THE 80s cruise

They say politics makes strange bedfellows but that's nothing compared to this cruise lineup. Will we see John Lydon singing back up on 'Hot Girls in Love'? Or Peter Hook jammin' on 'Sister Christian'? The mind boggles. One interesting thing to note is that Plimsouls are billed with Peter Case. I didn't know he was going to start them up again.

The Boomtown Rats (or Bob Geldof and sidemen, from the name) and Stryper on the same bill? Surely the AOR and hair metal acts will be one night, and the new wave relics on another. I think it'd be funny to see PiL play right before Loverboy or Night Ranger, though. I can only imagine Lydon's commentary, though he's politically aligned with Jack Blades these days.

Remember when bands like PiL and New Order were the alternative to Night Ranger and their ilk? I guess time erases any distinction other than era. Not to mention hefty paychecks.

The last I heard of the Plimsouls they were led by lead guitarist Eddie Munoz with no other original members. According to Wikipedia, they sued Munoz to prevent him from continuing under the band name and won. So I guess Munoz is persona non grata for this reunion. Bassist Dave Pahoa died in 2023, so this is as close to the original lineup as we'd get.

The music-themed cruises are fascinating to me, though I can't imagine going on one. When they first started happening, I thought the whole business would be a blip on the radar at best. But it's become big business for the cruise companies, with the occasional one-off reunions, and I bet they pay the bands quite well. They'd have to, since part of the experience is passengers mingling with the bands when they're not playing.

Michael Toland Wrote:
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> The music-themed cruises are fascinating to me,
> though I can't imagine going on one. When they
> first started happening, I thought the whole
> business would be a blip on the radar at best. But
> it's become big business for the cruise companies,
> with the occasional one-off reunions, and I bet
> they pay the bands quite well. They'd have to,
> since part of the experience is passengers
> mingling with the bands when they're not playing.

Cruise to the Edge, which as you may guess from the name features progressive rock bands, looks really awesome. It sails out of Miami, so very convenient for me (though if it left from Tampa that would be even more convenient). Anyway, I would LOVE to go, but the problem is my wife has zero interest. She loves cruises, but not prog rock, unfortunately.

> The music-themed cruises are fascinating to me,
> though I can't imagine going on one. When they first
> started happening, I thought the whole business
> would be a blip on the radar at best. But it's become
> big business for the cruise companies, with the occasional
> one-off reunions, and I bet they pay the bands quite well.

I'm sure that a big part of the appeal to the musicians involved is that they don't have to travel -- at least not in the traditional way that musicians do, loading up the van/truck/bus and hitting the road. That's a big reason for bands to book their residencies at casinos in Vegas: the fans can travel to see them. (Hey, all that travel, year after year, takes its toll.)

Sure, the musicians still are traveling, but this time, they get to travel in comfort on the cruise ship, rather than in bunks on a bus. And they're likely to have nice weather, so they can get some sun.

We have friends who go on these music cruises every year, usually selecting the ones with a jazz lineup. They love it.

Sure is weird seeing just DMC, and just DJ Jazzy Jeff.

What's DMC going do to? Just his parts of Run-DMC songs? Stand there silently during the Run parts, haha.

Thinking about this further: I’m a little disturbed by the inclusion of PiL, and Peter Hook. The Sex Pistols and Joy Division were so life (and culture) changing that their incredibly powerful music just doesn’t seem appropriate in this setting. A cruise is fine for nonsense like Loverboy, but seeing Johnny and Hooky here just feels wrong. Unless they’ll skip the heavy stuff and just focus on the likes of “Rise” and “Love Vigilantes”? Still seems like a misguided career path for such (former) revolutionaries.

Some of the other choices are also weird. Imagining everyone in their swim suits, waving their cocktails to “I Don’t Like Mondays.” Hmm, maybe they’ll show “Schindler’s List” poolside…

I don't like everything being reduced to "decades nostalgia." It cheapens great art.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2026 09:11AM by MrFab.

> Still seems like a misguided career path for such
> (former) revolutionaries.

Yeah, especially if they book Peter Hook & the Light for a midday set ... playing Joy Division covers in bright sunshine.

Stryper used to be on the esteemed Enigma label. So, there's that.

This is the first time I'm seeing a "tribute" band (Strangelove?) on the bill. I would ask why not at 90's-era No Doubt/Green Day/Blink 182 tribute band, or even one of the Journey tribute bands they pluck their leader singers from, but it looks like they're sticking the 80's only.

Strangelove tours with A Flock of Seagulls pretty regularly, which I've thought was weird. Especially since they're usually billed as co-headliners. C'mon, Mike Score, at least have enough pride to argue that a tribute band should not be considered equal to you.

Strangelove the tribute band (as on the cruise), or this Strangelove?

Strangelove, "the Depeche Mode experience."

Actually, I've seen them twice, at a venue here in Everett. If you like Depeche Mode and you're willing to see a tribute band, then sure, they're worth seeing.

My wife and I saw Strangelove once. The singer was doing his Dave Gahan thing (twirling around with the microphone stand) and then he took his shirt off and was twirling around. My wife said "Ugh, that's disgusting". I said you don't complain when Dave Gahan does it.

My image of joy division is all about the b&w bleakness of Manchester. Seeing it in flip flops and swim suits is just too much of a disconnect… for me.

If I’m going to be on a cruise boat, I almost PREFER to hear ‘margaritaville’.

… and that’s MY hangup, by the way. Combining sun and good songs probably comes more naturally to most normal folks!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2026 01:12PM by Bip.

That was exactly my impression as well.
“Margaritville”? Don’t know if I’d go that far, but I was surprised to find myself really enjoying
Spencer Davis and band on the beach of Catalina Island playing a set of fairly obvious “classic rock” covers. This would not have interested me in possibly any other setting, but it was perfectly fine, in a beach chair, cocktail in hand. The Doors, Santana, and of course “I’m a man” never sounded better.
Sometimes you really don’t wanna be artistically challenged in the slightest!

True that, Fab. My brother and I had a superb time in Vegas last month, whether seeing The B-52's or simply sitting by the pool chatting and ordering drinks from the waitress. None of it was "challenging," except for the impact on our credit cards.

The Meow Wolf installation entertained the heck out of us, but as brilliant as it is, I wouldn't say it challenged us.