New limited edition CD of Bernie Torme’s Turn Out The Lights
New limited edition CD of Bernie Torme’s Turn Out The Lights
So there I sat in Frenchtown NJ wondering what was next. This was the summer of 1981. The summer I saw the Good Rats and Motörhead warm up for Ozzy. The Blizzard of Oz tour. I still remember those three acts and of course Randy Rhoads.
I sit here on my train asking did I already have this album when I got into my buddy’s VW Bug to head to Stabler Arena for that show? That I do not recall.
Sadly. Bernie, in less than a year would be playing with Ozzy at Stabler Arena. That would be the first show that he would be filling in for Randy Rhoads.
What I do recall was that when I did get this album I was impressed. On it was that wonderful guitar that I was introduced to at the Gillan show, but in a different tone, a different light.
Bernie Torme and Frank Noon at the Marquee Club
Who was this Torme character, the lad who dressed as if he was out of Dickens, but with peroxide blonde hair. Is that true? No smart phones with cameras back then!
No this album was new territory. It was a dash of rock. It was not Gillan. I want to say the Kinks. It was also a dash of punk, which this kid had never really been exposed to seriously. The Ramones were kind of on the radio but that was it. You heard of Black Flag and others. I knew so little and again this was uncharted territory.
It all started here.
Sometimes you have to go back.
