![]() The band’s debut album - although recorded in 19 - was not released until 1976, two years after Richman and his former bandmates had gone their separate ways.Ī 2003 re-issue of the album - which spawned the hit “Roadrunner” and is now considered one of the most influential releases in rock and roll history - included some bonus tracks the band recorded at the ZBM studios while the Modern Lovers were in Bermuda. ![]() Ted Ming and the Bermuda Strollers In Their 1970s Heydey Other notable members of the original line-up who had appeared with him in Bermuda included keyboard player Jerry Harrison and drummer David Robinson, who later joined Talking Heads and The Cars, respectively. In a monologue Richman has now incorporated into his concert performances, he specifically cites the influence the Bermuda Strollers had on his future work - saying, the band made him realise just how “stiff” his own early rock compositions were by way of comparison.Īfter returning to the US from Bermuda, the first incarnation of the Modern Lovers broke up as Jonathan Richman decided to pursue calypso-influenced storytelling in his new songs. Signed to appear as the house band during College Weeks in 1973, the Boston-based Modern Lovers were then a rough-around-the-edges, hard-driving rock band who modelled themselves after the Velvet Underground.īut appearing nightly alongside such local acts as the Bermuda Strollers, the ESSO Steel Band and the Fiery Limbo Dancers introduced Richman to the mellower cadences and good-humoured lyrics of calypso for the first time - and this had a revolutionary impact on his songwriting. “Down In Bermuda” Appeared On Jonathan Richman’s “Rockin’ & Romance” Album Taking its title from the first line of the Bell Sisters’ ’50s hit “Bermuda”, Richman’s whimsical song is based on the time he and the first iteration of his band the Modern Lovers spent performing at the Inverurie Hotel on Harbour Road. The cult singer/songwriter Jonathan Richman - credited with writing one of the first proto-punk songs, “Roadrunner”, and who later enjoyed a global hit with “Egyptian Reggae” – celebrated the transformative effects of his time on the island the with the 1985 song “Down In Bermuda.” ![]() Former Beatle John Lennon wasn’t the only pop star who reconnected with his creative muse while in Bermuda.
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