B-52’s frontman Fred Schneider was virtually unrecognizable as he stepped out at the Save the Chimps’ 25th Anniversary Gala in New York City on Tuesday alongside his bandmate, Kate Pierson.
The 74-year-old looked stylish in a graphic tee, a sparkling black blazer and black trousers, paired with a trucker cap and colorful sneakers. Kate, 77, opted for a brighter look with a green pantsuit and a velvet blazer, and wore her vibrant red hair down in soft curls.
Their appearance at the event marked 50 years since their band was first formed back in 1976. The B-52’s became a band after an impromptu jam session that followed a meal and drinks at a Chinese restaurant in their hometown of Athens, Georgia.
The original lineup included Cindy Wilson, her brother Ricky Wilson, Keith Strickland, Kate and Fred. The band are best known for their 1989 smash-hit “Love Shack”, as well as tracks like “Rock Lobster” and “Roam.
While the B-52’s legacy in music is undeniable, the band has never been honored with a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “I don’t care anymore,” Fred told Vulture of the snub. “We should have been in 20 years ago because if it’s about influencing other bands, I can’t tell you how many bands said they were influenced by us.”
“I know Kate [Pierson] is really champing at the bit to get in, but I don’t care,” he continued. “It just doesn’t make any sense that we’re not in. Other bands have gotten in who aren’t even rock and roll. I could care less about being in there with John Cougar Mellencamp.”
© Getty ImagesHe added that he didn’t like it when people labeled the B-52’s as “camp”, a term which was far from their schtick. “Camp means you don’t know you’re ridiculous, and we know what we’re doing. We’ve always known what we were doing,” he said.
The band faced tragedy in 1985 when Ricky passed away from complications related to AIDS at just 32. “Ricky didn’t tell me what was going on. I can’t tell you what was in his mind,” said his sister Cindy to The Age.
© Getty Images“I was shocked and a lot of things I had to deal with because Ricky didn’t confide in me. It kind of threw me for a loop when all of a sudden I got a phone call from the hospital saying, ‘Your brother’s dying’. And then I never did get to say goodbye to him. So it really screwed me up.”
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyAfter his death, the band went into seclusion and stopped touring. They reunited in 1989 and put out their album Cosmic Thing, with the single “Love Shack” racing up the charts and becoming a defining song of the ’80s.
“It was really ironic that “Love Shack”, which is one of the happiest songs and [most] successful songs we did, came out of a time of real despair,” Cindy continued. “With Ricky, I have to say, when we were doing it, when we were writing it, it really felt like his presence was there anyway. And that was really important. Cosmic Thing was something we really had to do.”
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