1980 – Untouchables / Rapture

While researching Chris and Untouchables/Napalm Beach show dates I continue to come up with a series of weird coincidences. I already mentioned noticing a pattern where Napalm Beach and Nirvana tended to follow each other at the same clubs, separated by a week or two – between about 1988 and 1990. This was true first in Seattle at the Vogue and Squid Row, then Portland at Satyricon, and then at clubs in Europe both in 1989 during Napalm’s first tour of Europe – and in 1991 during their Napalm’s last tour of Europe. Beginning around 1990 Napalm was pushed under water and Nirvana lifted up, though the process for this seems to have started about when Napalm Beach signed to Flying Heart. Clearly, this plan was in place a lot longer.

Anyway, that’s the first weirdness I noticed around Napalm Beach show dates. There are a lot of other weird coincidences, mostly with bad stuff happening, especially to other bands and musicians, including Tupac/Biggie. Will have to come back to this.

I was just wrapping my day’s research up, when I noticed another thing. In the Oregonian on 10 Oct 1980 – exactly 42 years ago today – there’s this ad for Untouchables to be performing at Long Goodbye on Saturday 11 Oct 1980 – and this time I decided I would document the whole page, just to show the section of The Oregonian which was cleverly called “NIGHTMUSIC” – and then I saw that ad on the bottom for MGM Grand Reno saying “Grand Escape” – and I took a screenshot of that, because the woman in the top had reminded me of the “Man From Mars” character in the January 1981 Blondie song “Rapture.” Rapture is a Biblical concept where true believers just dematerialize straight to heaven.

I looked closer and I realized that it was the following month – on 21 Nov 1980 – that there was a fire at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (Paradise) Nevada. This was a catastrophic fire that caused 85 deaths and 588 non-fatal injuries. So then looking back at the ad, a lot of stuff looks freaky in retrospect – the idea of a “Grand Escape” (death) – “89 per person – double occupancy – singles $139” – and that fish image right next to it. And then that Rapture music video coming out a couple months later.

AFA that woman in the top hat matching Blondie’s “Man From Mars” – they also called that man “voodoo god” – well doesn’t he also look like the Voodoo Doughnut logo?

“Hello Hollywood, Hello!’