Rick Springfield / Quarterflash

Kan Tex Cali Aug 23, 2023

Rick Springfield came to Reunion Arena on his tour to support his new album "Living in Oz". 1983’s Living In Oz album was a reference to Springfield’s status as a transplanted Australian (Aus = Oz) living in Los Angeles. Despite his new environs, Living In Oz was a deeply personal album with songs about childhood memories in Sydney, his father and best friend. Despite the potentially teary eyed subject matter, Living In Oz was brashly modern with synthesizers set to dance pop melodies. The basically cold metallic arrangements were balanced by the warmth of deeply personal subject mater and Springfield’s energetic delivery.

He came into the sessions for Living in Oz with 7 previous Top 40 hits, including “Jessie’s Girl,” from 1981’s Working Class Dog, which had gone all of the way to #1.

The lead single released from the album, “Affair of the Heart” rose to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, pushing Living in Oz to platinum status. The song also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, though it lost to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”