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.
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 VH1‘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 40th 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.
Track listing:
01. Send Her To Me
02. Turn Up The Radio
03. Nighteen And Non-Stop
04. Deep End
05. Friday
06. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend Isn’t Me
07. All I’m Gonna Take
08. Cloud 10
09. Thrill Of Love
10. In The Night
Founding AUTOGRAPH guitarist Steve Lynch recently settled a lawsuit against some of the later members of the band over the AUTOGRAPH name. As part of the settlement, the musicians who have been performing as AUTOGRAPH in recent years are now called AUTOGRAPH BEYOND. Meanwhile, Lynch has retained all rights to the AUTOGRAPH brand name, trademarks and logo.
Plunkett and Lynch were part of the original AUTOGRAPH band alongside bassist Randy Rand, drummer Keni Richards and keyboardist Steve Isham. Rand, Richards and Isham passed away in 2022, 2017 and 2008, respectively.
