984-85 was a great year for everyone's favorite music.

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winter Blues This last winter Denver lived up to its reputation of snow, snow, more snow and cold weather. Especially the two extremely cold weeks which will hardly be forgotten, in January when the temperatures reached down below zero. Also, who will forget the Monday night football game between the Broncos and Green Bay, in October when it snowed 20 inches. The snow also caused Smoky Hill to have a snow day the next day! ln spite of the cold weather people still enjoyed them- selves in some popular winter sports, such as skiing, iceskating, snowboard- ing, and tubing. On the other hand, a few of the unpleasant aspects of such cold weather is having to get your car jumped, push it somewhere, or worse yet it wouIdn't start at all. There were many times when you could look out into Smoky Hill's parking lot and see one of those frustrated drivers. The huge piles of snow are blinding Mike Cook.