The Tubes

Formed in San Francisco, California in 1972, the Tubes is a rock band that has tackled many genres over the years including art rock, proto-punk, new wave, hard rock, and pop. They went from being a performance art band to favorites on MTV for several years. The Tubes was founded by members of two bands from Phoenix, Arizona who had relocated to the San Francisco area. The original line-up featured Fee Waybill (vocals), Roget Steen (guitar), Prairie Prince (drums), Bill Spooner (guitar), Rick Anderson (bass), Vince Welnick (keyboards), Michael Cotton (synthesizer), and Bob McIntosh (drums). Signing to A&M Records, they released their self-titled debut album in 1975. The album’s unconventional and quirky take on rock music was a critical success and the album reached number 113 on the Billboard 200. The album included the song “White Punks on Dope,” which became one of their best-known tracks and came a few years before punk music would dominate the underground music scene. Two more albums followed – Young and Rich (1976) and Now (1977) – before The Tubes captured the attention of a wider audience with the album Remote Control (1979). Produced by Todd Rundgren, the album featured the single “Prime Time,” which was a chart hit in the UK and Australia. The Tubes moved towards commercial pop rock with 1981’s The Completion Backward Principle, which was their first release on Capitol Records. The David Foster-produced album reached number 36 on the Billboard 200 and paved the way for the success of their next album. The album’s singles included “Don’t Want to Wait Anymore” (number 35) and “Talk to You Later,” which didn’t chart very highly but became an FM radio favorite. Also produced by David Foster, 1983’s Outside Inside was their most commercial album yet, climbing to number 18 and including the Top 10 single – and MTV favorite - “She’s a Beauty.” However, their 1985 album, the Todd Rundgren-produced Love Bomb, was not as successful and Fee Waybill left in 1986. Several other line-up changes occurred as David Killingsworth replaced Waybill for several years. However, Fee Waybill returned in 1993, and the Tubes released their eighth studio album, Genius of America, in 1996. While no new studio albums have been released since then, the Tubes – featuring founding members Fee Waybill, Roger Steen, and Prairie Prince – remains semi-active.