Kate Pierson reminisces about her clubbing days with “Take Me Back To The Party.” Her forthcoming solo album, Radio and Rainbows, includes the dance-happy single. Pierson co-wrote the song with noted songwriter Jimmy Harry, and the B-52’s legend described it in her words.

“I wanted this song to connect with B-52s fans,” says Pierson, who likens its sound to “Planet Claire” and “Dance This Mess Around.” “It’s a disco song that conjures a younger Kate back in the day when I just couldn’t wait to get into clubs,” she says. “It takes me back to my Party Girl past! I just love a good dance song.”

The video is a montage of people dancing in various scenarios, including one of John Travolta’s scenes from Saturday Night Fever in the ’70s and The Nicholas Brothers doing their acrobatic tap dancing.  “Take Me Back To The Party” is part of an overall positive theme of the album because Pierson wanted to release something uplifting during a challenging time. It was nine years ago when she released her first solo album, Guitars and Microphones. Fans have been listening to Pierson for almost 50 years as one of the voices of alternative legends The B-52s. Radio and Rainbows is a continuation of her need to write songs, which goes back to the ’90s when the band took a hiatus. Pierson has collaborated with friend Sia, bassist Tracy Wormworth, singer-songwriter Bleu, and more to bring her current vision to life. Radio and Rainbows officially drops on September 20th. 

Cindy Wilson of The B-52’s has announced a new solo album coming out this summer. Wilson’s Realms will be her second solo album. She released her first album Changes in 2016. Today she shares “Midnight” from Realms and she explained to Spin what it was like working on the album.

“Being in the B-52s has been a playful and creative endeavor. Doing the solo project with Suny Lyons has been too. I worked with Suny on a previous effort called Changes and enjoyed working with him, so I asked him to do the next one, Realms. I feel the techno vibe mixed with other elements is modern and unexpected, which is beautiful. I got to use my strong voice emotions with the tender, and I love it. The first song Midnight, goes through the realms of midnight. It’s an upbeat dance dream of love at a magical hour. Inviting the listener to come along. Let’s go!”

The B-52’s helped bring new wave music to the mainstream during the ’80s and became pioneers of the sound. Their playful spacey rock evolved over time and stuck one foot in pop without ever losing their core musical identity. Wilson also released two EPs; Sunrise in 2016 and Supernatural in 2017. “Midnight” lives somewhere in the worlds of techno and synth-pop and belongs in a club. 

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Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, Fred Schneider and Keith Strickland became The B-52’s in 1977 after an impromptu jam at a Chinese restaurant in their Athens, GA hometown. B-52 is a slang term for the beehive hairstyles the women would wear for their stage personas. Their quirky but danceable sound was influenced by New Wave, ’60’s pop, R&B, and Fellini. In 1978 they released their first single “Rock Lobster” independently and it became a huge underground success that lead to their first NYC concert appearances. These gigs attracted the media and their first recording contract with Warner Brothers. The B-52’s was their 1979 eponymous debut of kitschy fun made immortal because of “Rock Lobster,” “Planet Claire,” “52 Girls” and “Dance This Mess Around.” Wild Planet was a successful sophomore album commercially identified by the singles, “Party Out Of Bounds,” “Private Idaho” and “Give Me Back My Man.” David Byrne worked with them on Mesopotamia for an intended album project that became an EP. The record industry considered the outcome to be a modest achievement but the band had reached a critical mass creatively and already laid the foundation for the future alternative scene. Mesopotamia’s dance rock also reached a huge urban audience because of influential Detroit DJ The Electrifying Mojo. Whammy seemed to be a reaction to the criticism of Mesopotamia from critics who described it as the band’s losing of the way. The third album was designed to return them to the New Wave sound and “Legal Tender,” “Whammy Kiss” and “Song For A Future Generation” made it to the dance charts. Bouncing Off The Satellites was their fourth album and despite the popularity of “Wig,” “Summer Of Love” and “Girl From Ipanema Goes Greenland” it was a turning point for them because Ricky Wilson died. They took time off to grieve Wilson’s passing and to decide if they would continue to make music. Three years later they returned with the Niles Rodgers and Don Was produced Cosmic Thing. “Love Shack” and “Roam” would become two of their most recognized songs and make them mainstream pop stars. “Channel Z” was another noteworthy single from the collection and rare B-52’s song to get a video. Was and Rodgers would also take over the production duties for their sixth album Good Stuff. The title track made it to radio and garnered them a Grammy nomination. It was also the first and only album without Cindy Wilson’s vocals. Sixteen years went by before they returned to recording and completed Funplex. The title track and “Juliet Of The Spirits” were the singles and this was the time when they chose to remove the apostrophe from their name. In 2012 they celebrated 35 years in the business by releasing their first live concert, B52s: With The Wild Crowd! Live In Athens, GA on DVD.