Word In Your Ear Boston, Def Leppard, bad hair & the golden age of rock radio
13 snips
Feb 17, 2026 Paul Rees, author and music journalist who chronicled AOR and rock history, reminisces about the rise of polished FM radio rock. He explores Boston’s breakthrough sound, AOR hallmarks like power ballads and high-tenor vocals, producers’ perfectionism, Def Leppard’s American vision, and the era’s excess, image play and strange studio stories.
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Wild Studio Tales
- Steve Lukather recounts bizarre sessions, including conducting an interview while on the toilet during story-telling.
- Bobby Kimball was caught in an undercover sting involving cocaine and two disguised policewomen offering a threesome.
MTV Changed The Game
- MTV shifted AOR from radio-driven sound to an image-driven pop culture after the mid-1980s.
- The format's transition explains why 1976–86 marks the 'glory years' before visual image dominated music promotion.
Budgie-Feeding Drummer
- Jim Mastel, Boston's drummer, answered an interview while feeding his budgie and then never returned calls.
- The story highlights the gulf between AOR glamour and the ordinary lives of some players decades later.
