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1984Duran Duran's "The Reflex" hits #1 in America. This version is a remix of the album cut done by Chic's Nile Rodgers.
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2004St. Andrews University in Scotland presents Bob Dylan with an honorary doctorate in Music.
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Tiffany Begins Her Mall Tour
1987
15-year-old Tiffany starts her Mall Tour at the Bergen Mall in Paramus, New Jersey, performing what in November will be her #1 hit, "I Think We're Alone Now."
Tiffany recorded her self-titled debut album a year earlier with her producer/manager, George Tobin. She was signed to MCA records, who released the album but didn't know how to promote it, since radio stations had little interest in unknown teenaged singers. They come up with a novel idea: a mall tour.
It makes sense, since the mall is where you are likely to find 15-year-old girls, and it's where Tiffany can find an audience. "Mall Tours" have been around for a while, but they are promotional vehicles for products, with marketers setting up stations in the hubs to peddle their wares. One of these tours, "The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87," is already on the road, so MCA arranges for Tiffany to join.
She does three sets a day every weekend, singing over pre-recorded backing tracks for about 20 minutes, then doing interviews and greeting onlookers. Her first weekend in Paramus, she sells about 60 copies of the album and intrigues the media, which starts covering her story at every stop. She makes 10 stops on the tour before heading back to high school in Norwalk, California, for her junior year. By the last stop in Littleton, Colorado, she is a featured attraction and "I Think We're Alone Now" is starting to garner airplay. On November 7, the song hits #1 in America, and in January 1988, the album hits the top spot, making her the youngest woman (at 16) ever to top that chart.
During the tour, Tobin shoots footage that is used to make the music video for "I Think We're Alone Now," which gets a lot of attention on MTV. Tiffany follows up with "Could've Been," which also climbs to #1 in February. In June, she starts a 6-week arena tour. Her opening act: New Kids on the Block.
It makes sense, since the mall is where you are likely to find 15-year-old girls, and it's where Tiffany can find an audience. "Mall Tours" have been around for a while, but they are promotional vehicles for products, with marketers setting up stations in the hubs to peddle their wares. One of these tours, "The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87," is already on the road, so MCA arranges for Tiffany to join.
She does three sets a day every weekend, singing over pre-recorded backing tracks for about 20 minutes, then doing interviews and greeting onlookers. Her first weekend in Paramus, she sells about 60 copies of the album and intrigues the media, which starts covering her story at every stop. She makes 10 stops on the tour before heading back to high school in Norwalk, California, for her junior year. By the last stop in Littleton, Colorado, she is a featured attraction and "I Think We're Alone Now" is starting to garner airplay. On November 7, the song hits #1 in America, and in January 1988, the album hits the top spot, making her the youngest woman (at 16) ever to top that chart.
During the tour, Tobin shoots footage that is used to make the music video for "I Think We're Alone Now," which gets a lot of attention on MTV. Tiffany follows up with "Could've Been," which also climbs to #1 in February. In June, she starts a 6-week arena tour. Her opening act: New Kids on the Block.
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