"Running Back" by Urgent

Song#:  2417
Date:  08/10/1985
Debut:  88
Peak:  79
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Rock, AOR



Pop Bits:  This five-man rock band from NYC was formed in the mid-80s by a set of triplets - Michael, Don, and Steve Kehr. They caught the attention of a couple major labels and ended up signing on to the EMI subsidiary Manhattan. On board to produce their debut album Cast the First Stone were Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople leader) and Mick Ronson (David Bowie guitarist). This track was select to be the first single. While the AOR tune couldn't made a dent in the Rock chart, it did find its way to the Pop chart for a few weeks. A second single failed to do any business. The results were not all that great, but Manhattan allowed the band to record a follow-up album titled Thinking Out Loud. Nothing came from the album and with that, the band called it quits.

ReduxReview:  This track sounds rather...well...urgent. The song is like a mashup of Bon Jovi and Loverboy done for a low-budget teens-on-the-run movie soundtrack. Although mired in 80s keyboards, the song is not all that bad. It's got a couple of good hooks and the band sounds solid. However, there is nothing here that hasn't been already covered by the aforementioned bands. And besides the triplet factor, there is nothing here that makes the band stand out in a crowded field of rock star wannabes.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Brothers Michael and Don had some previous major label experience prior to forming Urgent. The pair were in a new wave rock band called Sterling that was signed to A&M. Their debut LP City Kids arrived to little notice in 1980. Their first single was an odd cover version of "Baby It's You," the 1961 #8 hit by The Shirelles. It did not chart. A few years later, the brothers grabbed their other twin and formed Urgent.  2) Two member of Urgent would later move over into the acting world. Don Kehr had some Broadway experience when he was young performing in the 1976 play Legend. The show lasted eighteen previews and five performances. He later returned to Broadway performing small parts in the musicals The Who's Tommy, Aida, Billy Elliot: The Musical, and Jersey Boys. Kehr also had a role in the 2014 film version of Jersey Boys. He has also been a bit player on several TV shows including Gotham, House of Cards, and The Good Wife. Urgent's guitarist Yul Vazquez also went into acting. He has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, and was also nominated for a Best Featured Actor in a Play Tony award in 2011. However, fans of the hit TV show Seinfeld may remember Vazquez as Bob, half of the "intimidating" gay couple that appeared on three episodes of the show. In all three, they accosted Kramer for various reasons.

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