Los Angeles, California: One of the most memorable genre defining hits of 1985, Autograph’s “Turn Up The Radio,” comes in for a thorough reworking and rerecording, as the title track and first single from founder and frontman Steve Plunkett’s new album - a dramatic sonic overhaul of the band’s gold selling debut LP.
SINGLE: https://orcd.co/steveplunkett_turnuptheradio
Formed in Los Angeles in 1983, where they were discovered by famed producer Andy Johns, Autograph initially came to notice as they toured with Van Halen - in fact, the band only settled on a name on their way to Florida for the first show of the tour!
Their debut album, the epic Sign In Please, followed later in the year - a slow starter to begin with but, once it entered the Billboard chart in June 1985, it sometimes felt as though it would never leave.
“Turn Up The Radio” had a lot to do with that, dominating not only radio and MTV, but also an episode of Miami Vice - one of the key “must watch TV” shows of the day. Wryly, Steve Plunkett later revealed that the band’s label didn’t want the song to even appear on the album, “because they thought it had no commercial value.”
Instead it became a metal classic, making VH-1’s Top 100 Hard Rock Songs, the New York Times’ Top 15 Essential Hair Metal Videos and topping Guitar Player’s Guitar Solo of the Year poll. It is still being played today.
“1985 was a great year for me,” reflects Plunkett today. “Autograph released their first album and it was a hit! We toured constantly and lived the Rock’n’ Roll dream. That album made an impact at rock radio and with the fans.
“Now, for the 40 th anniversary, I wanted to Sign in Again with all new recordings and a 2025 sonic take. Not Autograph – because I could never improve on that record, but a Steve Plunkett 'solo' version focused on the songs. I hope these new versions will make you rock again like we did back in the day. Turn it up!”
All ten of the original album’s tracks are here, beginning - of course! - with that unforgettable opening triptych of “Send Her To Me” (the band’s second single, in early 1985), “Turn Up The Radio” and “Nineteen and Non Stop.”
Plunkett has tinkered a little with the running order - “Cloud 10” shifts from the first half of the album to the middle of the second, and “In The Night” replaces “All I’m Gonna Take” as the closing number.
But fresh arrangements and electrifying performances more than compensate for any unfamiliarity, Plunkett’s post-Autograph success scoring movies and TV invoking startling new dimensions and directions to the music.
It’s time to Turn Up The Music again!
CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=steve+plunkett+turn+up+the+radio
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/steveplunkett_turnuptheradio2025
Track List:
1. Send Her to Me
2. Turn Up the Radio
3. Nighteen and Non-Stop
4. Deep End
5. Friday
6. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend Isn’t Me
7. All I’m Gonna Take
8. Cloud 10
9. Thrill Of Love
10. In the Night
