Heatwave was a rock music festival held on August 23, 1980, at Mosport Park near Orono, Ontario, Canada.
Contents
History
Approximately 85,000 people attended the festival, with tickets priced at $20 or $25 at the gate. Dan Aykroyd, in character as Elwood Blues, invited radio listeners to join the event for free on his guest list. An additional 15,000 people arrived, bringing the crowd to nearly 100,000 as Talking Heads took the stage.
The event faced issues, including accusations between the backers and park management, with claims that ticket stubs were discarded. The festival reportedly lost one million dollars.
The entire concert was recorded, though no rights agreements were signed. The tapes resurfaced later in 1980 and were secured by promoter John Brower. In the mid-1990s, Brower entrusted the tapes to Canadian record executive Jan Haust for restoration. By 2017, 102 tracks from five of the bands were available on Wolfgang's website. A video of The Kings' set was also released.
Creem magazine covered the festival, noting the novelty of a new wave/punk festival, as many of the bands typically performed in clubs rather than outdoor venues.
Line-up
The festival's line-up included Vladymir Rogov with ARKITEX, Teenage Head, BB Gabor, Holly and the Italians, Rockpile featuring Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, The Rumour (without Graham Parker), The B-52's, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and The Kings. The Clash were originally booked and listed on the poster but canceled.
Teenage Head set list
A reviewer described Teenage Head as "two scraggly guys playing guitar and bass, and a crop-haired singer in a long-tailed livery coat and eyeliner," noting their performance as "good ol' head-banging ramalama punk rock." The band had a large and vocal following and played with confidence, as if they belonged in front of a big crowd. A year later, Teenage Head's live album featured a picture from their Heatwave set on the cover.
Top Down
Wild One
Picture My Face
Some Kinda Fun
Little Boxes (Alimony)
Fist to Face (Everybody's Growin' Old)
Let's Shake
Lucy Potato
Brand New Cadillac
You're Tearing Me Apart
Somethin' Else
Kissin' The Carpet
Disgusteen
C'mon Everybody
The Pretenders set list
Precious
The Adultress
Kid
Space Invader
Private Life
Brass in Pocket
Stop Your Sobbing
The Wait
Louie Louie
Porcelain
Tattooed Love Boys
Up the Neck
Audience
Mystery Achievement
The B-52's set list
The B-52's performed material from their first album and debuted songs from Wild Planet.
Planet Claire
6060-842
Devil In My Car
52 Girls
Quiche Lorraine
Dirty Back Road
Lava
Give Me Back My Man
Strobe Light
Private Idaho
Runnin' Around
Rock Lobster
Dance This Mess Around
Party Out of Bounds
Talking Heads set list
The Talking Heads line-up that toured for the Remain in Light album made its debut at the festival. Their set began with the four original members plus Adrian Belew, and as the performance progressed, additional musicians and vocalists joined, including Nona Hendryx, Busta Jones, Steve Scales, Dolette McDonald, and Bernie Worrell.
Psycho Killer
Warning Sign
Stay Hungry
Cities
I Zimbra
Once in a Lifetime
Houses in Motion
Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
Crosseyed and Painless
Life During Wartime
Take Me to the River
Elvis Costello set list
The festival was the only 1980 live concert in North America by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The performance was recorded and released as a two-LP album.
Shot With His Own Gun (sometimes listed as "How does it Feel")
Accidents Will Happen
The Beat
Temptation
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
Mystery Dance
Green Shirt
You'll Never Be a Man
(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea
Secondary Modern
Pump It Up
Lover's Walk
Less Than Zero
Big Tears
High Fidelity
Lipstick Vogue
Radio Radio
I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
Alison
Clubland
Oliver's Army
Watching the Detectives
You Belong to Me
The Kings
The Kings set began around midnight and lasted approximately one hour.
Borrowing Time
Don't Let Me Know
Run Shoes Running
My Habit
This Beat Goes On/Switchin' to Glide
Partyitis
California Girls
One Day Off
Go Away