'80s musical acts go on the road again

Prompted by the 1980s band, Journey's, "Don't Stop Believing" playing during the finale of the popular HBO Mafia drama, "The Sopranos," the musical artists and bands that defined the decade have risen from the ashes and have been brought to the ears of current music listeners. This return to the liberating musical decade has compelled certain big name '80s acts to venture back on tour to remind listeners of their melodic talents.

Though Journey's song did allow the band to sell out a horde of large venues last summer, it was '80s hair band Bon Jovi that scored last year's top-grossing U.S. tour with ticket sales above $210 million. In addition, '80s songstress Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" tour drew famliar '80s bands like the B-52's and Erasure and their fans to midsize venues nationwide.

"People in the concert business have been saying for years that the '80s bands were about to hit," notes Alex Hodges, chief operating officer of Nederlander Concerts, "and it never quite happened like it did for the '70s bands. But it looks like this is the year it might really start. Eighties acts are a lot more valid now than they were even two years ago."

Hodges adds that the capability of '80s musical acts to draw in large crowds of fans to their concerts is by no means an easy task but the method behind it a simple one. To summarize, Hodges explains that it simply comes down to how much coin the band or artist accumulated at the height of their success. That being said, it sometimes just boils down to how many hits songs the band or artist generated.

As for the die-hard admirers of '80s music, they will be delighted to know the decade's artists and bands who are returning to the concert circuit include Pat Benatar, Poison, Blondie, Depeche Mode, Teena Marie, Keith Sweat, Def Leppard and the Pet Shop Boys.