Among the band's notable singles were "Saturdays in Silesia" and "Dancing on the Berlin Wall," from their debut album, Cold War Night Life (1982); and "In Your Eyes" and "Holiday in Bangkok," from Heredity (1985) (both tracks appeared previously on a Rational Youth mini-album from 1983).
In 1999, Rational Youth, with a new lineup of original frontman Howe and new keyboard players Jean-Claude Cutz and Dave Rout, they released their first album in fourteen years, "To The Goddess Electricity".
In 2000, a special limited edition five cd-single boxset was realesed. It contained "Rational Youth EP", "Coboliod Race", "City of Night", "Saturdays in Silesia" and "In Your Eyes", all in paper sleeves resembling the vinyl originals.
Rational Youth toured throughout Scandinavia over the next two years, and played their final concert on November 3, 2001, at the Tinitus Festival in Stockholm, Sweden.
Original members Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn came together again in 2009, at the initiative of Marc Dumouy, recording a new version of their 1982 hit "Dancing On The Berlin Wall" in honour of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Wall. In 2010, the recording was issued by YUL Records as a CD EP In 2011, another CD EP was released, City Of Night /Cite Phosphore, being remixed versions of earlier recordings. In 2012, producer Marc Demouy was able to reunite the original Rational Youth trio of Howe, Vorn and Kevin Komoda which resulted in the 2012 release of the CD EP Coboloid Race /I Want To See The Light 30th Anniversary Edition. The release included newly discovered alternate mixes from the original 1981 sessions.
2013::Coincidentally, almost 30 years later to the day that Rational Youth were touring across Canada, Kevin Komoda found two Rational Youth live cassettes as well as a box full of Rational Youth negatives and other memorabilia. The initial idea was to release these shows on cassette only as a limited edition collector’s item, but the news of these live tapes quickly spread and sparked a renewed interest in Rational Youth. What was supposed be, and still is, a limited edition cassette release soon transformed itself into a 3 CD set with rarities, a 5 LP plus 7” box set, and now, two confirmed shows in Sweden, where the band have an enthusiastic and loyal following. Tracy Howe and Kevin Komoda are now assembling a band with the possibilities of shows in Montreal and Toronto before heading across the Atlantic in 2014. Two shows are confirmed in Sweden in 2014.
Latest releases: Rational Youth Live Winnipeg 1983, Rational Youth Live Ottawa 1983, Rational Youth Live 1983 with the Magic Box rarities disc (limited to 390 copies worldwide), And The Rational Youth 5 LP box set with bonus 7” single will be released on Vinyl-On-Demand Records in 2014.
More detailed biography: (81-99)
Version I (1980-1981) Tracy Howe (synths, vocals) Bill Vorn (synths) Mario Spezzo (synths; 1981)
Version II (1982-1983) Tracy Howe (synths, vocals) Kevin Komoda (synths; 1982-83) Denis Duran (bass; 1983) Angel Calvo (drums, percussion; 1983)
Version III (1984-1986) Tracy Howe (synths, vocals) Rick Joudrey (bass; 1985-86) Owen Tennyson (drums; 1985-86) Kevin Breit (guitars; 1985-86) Peter McGee (guitars; 1984-86)
Version IV (1998) Tracy Howe (synths, vocals) Dave Rout (synthesizers) J.C. Cutz (synthesizers)
Rational Youth is the brainchild of Tracy Howe who was a boy chorister in an Anglican church choir starting at age 8. At 13 he got an electric guitar, but joined his first band as the singer only that same year. He sang in a series of groups during his teenage years before taking up the drums with The Normals who were a three-piece punk band in Montreal around 1978 and featured members Scott Cameron on bass and Robert Labelle on guitar (Labelle would go on to join American Devices). From there came the formation of Heaven Seventeen (not to be confused with Britain's Heaven 17) who were Montreal's first self-proclaimed post-punk group - a sort of John Foxx-era Ultravox - who were one of the first generation punk conglomerations to use synths. The band's lineup was quite unstable but the most solid configuration consisted of Scott Cameron (bass, vocals), Roman Martyn (guitars), Kim Duran (guitars), Lysanne Thibodeau (keyboards), and Tracy Howe ( drums, vocals). Lysanne would be replaced by future Men Without Hats frontman Ivan Doroschuk at which time Howe stopped drumming and became their singer. In early 1980 Marc Durand was managing the band and had landed them a gig opening for XTC at the St. Denis Theatre in Montreal. While playing their set, some punks became rowdy and narrowly missed Doroschuk with a beer bottle or two and after the gig he quit the band. It was shortly after that he started Men Without Hats and took Marc Durand with him. By 1983 Heaven Seventeen had broken up and Doroschuk asked Howe to join his new band Men Without Hats as the guitar player. The band at that time was Ivan Dorochuk, his brother Stefan on bass, and Jeremie Arrobas on drums. They had all been to the same private schools together in Outremont and rehearsed at Arrobas' parents' house - a mini-mansion on Mount-Royal. His father had bought them all their musical equipment and paid for the production and manufacture of their first record, the 'Folk Of The 80's' EP. Howe did not play on that record though he is credited as such. Roman Martyn actually did all guitar parts on the EP and Howe's sole work with the band amounted to the song "Freeways", a 7" B-side. Ivan Dorochuk was primarily leading the band and his vision of the future and Howe's didn't connect, but Doroschuk did turn Howe onto the underworld of which gave Howe the idea to do electronic music, and shortly thereafter he met Bill Vorn. Rational Youth (a play-on words of the name National Youth Orchestra) was formed in Montreal in the summer of 1981 by Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn. Marc Demouy, a record importer and retailer friend of Howe's, suggested they release a record and within months Rational Youth had their first single and 12" "I Want To See The Light" (featuring third keyboardish Mario Spezzo), on Demouy's newly formed YUL Records label. Live dates followed and by their second gig they had already done an opening slot for Orchestral Maneouvres In The Dark. In the spring of 1982, came the 'Cold War Night Life' album, which would spawn two dance 12" singles "Saturdays In Silesia" and 'City Of Night'. It was at this point, with the singles getting major Canadian airplay that the live shows were not quite living up to expectations, so the duo was augmented with yet another synth player, Kevin Komoda, who managed to sneak onto the final sessions for the album. 'Cold War Night Life' would go on to sell 20,000 copies independently in Europe and Canada (most in Alberta of all places) and the limelight began shining on the band. Vorn, who merely wanted to play music and not be a rock star, left Rational Youth at the beginning of 1983 to resume communications studies at University. Howe and Komoda were left to carry on so they grabbed Denis Duran and Angel Calvo (who had drummed on the single version of "Pile Ou Face"), and went back on the road for a cross Canada tour. In the spring of 1983, Howe was signed to Capitol Records and Rational Youth was picked up as his project - the result was the 5 song EP 'Rational Youth'. On the eve of a national tour the entire band, realizing that this would be a full-time commitment, quit and Howe was stuck with a name but no band. Komoda went on to host the CBC's Brave New Waves and later formed Montreal's Pest 5000; Denis Duran is in the airline business and Angel Calvo is currently missing in action. Despite the dissolving band, Capitol Records asked Howe if he wanted to record another record and so teamed up with Klaatu guitar/production whiz and fellow labelmate Dee Long to work on the next record. They spent all of 1984 reworking mixes of tracks from the 1983 EP and writing new material. Some of Toronto's best know musicians were brought in to augment the line-up: guitarist Steve Jensen (Zappacosta), vocalist David Roberts, Karen Hendrix and John Jones (Duran Duran), drummer David Quinton (The Mods, Strange Advance), bassist Spider Sinnaeve (Streetheart), violinist Ben Mink (FM, k.d. lang) and of course Dee Long himself as producer, engineer, keybaordist and guitar player. The sessions were released as Rational Youth's next album 'Heredity' in March of 1985. It was a far cry from the synth pop of 'Cold War Night Life' and the lead off single/video "No More And No Less" was released to great critical acclaim. Howe put a new rock band together with album guitarist Peter McGee and former members of Blue Peter, Rick Joudrey (bass) and Owen Tennyson (drums), for a road tour of small venues throughout 1985 and into early 1986. On the odd occasion co-headlining with Strange Advance, The Spoons, Gowan and Images In Vogue. They even did a date opening for China Crisis. Several follow-up singles failed to sustain Rational Youth as a major league contender and Capitol Records passed on renewing Howe's option. Despite a brief appearance as 'the band' in the Montreal filmed Keifer Sutherland movie 'Crazy Moon' in 1986, Howe, effectively killed off Rational Youth and set up a domestic life and became gainfully employed at Queens Park for the Ontario Government. In February of 1996, EMI Canada released a 17-track Rational Youth compilation CD entitled 'All Our Saturdays (1981-1986)'. The disc's release has, through the efforts of fans on the Internet, brought Howe and Vorn back together again; Vorn had continued putting music, art, and technology together with his crowning achievement being interactive robotic installations with Louis-Philippe Demers. With the year-end release of 'Cold War Night Life' on CD, the duo played a synth-pop festival in Sweden in December 1997 to much critical acclaim but Vorn has been cautious in not wanting to give up his day job for the role as a 'rock star' again. Rational Youth was officially revived by Tracy Howe in 1998 with the addition of former Digital Poodle members Dave Rout & J.C. Cutz who toured Scandanavia that year followed by the recording of a new album 'To the Goddess Electricity' released in 1999.
Singles
1982 Cite Phosphore/Le Meilleur des Mondes (YUL) 1982 Saturdays In Silesia (single remix)/Pile Ou Face(YUL) 1983 In Your Eyes/The Man In Grey(Capitol) 1983 In Your Eyes (Extended)/Hot Streets [12"] (Capitol) 1985 No More And No Less/Holiday In Bangkok [remix] (Capitol) 1985 Call Me/Burn The Night Away (Capitol) 1985 Bang On/Sorry (Capitol) 1985 Malade/Freeze (Instrumental) (Capitol) 1998 3 Remixes For The New Cold War [CD EP] (Coboloid) 1999 Everything Is Vapour (October - Sweden)
Albums
1981 I Want To See the Light (YUL/Downstairs) 1982 City Of Night (YUL/Downstairs) [City Of Night (Danse Mix)//Cite Phosphore/Power Zone] 1982 Cold War Night Life (YUL/Unidisc/Downstairs) 1982 Saturdays In Silesia (YUL/Unidisc/Downstairs) [Saturdays In Silesia (extended remix)/Pile Ou Face (extended)] (YUL/Unidisc/Downstairs) 1983 Rational Youth [5 song EP] (Capitol) 1984 Dancing On The Berlin Wall (Rams Horn - Holland) [Dancing On The Berlin Wall//Dancing On The Berlin Wall (extended edit)/Close to Nature"] 1985 Heredity (Capitol) 1994 Total Rational! (Rams Horn - Holland) [also contains the previously issued unsanctioned 12" remix of "Dancing On The Berlin Wall"] 1996 All Our Saturdays: 1981-1986 (EMI) [contains some previously unreleased material] 1997 Cold War Night Life (EMI) [contains bonus tracks "I Want To See The Light" & "Coboloid Race"] 1999 To The Goddess Electricity (October - Sweden)
Video
1985 No More And No Less 1986 Crazy Moon [full length] [Rational Youth appear as themselves in this Keifer Sutherland movie]
Compilation Tracks
1997 "Saturdays In Scandinavia '97" on 'Virtual X-Mas '97' [CD3] (Energy - Sweden) 1999 song on 'Shot 99' (October - Sweden) 1999 "Saturdays In Silesia" on 'Pure Canadian: Retro 80's Volume 6' (EMI)
Saturdays in Silesia
Rational Youth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for the axe to fall
Working in a big hole
Just to pay the rent man
When my work is over
Call you on the telephone
Paint your pretty face
Put on your cardboard dance shoes
Saturdays in Silesia
Holidays are for heroes
City lights - not quite Broadway
Saturdays in Silesia
Bought a quart of vodka
Didn't even stand in line
That's the only thing
That we are never short of
Got the number 8 bus
Took it to the navy docks
Girl of my dreams
Lives right around the corner
Gonna take you where the music is loud
Where the rhythm never stops
Find the magic if there's any to be found
Saturdays in Silesia
Holidays are for heroes
City lights - not quite Broadway
Saturdays in Silesia
And if the soldiers put a padlock on the door
We'll break it open like we've always done before
We don't have much but what we've got we're gonna keep
Won't you stay close to me?
Gonna take you where the music is loud
Where the rhythm never stops
Find the magic if there's any to be found
Saturdays in Silesia
Holidays are for heroes
City lights - not quite Broadway
Saturdays in Silesia
The lyrics to Rational Youth's "Saturdays in Silesia" describe the gritty reality of living in a run-down industrial town that is stuck in the past. The singer is living in a graveyard, perhaps metaphorically indicating a feeling of being stuck or stagnant, waiting for something to change - waiting for the "axe to fall." They then describe working hard just to pay rent, which is something many people in real life can relate to. Despite the bleakness of their situation, the singer finds solace in Saturdays in Silesia - a time when they can escape the monotony of everyday life and find a little joy. They paint their face and put on cardboard dance shoes, ready to hit the town and forget about their problems for a little while.
The chorus speaks to a feeling of defiance and resilience. Saturdays in Silesia are the holidays for heroes, and the city lights may not quite be like Broadway, but they're still worth celebrating. The singer finds freedom and escape in these moments, and is determined to hold onto the little bit of magic that they can find. The lyrics "if the soldiers put a padlock on the door, we'll break it open like we've always done before" speak to a sense of perseverance and never giving up, even in the face of adversity. The song is ultimately about finding hope and joy in difficult circumstances, and making the most of what one has.
Line by Line Meaning
Living in a graveyard
We are living in a depressing place, with no hope for the future
Waiting for the axe to fall
We are constantly in fear of losing everything we have, waiting for the inevitable collapse
Working in a big hole
We are stuck in a job that is unfulfilling and unrewarding
Just to pay the rent man
We are working solely to pay our bills, with no opportunity for advancement
When my work is over
After our jobs are done for the week
Call you on the telephone
We call our loved ones to make plans for the weekend
Paint your pretty face
Getting ready to go out and have a good time
Put on your cardboard dance shoes
Our shoes are not of high quality, but we make the best of what we have
Saturdays in Silesia
We look forward to the weekend in a place called Silesia
Holidays are for heroes
We can only dream of being able to take time off work like those who are more successful than us
City lights - not quite Broadway
Despite living in a city, it is not a glamorous place like New York's Broadway
Bought a quart of vodka
We purchased a bottle of alcohol, our only means of escape from our problems
Didn't even stand in line
The alcohol is readily available to us, which shows how little demand there is for anything in our area
That's the only thing
Alcohol is the only luxury we can afford on a regular basis
That we are never short of
We always have access to it
Got the number 8 bus
We take public transportation to get around since we cannot afford a car
Took it to the navy docks
We go to an area with some semblance of excitement and possibility
Girl of my dreams
There is someone special we want to meet
Lives right around the corner
They live close by, which gives us hope that something good might happen
And if the soldiers put a padlock on the door
We are always at risk of losing everything we have if the authorities shut us down
We'll break it open like we've always done before
We will fight to keep what little we have, no matter what the cost
We don't have much but what we've got we're gonna keep
We take pride in what little we have, and will not let it go easily
Won't you stay close to me?
We rely on each other for support, and need to stick together to survive
Gonna take you where the music is loud
We want to experience something joyful and exciting, like loud music
Where the rhythm never stops
We want to escape from our monotonous lives and immerse ourselves in something lively and engaging
Find the magic if there's any to be found
We hold onto hope that something magical and wonderful exists, even in our bleak circumstances
Contributed by Elijah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@laszloszikra6320
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Madonna - Like A Virgin
Men At Work - Business As Usual
Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night
Peter Gabriel - So
Alphaville - Forever Young
Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
Rational Youth - Cold War Night Life
Eddy Grant - Killer On The Rampage
Kim Wilde - Kim Wilde
@canallumiere3103
Uma das melhores canções de synthpop dos anos 80!
@cchulinn
I heard this song the first time on a C64 sometimes in the 80ies. It was mesmerizing. Only today I listened to the original.
@AnalogX64
Was it on a Demo?
@fede77
@@AnalogX64yes... look for Swinth Commodore 64
@AnalogX64
@fede Thanks will do :)
@AnalogX64
@fede I had that synth sample disk, but never put the together. I think it was one of the first demo disks I ever received. Loved playing all the tracks, all the tracks were great, the closing theme from Magic Shadows was one of my favourite tv shows on TVOntario. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG9AZm1gPDY
@fede77
@@AnalogX64 thanks for the link! I'm from Argentina so obviusly I'm not familiar with that TV show, but looks interesting!
I was 10 when my parents bought me a Commodore 64C (early '87) , and I'm pretty sure several tracks of the Swinth Demo were unfamiliar to me, except maybe Tubular bells (due to The Exorcist movie), and Spiral since I love Vangelis.
Great was my surprise back then when I realized when I discovered that the soundtrack from Clockwork Orange by Wendy Carlos was in fact an adaptation from Music For The Funeral of Queen Mary!
Lots of fond memories from those times!
@fede77
C64 Swinth Demo brought me here... almost 40 years later... first time listening, wow
@darinj.addison8464
I first heard this song on CFNY in Toronto. I saw Rational Youth perform in the Derby Room at the Ascot Inn, across from Woodbine Racetrack.
@DiscoHouseMafia
2023 still listen 🎧 ❤