We had to look a bit further afield for a copy of this record from Calgary metal band Touchdown - it never saw a domestic release, instead coming out on a German label in 1984. Which is weird, considering that it features an aerial photograph of the city on the cover (oddly centred, we think - or maybe we're just sad that CCPS HQ was missed by a just a kilometer or two in the bottom corner. Anyways, Touchdown's riffs are propelled by great vocals by Terry Kushner - the sound is far from the pop records she put out in the late 70's, but her voice works great here. Recorded at Thunder Road with Mark Holden, this is a pretty good batch of mainstream-y 80's metal. And their drummer totally looks like one of the Fubar guys. [center][img width=537px]//7ca49eb9f67ba1319ef136f9d52cd8b8.cdn.bubble.io/f1772328719881x911161608779266400/richtext_content.jpeg[/img][/center] [h2]Calgary bands score - in West Germany[/h2] By James Muretich (Herald staff writer) One of the ever-smiling "veejays" on MTV, the American all-music cable network, told his viewers recently they should look out for two hot new singles from West Germany. One was by Nena of 99 Red Balloons fame. The other, called Rainy Day in London, was by a band named Boulevard. What the announcer obviously didn't know was that Boulevard, far from being a German band, is actually a Calgary outfit whose product has never been released in Canada. And soon MTV may be making the same mistake about a heavy-rock act called Touchdown, yet another Calgary band which is doing well in West Germany. It's the latest chapter in a curious tale of prophets going unrecognized in their own country. Both bands are creating waves of interest in West Germany while being ignored at home. Boulevard's first pop-rock release has climbed in the space of seven weeks, to number 52 on West Germany's top 100 singles chart. Naturally, the group would like to crack the top 40, but even making the charts on your first single is seen as a major achievement. "When our record company flew us over to do a video for the single, all they could say was if we could only get on the charts it would be a major accomplishment," says Boulevard's Mark Holden, also an engineer- producer at Calgary's Thunder Road Studios. "I'm never satisfied, but I am really pleased at how we've done, especially since it's just as difficult to crack the West German charts as it is to make the ones in the United States. "The song has done well enough that CBS has told me there will definitely be a second single," says Holden. As well, there's talk of Boulevard possibly touring West Germany, perhaps even as the opening act for Ultravox. Meanwhile, Touchdown's album, Don't Look Down (which has an aerial photograph of Calgary on the cover), has been out for one month and has so far garnered nothing but positive reviews from West German music magazines and newspapers. "Our record company is really pleased with the reaction," says Touchdown's Perry Segal. "I've been told that there's a very good possibility of a tour. And the record compa- ny has even invited us to record our second album over in West Germany." Naturally, the whole situation smacks of irony, with both Boulevard and Touchdown enjoying success overseas while being greeted with nothing but apathy from Canadian record companies. "It is frustrating," says Holden. "I'd like to see our record released in Canada and I'm sure Perry feels the same way. After all, we're Canadian and it would be nice to get some recognition in your own backyard. "But the whole idea is to write music so that somebody's enjoying it and whether that somebody is in West Germany or Texas or Canada, it doesn't really matter."
