The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. The band is often put under the banner of new wave and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, an ...

. They were influenced by 1950s American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

, Detroit's MC5,

the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

, early

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

R&B, 1960s North American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

as well as the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" o ...

rockers. The Romantics achieved substantial popularity in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and Australia, with their two best-charting songs " What I Like About You", peaking at #49 in the US and #2 in Australia, and " Talking in Your Sleep", reaching #3 in the US, #1 in Canada, and #14 in Australia. The two songs have since become mainstays on '80s,

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

, AOR, and

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

radio stations. Their debut album, released on January 4, 1980, in the UK, has the distinction of being the first record to be released of that decade.

Career

''The Romantics'' and ''National Breakout'' (1977–1982)

The Romantics' original lineup consisted of vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and

harmonicist The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

Wally Palmar, lead guitarist and vocalist Mike Skill, bassist and backing vocalist Rich Cole, and drummer and vocalist Jimmy Marinos. All four band members made songwriting contributions to the group, but Palmar and Skill were considered the band's primary tunesmiths. The band's first show was on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

at My Fair Lady Club, in Detroit, opening for the New MC5 in 1977. For three years the band was on the road, playing in East Coast and

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

venues like

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's Rathskeller,

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's Bowery,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Max's Kansas City, and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

's Agora. They were subsequently signed to Nat Weiss' Nemperor record label after a show at Hurrahs, and in September 1979, the band recorded their debut self-titled album with British producer

Pete Solley Peter Solley (born 19 October 1948, London) is an English musician and record producer. He has recorded with Eric Clapton, Al Stewart and Whitesnake as well as producing records for Ted Nugent, Oingo Boingo, Motörhead, The Romantics, Jo Jo Zep ...

. The group's true record debut was the 1978 single on Spider Records, "Little White Lies" (b/w "I Can't Tell You Anything"), followed that year by the Bomp! single "Tell It to Carrie" (b/w "First in Line"). All of these were re-recorded later for the first LP. The album sold roughly 200,000 copies and yielded the hit " What I Like About You", which reached #49 in the US, #8 in the

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, and #2 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, where the band was especially popular. As all four members were singers, the straightforward beat of "What I Like About You" lent the opportunity for drummer Jimmy Marinos to take the vocals. Mike Skill left the band after the release of its second album, ''

National Breakout ''National Breakout'' is the second album by The Romantics, released in 1980 on Nemperor Records Nemperor Records was an American jazz and pop music record label active from 1974 to 1986. It was distributed by Atlantic Records from 1974 to ...

'', in 1980. He was replaced by lead guitarist Coz Canler. This lineup of the band recorded the album ''

Strictly Personal ''Strictly Personal'' is the second album by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. It was originally released in October 1968 as the first album on the Blue Thumb Records label. It was released nearly a year after the band had taken to the stud ...

'' in 1981 with producer Mike Stone, who had produced for

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. Due to frustrations with the songwriting featured on the record, Rich Cole was replaced by a returning Skill, who took over as the band's bassist.

Commercial success (1983–1986)

With Skill back in, the band began playing arenas with

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen a ...

, the

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

, and the

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

. Solley was also rehired in 1983 as their producer for their fourth album ''

In Heat The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous p ...

.'' ''In Heat'' would be The Romantics' greatest commercial success, and was awarded a gold album in the United States for selling over 500,000 copies. It eventually would sell over 900,000 US copies. ''In Heat'' was also awarded a gold album in Canada (for over 50,000 copies sold). The first single taken from ''In Heat'', " Talking in Your Sleep", hit #3 for four weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reached #2 on the

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

, and #1 on the

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. It was also a global success, scoring in many other countries such as #1 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and #5 in

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. A second single, "One In A Million", peaked at #37 during the following year on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and also went to #21 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The Romantics' music videos were frequently shown on the cable television network

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

during this period, solidifying the band's popularity. Also during 1983, the Romantics played US and international concert tours in support of ''In Heat'', and appeared on such pop music-themed television shows as '' Solid Gold'', ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

'', and ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series ...

''. In 1984, drummer Jimmy Marinos left the Romantics, and he was replaced by David Petratos, who would serve as the band's drummer until 1990. This lineup released one album, 1985's '' Rhythm Romance'', which peaked at #72 and only produced one charting single ("Test of Time" #71). Detroit keyboardist Barry Warner was also added to the band for the following 1985–1986 tour. Due to the tour for ''Rhythm Romance'' being thwarted by low ticket sales and mounting tension between the band and its management, The Romantics were dropped from the Sony record label.

1990–present

In the late 1980s, the Romantics discovered that their managers had been misappropriating the profits earned by the band from its records and live performances. Additionally, one of their releases (the aforementioned "What I Like About You") had been licensed for use in television commercials without the band's knowledge or approval. Consequently, the Romantics filed a lawsuit against their management in 1987, and the legalities involved prevented the band from recording new music until the mid-1990s. Former Blondie drummer

Clem Burke Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...

replaced David Petratos as the Romantics' drummer in 1990. For much of the 1990s, the Romantics played obscure performances in small venues, largely forgotten and out of the public spotlight. The Romantics' fortunes began to rise again in the middle of the 1990s, as the band's success in its lawsuit against its former management freed the band to record again (and ensured that future earnings from the licensing of Romantics songs would go to the band). The first fruit of the band's new recording activity was the 1993 UK-only EP ''Made In Detroit''. Several Romantics greatest hits packages were issued during the 1990s, as was the live album ''The King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: The Romantics Live In Concert'', a 1996 release of an October 1983 recording of a Romantics concert in

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at the height of the band's popularity. Jimmy Marinos, the Romantics' original drummer, temporarily returned to the band for a series of performances in 1996–1997 (with Clem Burke returning to the Romantics' drumstool after Marinos departed again). In 2003, twenty years after the release of their most commercially successful album, ''In Heat'', the Romantics released '' 61/49''–a more roots rock and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

-oriented record than the band's previous efforts. Although Clem Burke performed as the band's primary drummer on the release, original drummer Jimmy Marinos is featured on half of the tracks. The album was not a great commercial success. A fourth drummer, Brad Elvis, (formerly from

The Elvis Brothers The Elvis Brothers were a Rock music, rock/Pop music, pop trio (and sometimes quartet) that got its start in Champaign, Illinois in 1981, and were "staples of midwest clubs and theaters from the early 80s through the early 90s". The members were R ...

, and currently The Handcuffs) replaced Clem Burke as the Romantics' regular drummer in 2004 after Burke returned full-time to a reactivated Blondie. The Romantics continue to play live concerts today. Rich Cole returned to the band after a long absence in 2010. Longtime lead guitarist Coz Canler left the band in 2011, allowing Skill to return to the original lead guitarist role he held in the band. In 2004, the band's album ''61/49'' was named most Outstanding National Small/Independent Label Album at the

Detroit Music Awards The Detroit Music Awards Foundation is a Michigan 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to recognize Detroit area musicians working on a national, regional, and local level. The Foundation supports and nurtures the musical community in Detroi ...

, and in June 2011, the Romantics were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Lawsuit

On November 21, 2007, The Romantics filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

against

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

RedOctane RedOctane, Inc. was an American electronic entertainment company best known for producing the ''Guitar Hero'' series, beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006. In February 2010, Activision clos ...

Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...

, and Wavegroup Sound over the cover of the song "What I Like About You" used in '' Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s''. While the game developers did secure appropriate rights to cover the song in the game, The Romantics claim that the cover is "virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version" and thus would " onfuseconsumers into believing that the band actually recorded the music and endorsed the product". The lawsuit requested the cessation of sales of the game and monetary damage. A

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. Summary judgments may be issued on the merits of ...

hearing was held on July 9, 2008, and the case was dismissed the next month, with U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds stating that Activision had obtained the proper licensing for the works and that the band itself no longer held the copyright on the work.

Members

Wally Palmar Wally Palmar (born Volodymyr Palamarchuk; April 27, 1954 in Hamtramck, Michigan) is a Ukrainian-American musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He is best known as a founding member and lead singer of The Romantics, a rock band from Detro ...

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica (1977–present); bass guitar (2003) *Mike Skill – lead guitar, backing vocals (1977–1980, 2010–present); bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals (1982–2010) *Rich Cole – bass guitar, vocals (1977–1982, 2010–present) *Brad Elvis – drums, percussion (2004–present) Former *Jimmy Marinos – vocals, drums, percussion (1977–1984, 1996–1997) *Coz Canler – lead guitar, backing vocals (1981–2011) *David Petratos – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1984–1990) *

– drums, percussion (1990–1996, 1997–2004, 2010) *

Johnny "Bee" Badanjek Johnny "Bee" Badanjek is an American musician, singer, songwriter and painter. Music career At 16, Badanjek (pronounced:buh-DAN-jek) was the drummer for the Detroit rock and roll band Billy Lee and The Rivieras who later changed their name to ...

– early 1990s Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:90 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1980 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1977 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:BVocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:RGuitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:Harmonica value:yellow legend:Harmonica id:lines value:black legend:Studio_albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1980 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1977 LineData = at:01/24/1980 color:lines layer:back at:12/01/1980 color:lines layer:back at:10/01/1981 color:lines layer:back at:09/01/1983 color:lines layer:back at:01/01/1985 color:lines layer:back at:09/03/2003 color:lines layer:back BarData = bar:Palmar text:Wally Palmar bar:Skill text:Mike Skill bar:Canler text:Coz Canler bar:Cole text:Rich Cole bar:Marinos text:Jimmy Marinos bar:Petratos text:David Petratos bar:Burke text:Clem Burke bar:Elvis text:Brad Elvis PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Palmar from:start till:end color:Vocals bar:Palmar from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 color:Bass width:9 bar:Palmar from:start till:end color:RGuitar width:7 bar:Palmar from:start till:end color:Harmonica width:3 bar:Skill from:start till:12/01/1980 color:Guitar bar:Skill from:start till:12/01/1980 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Skill from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/2010 color:Bass bar:Skill from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/2010 color:Guitar width:7 bar:Skill from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Guitar bar:Skill from:01/01/1982 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Canler from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/2011 color:Guitar bar:Canler from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/2011 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Cole from:start till:01/01/1982 color:Bass bar:Cole from:start till:01/01/1982 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Cole from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Bass bar:Cole from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Marinos from:start till:01/01/1984 color:Drums bar:Marinos from:start till:01/01/1984 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Marinos from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 color:Drums bar:Marinos from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Petratos from:01/01/1984 till:01/01/1990 color:Drums bar:Burke from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1996 color:Drums bar:Burke from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1996 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Burke from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2004 color:Drums bar:Burke from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2004 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Burke from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:Drums bar:Burke from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Elvis from:01/01/2004 till:end color:Drums

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Live albums

Singles

References

External links

Official website

Band retrospective, with review of "What I Like About You"

Documentary on legal battle with ex-managers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romantics, The American new wave musical groups American pop rock music groups American power pop groups Rock music groups from Michigan Musical groups from Detroit Musical groups established in 1977