Cars - Shoo Be Do & Gimme Some Slack Live on Fridays 1980

The Cars second live performance on Fridays. Also check out Touch and Go from the same evening: • Cars - Touch and Go - ...

[@Cldfsn0200]

Eliot is the most under appreciated guitarist in the history of rock.

[@MsNova1973]

One of the only bands that sounds the same live as on an LP. Amazing group. Still love listening to them now!!!!!

[@DIAMONDGIRL57]

MsNova1973 I’ve never stopped listening to them especially when I drive from Vegas to LA on I-15 going 90-100 MPH!

[@HazeFace100]

MAN! this band ruled...

[@32INCHSTRIPER]

Elliot Easton is BAD. ASS.

[@ftsjr]

I remember watching this performance when it was first broadcast. Hard to believe that it was 30 years ago. RIP, Ben Orr.

[@donwelch4031]

Best band ever!

[@debbiepayne40]

Great performance. I especially love Ben and his bass 😍🎸💫

[@julenepegher6999]

Debbie Hammond and his white shoes!!

[@retisonic]

they sound INCREDIBLE. this was my favorite vhs tape for many, many years.

[@ftsjr]

I remember watching this performance. Hard to believe it was over thirty years ago. I miss the 1980s!

[@natetheguitarkid]

am i the only that notices.....RIC OCASEK IS DANCING!!

[@Gabby-vi2oq]

AAAH they are amazing live! I love this performance! (also that little bow David takes at the end kills me hahaha what a cutie!)

[@lindaclark9925]

Rip....takes me back....I feel so teenager again.....

[@revanelson8810]

Whoa! Did I just see Ric Ocasek "getting down"? 😳

[@musicandme5658]

+Reva Nelson The 1st time I saw this I almost spit my coffee out all over the screen, I was laughing so hard! It looked like Ric and Elliot were going to start moshing or something!

[@kevinkatzberg9458]

Its called The Spastic Ocasek move

[@DIAMONDGIRL57]

Reva Nelson He’s always getting down!

[@LAwoman1956]

I LOVE THIS!!! You can tell what great musicians they are with how fast they play! Especially Ben and David, wow! Excellent. I love these songs.

[@LauraIsPink]

ric is in a rare form for this performance! lol love it!

[@bigbiscuit2245]

This is just plain awesome.

[@TheMm0514]

Love seeing them actually enjoying themselves. this is great.

[@RuledByMars]

Remember waiting all week for this as a kid and I wasn't disappointed

[@pitbullrp]

Awesomely Tight!

[@ghosttgirlghosttspook5478]

they are awesome!!

[@bigbiscuit2245]

I loved the way Ben played bass he used a pick and was so gooood

[@atsejam]

Even though Benjamin is relegated to the background in this video, I LOVE it, can't stop watching it. That wide stance. Those long, strong, shiny thighs. Those fingers flying. GAAAHHHHHH...

[@bigbiscuit2245]

Exactly

[@julenepegher6999]

Along with those white shoes!!

[@xycYcLoNusxy]

Misfit Kid, Down Boys, You Wear Those Eyes.........this album (Panorama) showed how bold and awesome the band is. They dared to go where other bands were afraid to go, and pulled it off in their own unique style. Screw the critics is right, this is another legendary Cars album.

[@darry3]

The Cars are my Beatles.

[@dirkwearsws]

if people really paid attention...this is one of the greatest songs

[@ftsjr]

Greg Hawkes (keyboards) is so thin, if he goes outside during a breeze, he's liable to blow away. RIP Ben Orr.

[@dirkwearsws]

rick's look at 1:40 says it all! what a band!

[@napcon0]

like these songs and like their outfits!

[@gaargy1]

awesome great mems thanks for posting

[@luminosa98]

Ric was just getting down, lol :))) It was a great performance by all. Yes, Benjamin was awesome, and lovely, as always!!

[@bigbigjoel]

One of my favorites. I remember watching this when it aired. Great job by all.

[@BrewCity17]

David Robinson = Most danceable rock beats ever.

[@BenCulture]

And FYI, between Kasim Sulton and Todd Rundgren, the New Cars were able to make up for the absence of both Benjamin AND RIC onstage! What they could NOT do is write Ric Ocasek songs. "Not Tonight" was kind of a "Learning To Fly", a fair forgery, a nice-enough tune. When Kasim sang "All Mixed Up", I could have cried, if I was a crier. It was perfect. And that's a seriously important song to me. The Cars are ALL ABOUT Ric Ocasek's words, chords, and melodies! Don't deny it, you ugly-hearted fool!

[@jleary6]

I've heard ALL The Cars members say in interviews that they created their own parts, for example, Elliot has talked about recording all guitar parts for "Touch and go" at home, also David, in an interview talked about having the hardest time coming up with his drum part for "Shake it up".

[@CartoonsAndGameShows]

That video effect is so 80s!!!

[@stormtrooper62]

I was there! Great fun!

[@MyVHSArchives]

Very Cool!

[@stormtrooper62]

I was also lucky to meet Ben Orr more than once... he was so approachable and friendly.

[@TheAngelBabe100]

+stormtrooper62 you're really lucky! He's my favorite but i'm only 16. It would have been with great pleasure to meet him, it would practically make my life haha

[@northernlitez1]

Musta been on some speeders that night! GREAT classics

[@bubbaz554]

These guys always seemed pumped in their performances. Almost like it was their first gig. VERY professional.

[@GooglSucksDisk]

Elliot was so interesting to me to watch and greg! He was like a mad scientist behind all that gear. I miss old MTV.

[@carolyngutierrez9804]

Synth drums were cutting edge at the time that The Cars used them. To criticize David Robinson for incorporating them into the music would be like criticizing Greg for using synths instead of a pump organ.

[@cocarr1]

Two of my favorites- The Cars and the Fridays show! Fridays was better than SNL.

[@dwtime]

Blistering version live.

[@desertfoxleo]

I could almost cry watching these guys again! I remember watching this when it was live - being a HS senior at the time. I still like this rendition of Shoo Be Doo better than the album version, and they rocked on Gimme Some Slack too! I'm so happy with the new album, but a little sad at the same time since Ben's not there.

[@girlvegan1]

Hell Yea...Rick was really movin and groovin! I think Rick made a new dance called "The washing machine" he he he I love these performances. Every time I see a song from this night it looks like they are really having a blast! I love they way Elliot does that little bounce/step when he plays. It's really hot! He's really getting into it here. Of course Ben is so cute and sexy it's system overload in my brain. lol

[@jakeg.7562]

The more I listen, the more I recognize just what an ABSOLUTE FORCE ELLIOTT EASTON was/is on the electric Fender guitahhh!

[@travelchannel304]

These songs are Grreat!! Never heard them!! R.O. very energetic!! LOL

[@silverwood6705]

Such a fucking great song! Love Ben playing bass like a guitar

[@brandtus]

Never heard this live...thank you so much my friend!

[@archibaldlothar1084]

De la bombe ! Feu d artifices musical

[@daphnelarsson8365]

That's the most animated I've ever seen Ric. 😁

[@Vivzid]

this would be on the radio every day if the world was more cool

[@baerwerks1]

They were so so inovative back then! Besides david bowie, giorgio meroder, kraftwerk , DEVO and gary numan, they were some of the leading new wave acts that catipulted the movement in the late 70's... BRILLIANT!!!

[@BorisW150]

This dude was cool.

[@carolyngutierrez9804]

He is an artist & jewelry designer. Owns a gallery in Massachusetts. He still plays drums on occasion - such as The Cars 2011 'Move Like This' album and tour. It has nothing to do with synthesizers. It's not strange at all, if you realize that he is a multi-faceted artist with other talents to explore and expand on, not simply a very fine drummer.

[@BenCulture]

I think you're merely imagining a bitter rivalry between Ric and Ben where none existed. By all accounts, they were close friends 'til the day Ben died. Ric has never hesitated to tell interviewers he LOVED Ben. Remember, even after Ric left the Cars, Ben still sang backup on several of his solo albums. My understanding is, the main reason Ric left the Cars is, like most songwriters he hated the relentless touring. I think you're assuming Ben wanted to sing more leads than he did.

[@stewblade]

This band was so fcking cool.

[@jleary6]

Ric & Ben had been playing together for around 20 years at that point, and almost living together with all the touring, and probably literally living together in the early days. I'm sure it just came down to they just needed time away from each other, and with Ben living in Atlanta, and Ric living in upstate New York, they weren't going to bump into each other. I think Ric was sick of touring, but Ben, that's all he had, he put off any new music & toured with his own band singing Cars songs.

[@lindaclark9925]

So different. It was the new sound.

[@DIAMONDGIRL57]

Linda Clark so true!!! I fell in love with the new sound on the first bar!!

[@BenCulture]

THANK You! Of course, you are entirely correct. They both had great voices. To imagine The Cars without Ric's voice is just bizarre. It took some time, but somewhere between Panorama and Shake It Up, Ric's voice got a LOT better! He lost his "pout" tone and sang in a more open, relaxed style. He sings "I'm Not the One" and "Why Can't I Have You" so PRETTY, I get shivers! And Ben, my God, his multiple vocals on "Everything You Say" have made me cry. Both great singers, and they were friends.

[@ghosttgirlghosttspook5478]

the best band ever!!

[@slickjene]

Thanks for posting. This was too cool. Ive never seen Ric move so much lol. Rock on!

[@GlorifiedTruth]

I saw Suicide open for them... first concert I ever saw! The fans almost booed Suicide off the stage, but the Cars wouldn't go on until they finished their set. And yes, agree 100% about the influence seen here.

[@TheCurtisLeMay]

I wanna shake like Laguardia... Saw Rick in Harvard Square a few years back - no Paulina :( Roll CARS!

[@cognitivediss4297]

Really good.

[@clubhouseme]

It is amazing to see that the Cars can just flat out rock, but at the time this was pretty "New Wavey".I was into Van Halen and THE WHO at this time but I still had to get Panorama because these tunes were just so unique for that time(and good).

[@JWOLFPACK]

Ric's got the moves!

[@MyVHSArchives]

You're welcome. Happy to share.

[@ifutureman]

yes, but the two singles I was referring to were this one and "Touch and Go" - I like the way they threw Shoo Be Do in as an intro though.

[@joeyfrederick9156]

Whoa! Buddy Holly meets Roxy Music!

[@jenbunny1984]

Love how Elliot is bouncing around cute

[@BenCulture]

You make a very good point in this comment, as if you've been in a professional band. I have been in one, and been on the fringes of a more-popular band that didn't need day jobs. It's real work, it gets boring, traveling, waiting around doing nothing, in close quarters. In each other's faces constantly. It's no wonder when a band breaks up. It can be harrowing. You sure get to know each other, all too well! And yes, Ben's last band, Big People, was a cover band that did Cars songs.

[@MJP474]

Awesome - thank you^^^^^

[@Thorum13]

I miss Benji...

[@WaryBuck1]

@katjill52301 Your comment here is spot on. This album (Panorama, from which Gimme Some Slack comes from) is probably the most overlooked in their catalog yet has some fantastic tracks which I believe stand the test of time quite well.

[@jenbunny1984]

Shoo be dooo

[@BenCulture]

I'm not sure who you're replying to. I agree with the general thrust of your comment. Ben was not a serious songwriter in the sense that Ric is. Ric has now done as many solo albums as Cars albums, and has no need of a collaborator to get them done. (Whether it sells well or not is immaterial to my point.) I have experienced it for myself: In a band, the most prolific writer is likely to become the dominant writer. And one does tire of struggling with inferior material by others.

[@ifutureman]

I don't understand all the sniping at Ric for supposedly hogging the spotlight. First of all he wrote all the damn songs, so he can do whatever he wants! And second, the two singles from Panorama were on showcase for this TV appearance; it just so happened that Ric sang lead on them. Over the years, Ric tapped Ben to sing lead on many hits. Everyone in that band got plenty of time in the spotlight. But it was Ric's band and his songs.

[@poopologist96]

@101catsville I also was startled by Ric Ocasek's "dance moves", I have never seen him so animated. If his moves didn't prevent people from noticing Benjamin Orr, remember that he ended up marrying the swimsuit model Paulina Porizkova, who still looks good at 45!

[@ghosttgirlghosttspook5478]

all of them I think hot!

[@lextual]

I thought they did the thing with the freeze frame/video effect on Saturday Night Live and not on Fridays... Totally jacking (in a good way) the band Suicide (Martin Rev/Alan Vega) for the song "Shoo Be Doo".

[@tiefhals]

+lextual Ric Ocasek produced the Suicide LP released the year after The Cars' Candy-O (with Shoo Be Doo)

[@lextual]

Yes he did. He also produced a Bad Brains album. The Bad Brains neither here nor there, Suicide no doubt had their sound down by the time Ocasek rolled around. It's all good though, these things such as influence/who came first isn't always cut and dried. Perhaps at one point Ric Ocasek wanted The Cars to sound like Suicide and the rest of the band said no. LOL!

[@tatertodd641]

Still slightly raw at this stage. Great glimpse of them! Eliot's hair is short!!!

[@jleary6]

I'm not sure that that was the case, if so then why didn't Ben ever finish his second solo album??? He started working on it before the guys broke up, which was in 1988, and Ben didn't die until 2000, he had at least 12 years before he got sick, I don't think he cared as much, it even took help from his girlfriend to finish up his songs for "The Lace", and even then he put it off for a year to finish remodeling his house. So I don't think THAT was the problem.

[@BenCulture]

An example of these things Ric has said in interviews would be helpful. But keep in mind, my impressions come from interviews with the band members, too. So I would ask you, what makes you think Ric DID treat them as "his backup band" instead of equals? I know for sure Elliot and Greg crafted most of their own parts, and I imagine Ben had a fair amount of leeway with his basslines. Having said that, Ric DID write all the songs. It would be plain foolish to pretend he WASN'T their leader.

[@saintalph0nz0]

Um, yeah.... they're best album ever....

[@BenCulture]

Creating your own drum part, bass line, guitar or keyboard parts . . . These things are "arrangement", not "songwriting". Rock songwriting can be broken down into the following four elements: Lyrics Melody Chords Rhythm I've seen no evidence that Ric Ocasek wasn't 100% responsible for those four elements (except, of course, as indicated in collaboration with Greg Hawkes). Plus (as I've told JFJ repeatedly) if any of them had a case, they'd have sued Ric decades ago.

[@DullTorpor]

Wow, never saw Ric Ocasek perform without a guitar. Probably not without good reason...

[@IvyMike777]

Alan Vega and Martin Rev. Nuff said.

[@deathmetaldouglas69]

Hal9000Here they are so far up Suicide and Devo's ass it's hard to believe!

[@LuckyDeb61]

@Burningchromosome ~ Oh! Is that who's playing the bass? (j/k) They pushed him so far back on the stage you could hardly see him. They should have put a lampshade on his head or given him the wrong address. It wouldn't be any more obvious. That old green monster was even growing in the early 80's huh? But seriously, you're right he's hardly a marginal player.

[@catmip]

LuckyDeb61 yet you still can’t take your eyes off him.

[@BenCulture]

Was I speaking to you? You're responding to a month-old message, kiddo.

[@BenCulture]

Thank you very much, for saying what needed to be said. And saying it calmly. I don't know how you do it. I get offended and outraged by all these crazy, lonely, angry women, saying ALL KINDS of crazy, catty shit about Ric Ocasek, because he is alive and Benjamin is not. Because Ric wrote songs and Ben did not. Because Ric is interesting and Ben is not. They seem to think they're doing Ben some twisted favor. They AREN'T. They are *poisoning* our memories of Ben with LIES and HATE.

[@1Montyite]

I disagree. Ric said in an interview that if you want a good singer I'm the man. If you want a great singer, see Ben. Many of the songs Ben sang Ric couldn't and wouldn't sing. Also, Ben was a very humble person. Everyone gives a lot of credit to Ben but one person does not make a band. All the members were great in their own right.

[@BenCulture]

Eight months. EIGHT MONTHS AGO, I asked this woman, "What's your evidence to justify this belief?" This belief that choosing the set list was an ego trip on Ric's part. Never mind that they were there to promote PANORAMA, not CANDY-O! That is *clearly* why "Gimme Some Slack" was performed. If they didn't perform Panorama songs, that would be BAD business. They could be penalized or even sued by the record label for that! That sort of thing has happened to bands! No evidence. None. Just HATRED.

[@BenCulture]

I just responded to you today. I'm not on the Internet every day of the week. I tend to take two days off the computer entirely, every week. Sorry. You're mistaken, though: Only Greg appears on Beatitude (co-writing music on one song, as usual). On This Side of Paradise, all Cars but David appear on ONE song, "True To You". I think Ben adds backup vocals to "Look in Your Eyes" as well. Other than that, it's just Greg. And why shouldn't he play on Ric's albums? They're definitely solo albums.

[@kaysmith7347]

Go away Ben Culture.

[@mikeatchley9235]

No, it is just SLACK as in "cut me some slack" or give me a break! There is no doubt that it was a play on words, but I can't imagine a scenario in which any of The Cars members would actually sing "gimme some slack" meaning smack, or heroin.

[@BenCulture]

And what's your evidence to justify this belief? If Ric didn't want Ben singing lead, he had the power and freedom to make that decision anytime. He didn't have to resort to subterfuge. According to every article I've ever read, Ric and Ben had no problems deciding who would sing what. Ric and Ben were the two friends around whom the rest of the band was built. It wasn't Ric and Elliot, or Ric and Greg; it was Ric and Ben, from Milkwood to Richard and the Rabbits to Cap'N Swing to the Cars.

[@ghosttgirlghosttspook5478]

Ben's hot!

[@ghosttgirlghosttspook5478]

Rick look's hot here!

[@jamaral81]

The Cars are one my all time favorite bands but Shoo Be Do truly a horrific song and live is even worse.

[@Thorum13]

Me?