The Tubes
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Over the course of the next few years, the Tubes earned a devoted cult following on the strength of Spooners parodic songs and the groups surreal live shows, which featured Waybill adopting a variety of personas including the crippled Nazi Dr. Strangekiss, country singer Hugh Heifer and Quay Lewd, a drug-addled British pop star. After signing to A&M in 1975, they released their self-titled debut, followed a year later by Young and Rich; while both failed to transfer the manic energy and theatrical complexity of their live set onto record, the single White Punks on Dope became a minor hit and a radio staple.
After 1977s failed concept record The Tubes Now, the group toured England, where a series of banned performances made them a media sensation. However, during the recording of the concert LP What Do You Want From Live? Waybill broke his leg onstage while acting out his punk character Johnny Bugger; the remainder of the tour was cancelled, and with it died the bands chart momentum. After returning to the U.S., they recruited producer Todd Rundgren and recorded 1979s Remote Control, a concept album exploring the influence of television; when it met a similar commercial fate as its predecessors, the Tubes were dropped by A&M.
After signing to Capitol, they recorded 1981s Completion Backwards Principle, an album based on an actual sales training instruction manual; both Talk to You Later and Dont Want to Wait Anymore earned significant radio play, and the LP became the Tubes first Top 40 hit. Thanks to its provocative video, the single Shes a Beauty reached the Top Ten, and pushed the 1983 LP Outside/Inside into the Top 20 Albums chart; after 1985s Love Bomb stiffed, however, the Tubes disbanded, and Welnick later joined the Grateful Dead. In 1993, the Tubes reunited; consisting of Waybill, Steen, Anderson, Prince and new keyboardist Gary Cambra, they toured the U.S. and Europe before releasing a new LP, Genius of America, in 1996. Spooner also issued his own solo record, Mall to Mars. In 2000, the Tubes embarked on another extensive tour, issuing the greatest-hits-live album Tubes World Tour to commemorate the event.
