Still having fun

Thirty-five years ago Wang Chung was still riding high based on No. 1 song "Dance Hall Days." Looking back, founding band member Nick Feldman (singer, bassist, guitarist and keyboardist) said it was apparent early on the tune was magical. "I remember when we first recorded it you could just feel there was something special about," said Feldman, calling from Wimbledon, England. "The rhythm was very idiosyncratic, mixing African beats with good old rock 'n' roll." Not only did Feldman note Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones even considered the track for "Thriller," but the recording of Wang Chung includes a crazy story that took place in the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. "When recording 'Dance Hall Days' we weren't quite happy with my bass sounds, so the engineer disappeared saying he was going to get another left-handed bass guitar," Feldman said. "The next minute this guy walks in holding a bass saying he's from the bass rental company. We were like, OK. When we looked up it was Paul McCartney. He lent me his bass to play on 'Dance Hall Days.' It's another bit of magic around that song." Over the last decade Wang Chung's music has remained in pop culture appearing on television ("The Walking Dead," "Breaking Bad," "South Park," "Glee," "This is Us," "Saturday Night Live" and "The Goldbergs") and feature films ("Bumblebee," "Deadpool" and "The Fighter"). The success has led to participation in package tours, including visiting Cleveland roughly a decade ago. "We go to finally visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which was really cool because as we walked in there was an exhibit with our faces on a bunch of TV screens," Feldman said. "They were playing the video for 'Everybody Have Fun Tonight.' It was kind of like, hey, we're in the Hall of Fame. That was cool." Next up for Wang Chung is taking part in Saturday's "Back to the Basement" online concert event, which finds '80s band performing at home. The bill includes A Flock of Seagulls, Naked Eyes, Animotion, Cutting Crew, Nu Shooz, Annabella (from Bow Wow Wow), The Vapors and Tiffany. Proceeds from "Back to the Basement" benefit Direct Relief, which is an international humanitarian aid organization with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies — without regard to politics, religion or ability to pay. "Obviously, it's for a really good cause in this difficult time," Feldman said. "Anything we can do to sort of raise money and raise awareness for brave people on the front line and people who are helping out first responders, that's something we feel good about." Other news finds Wang Chung transforming one of its hits into a pandemic message song. "Since we got involved with 'Back to the Basement' we decided to record a new, sort of slightly updated version of 'Everybody Have Fun Tonight,'" Feldman said. "It's called 'Everybody Stay Safe Tonight.' We just finished it last night. It sounds like the original with different lyrics. We just want everybody to be healthy and safe." For more information, visit https://www.abductedbythe80s.com.