THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Originally issued by Warner Bros. Records in January 1980, the self-titled sole album from Pearl Harbor & The Explosions anticipated the phenomenal rise of MTV the following year — thanks to videos for Drivin’ and You Got It (Release It) / Up and Over. This newly expanded edition will feature seven bonus tracks.
Pearl Harbor & The Explosions formed in 1978 during the same San Francisco punk / new wave uprising that brought forth Romeo Void, Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Mutants, Units, Tuxedomoon and many others. However, Pearl Harbor & The Explosions were more tuneful and melodic than their brethren, taking cues from local pop/rock group The Tubes, with whom singer Pearl E. Gates had gotten her start as a backup singer and dancer. When Gates was recruited from The Tubes to join Jane Dornacker in her band Leila And The Snakes, she met brothers Hilary and John Hanes (who billed themselves with the surname Stench). After 18 months, the trio decided to go in their own direction. Pearl (vocals, percussion), Hilary (bass, vocals) and John (drums, vocals) recruited guitarist Peter Dunne (stage name Peter Bilt) and Pearl Harbor & The Explosions were born.
Based on the success of debut single Drivin’ — which sold 10,000 copies for the fledgling 415 Records — Pearl Harbor & The Explosions were quickly signed by Warner Bros. Records. The band name and Pearl’s name switch from Gates to Harbor were done in the spirit of the punk times during which they were working. However, Gates now admits that the names caused trouble, especially when it came to conservative-leaning radio stations. “Yes, we were met with resistance,” she says. “But to be honest, I didn’t really care because I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. That’s how I’ve always been and I’m still that way… But it’s true that it wasn’t a very smart move to call the band Pearl Harbor & The Explosions because Americans did not like it.”
The group’s self-titled debut album was an early production by David Kahne, who went on to work with The Bangles, Tony Bennett and Paul McCartney, among many others. For historical perspective, Pearl Harbor & The Explosions was released at the start of January 1980, during the same month that the world learned the name Chrissie Hynde with the arrival of The Pretenders’ debut album. In addition to Drivin’, Pearl Harbor & The Explosions’ debut featured eight tracks that presented a unique blend of pop, R&B, rockabilly, jazz and new wave energy. The jangly pop-rocker You Got It (Release It) was another spirited track that won favor at radio.
After a year on the road, Gates was feeling disenchanted by the direction of the band, with Bilt and the Stench brothers wanting to go in a more “jazz fusion” direction. Much to the displeasure of Warner Bros., she decided to take a walk. “I wanted to be in a rock ’n’ roll band and they didn’t,” sums up Gates. The singer soon got her wish — she moved to London, hooked up with members of The Clash and Ian Dury’s Blockheads, and recorded the fervent rockabilly platter Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too (1980). The album was given a new lease on life in 2023 when it was also released in an expanded edition.
Gates, who is now in remission after a cancer diagnosis, enjoyed last year’s promotion for Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too, and is eager to share her memories of Pearl Harbor & The Explosions. This edition features the same tracklist as the reissue released in 2019 — including live covers of Ron Wood’s I Can Feel The Fire, Nick Lowe’s Let’s Eat, and Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones’ Black Slacks — but is now out of print. The release features rare photography from Pearl’s archive alongside liner notes by author and former San Francisco Chronicle music columnist Joel Selvin. Longtime fans might be surprised by the album cover — this new package features the original U.K. album jacket featuring a colorful photo of the band, rather than Warners’ stateside 1980 design of an orange logo against a black background.”
