'80s Superstars Taylor Dayne nad Loverboy Hit Lancaster

'80s Superstars Taylor Dayne and Loverboy Hit Lancaster

by Karla Vierthaler

Get ready to sport your side ponytail and neon slouch socks. Taylor Dayne and Loverboy will be making hips sway and voices sing at this year’s Celebrate Lancaster. On June 29, the two ’80s superstars will be performing in Penn Square with a fantastic fireworks display to follow. The Friday festivities start at 7:30 p.m. with Loverboy kicking off the show; Dayne will follow at 9 p.m.

MODE was able to catch up with Loverboy’s Mike Reno and Taylor Dayne for exclusive interviews. Both promise to get the energy flowing in Lancaster with favorites guaranteed to bring you back to the days of big hair and jelly bracelets.

After you learned all the words to “Tell It To My Heart” in 1988, you may have thought Taylor Dayne had fallen off the face of the earth, but she’s actually doing quite well. Right now, Dayne is playing the part of the Egyptian Princess Amneris in the Broadway hit “Adia.” “It’s live theatre and I’m used to live performance,” she said. “It’s been a great experience.”

Dayne was able to take a break from her rigorous schedule of eight shows a week to perform in Lancaster. Grateful for the opportunity to play for the fans, Dayne likes the idea of playing a community event. “I think it’s cool,” she said.

Dayne may be known as a pop diva, but she has made a real effort to expand her career to include acting and become involved in the business side of music. She has appeared in a number of movies (Love Affair, Fool’s Paradise, Stag) and television shows and started her own production company, Neptune Records. How is she handling her multi-faceted career? “I’ve always seen my career as going from music and expanding into film and TV,” she said. “I’ve modeled my career after the Bette Midlers and Barbra Streisands.”

Dayne maintains that music is her real love. She said she enjoys the challenges of theatre and film and the opportunity to work with amazing people in the industry, but that “singing has been something I’ve been doing forever … I’m a great singer, I’m a good actress.”

Dayne’s last performance was in April, and she is able to perform in Lancaster because of its close proximity. Although she hasn’t toured since the release of Naked Without You in 1998, Dayne plans on touring for the release of her newest album, slated for 2002. Six tracks have been recorded and Dayne promised the album will be “classic Taylor Dayne,” filled with dance songs and power ballads.

Loverboy will be “Working for the Weekend” at the Lancaster Celebration, but front man Mike Reno said the band is excited about the show. Loverboy has already begun touring, with 49 shows under their belt this summer. Lancaster is the first show following the band’s two-week vacation and, as Reno said, they will be “fresh and ready to roll.”

According to Reno, the band loves to do community festivals. “We’re not rolling into town trying to sell tickets,” he said. “The pressure’s off, so everyone feels good about [the concert].” Loverboy also loves the response they get from community crowds. “They know all the words and they love that we’ve come to their town,” he said. “They just have a ball; it’s really fun.”

Loverboy broke up in 1989, which gave the band a chance to do normal family things, according to Reno. They got back together in 1998 when a number of bands volunteered to perform in a benefit concert for a friend with cancer. The show included Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Bryan Adams, and Bon Jovi.

“We opened our guitar case and out fell a set list,” said Reno. “We were pretty pumped up to play in the dressing room, and our manager came in and said ‘can I book a tour?’ We said ‘you betcha’ and we’ve been touring ever since.”

Loverboy has another exciting date to look forward to in June. The release of their live album, Live, Loud and Loose, is set for the end of this month. The album is a compilation of songs recorded at live shows from 1982 to 1986. “This is one project we’ve found the crowds were looking for,” Reno said. “We’ve found these great concerts and we mixed them, so it’s just like being in the audience.”

What to expect from the ’80s superstars? “With Loverboy you don’t get a lot of surprises,” said Reno. “You get a lot of great hits, stuff you can really sing along with. We’re excited to be coming into town. We can’t wait to get there.”