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On August 23rd, 1980, thousands of new wavers, punks, and music fans alike made their way to Mosport Park to see what was billed as "The Woodstock of the 80's". What they saw, while not along Woodstock proportions, was an excellent exhibition of new wave music.
The 50-80 thousand fans witnessed great performances from Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Talking Heads and the B'52's. A solid performance was put in by Teenage Head although they appeared before noon. The Pretenders received a good reception but for many their pop/new wave sound was disappointing. Also disappointing were Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Rockpile, and especially The Rumour whom Graham Parker would have had trouble saving on this day.
These poor performances however, were overshadowed by the great ones. The B-52's played to perfection hits like "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster." By the time they left the stage the audience had come alive. The Talking Heads followed and their nine member crew set the stage for Elvis with songs like "Psycho Killer" and "Take Me to the River."
By the time Elvis hit the stage the crowd was in a frenzy but Elvis cooled them down with a very un-Elvis song. He put them back into his hands when he stated "Hello, were The Clash" and immediately launched into "Accidents Will Happen." Elvis and the Attractions were awesome as they blasted out hits like "Pump It Up," "I Don't Wanna Go to Chelsea," "Radio Radio," and more. He came back for three encores and left the crowd exhausted. The Kings came on afterwards but the crowd was finished and only a few stayed.
Everything taken into account, Heatwave was a musical success. The day was beautiful, the sound better, and the performers fantastic. The promoters however, lost money. The fact that they couldn't get The Clash, and the failure to get a crossover group like The Cars or Tom Petty were the reasons. They feel that they can profit with another Heatwave next year. And let's hope that there is another, as it is a must for any music fan.
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