Music
Chicago’s “The Loop” Signs Off After 40 Years In Most Metal Way Imaginable!
Bizarrely mirroring the hilarious rock-comedy Airheads, Chicago’s classic rock station WLUP was replaced by Christian music programming and signed off last week one last gesture: giving the devil horns to the new owners.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock who compiled numerous fan reports and videos, the last three songs played before the station nicknamed “the Loop” signed off were Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil,” Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast”, and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”!
The site added a little backstory, explaining that WLUP was founded in 1977, and drew national attention two years later with the infamous Disco Demolition Night. In a pyrotechnic protest against the popular dance music craze, the station actually blew up a pile of disco records that fans brought to Comiskey Park, home of baseball’s Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately, things got out of hand when some of the 60,000 fans in attendance overwhelmed the security team, charging and damaging the field and forcing the cancellation of the second half of the night’s doubleheader.
“We tried to break new ground, to break the rules, to be different and had amazing, talented people,” former station impresario Jimmy de Castro told the Chicago Tribune. “We had a hell of a lot of fun.” After earning a spot as the city’s third most popular station in 1979, WLUP slipped to 15th in the latest Nielsen survey for Chicago, with a 2.9 share.
just listened to the last song and it was Highway to Hell by AC/DC. Here is the earliest ad I could find for “The Loop”. From the Chicago Tribune March 13, 1977. Thank you for the memories. @979TheLoop @jamesvanosdol @Whatareyougoofy @TheCathyV pic.twitter.com/i7rOHzzrtB
— Vanished Chicago (@vanishedchicago) March 10, 2018
Ok…the countdown is on to the switch on The Loop in Chicago 97.9 from Rock to Christian music at Midnight…the last two songs…Shout at the Devil…and Number of the Beast….what is the last song???? Highway to Hell!!!!! Sweet…..horns up!!! pic.twitter.com/vhl52Xh48Q
— ChiTownStoney (@chistoney) March 10, 2018
The Lost Boys: A New Musical officially kicked off on Broadway last month, and Deadline now reports that the show’s Broadway run has been extended into next year.
The show was originally set to run through November, but Deadline reports that The Lost Boys: A New Musical “has released a block of tickets through Sunday, March 7, 2027.”
The news comes in the wake of The Lost Boys: A New Musical becoming the most Tony-nominated musical of the season with twelve nominations including Best Musical.
Additionally, “The Lost Boys will launch a North American National Tour in Spring 2028, at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Additional cities and tour dates will be announced later.”
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is of course an adaptation of the 1987 horror classic from director Joel Schumacher, with the cast including Ali Louis Bourzgui as lead vampire David (originally played by Kiefer Sutherland), Maria Wirries as Star (originally played by Jami Gertz), and LJ Benet as the soon-to-be-turned Michael (originally played by Jason Patric).
The horror musical’s cast also includes Shoshana Bean as Lucy Emerson, Benjamin Pajak as Sam Emerson, Paul Alexander Nolan as Max, Jennifer Duka as Alan Frog, Miguel Gil as Edgar Frog, Brian Flores as Marko, Sean Grandillo as Dwayne, and Dean Maupin as Paul.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is Directed by Michael Arden, featuring Music and Lyrics by The Rescues, Book by David Hornsby & Chris Hoch, Story by James Jeremias & Janice Fischer, and Produced by James Carpinello, Marcus Chait & Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.
When a mother and her two teenage sons move to Santa Carla in desperate need of a fresh start, they soon uncover the darker side of this sunny coastal community. While Lucy tries to piece her family’s life back together, Michael keeps pulling away in search of belonging.
As he finds connection with a local rock band and its charismatic leader, his younger brother Sam comes face-to-face with a terrifying reality: When night falls, Michael’s new friends are even more dangerous than they first appeared.
Joel Schumacher directed the original The Lost Boys vampire movie in 1987, wherein two brothers move to a new town and discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
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