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| photo: Louis Rodiger/courtesy Mint Artist Management |
When Terri Nunn reunited with John Crawford and David Diamond from the classic lineup of Berlin a few years ago, she discovered that collaboration was easier the second time around.
“I think people really do get better. It’s so much more enjoyable to work” together now, Nunn affirmed, during a phone interview.
“We don’t have the same fears and egos, a need to prove ourselves and fight for everything. A lot of that energy is good when you’re 20, but it’s also really stressful. [For me], getting older is cool. I’m relaxed and still excited about the music.”
Last summer, Berlin released “Transcendance,” the three musicians’ first studio album together in 35 years. The positive reception has surpassed expectations.
Before our chat, the singer was preparing for multiple Southern California concerts by conferring with Devo’s Jerry Casale about a new intro video for the sextet.
Founding bassist/vocalist/songwriter Crawford started Berlin in Orange County during the late 1970s, having been drawn to Kraftwerk and Ultravox. Nunn, an actress who appeared in television shows (“Barnaby Jones,” “Lou Grant,” “Trapper John M.D,” “T.J. Hooker”) and film (“Thank God It’s Friday”), joined the new wave band, briefly left and returned for its first single release “The Metro” in ‘81.
The group went onto achieve a platinum and gold-selling album thanks to other memorable era hits like “No More Words,” “Sex (I’m a),” “Masquerade” and “Take My Breath Away.” The latter, a pop chart-topping love theme from “Top Gun,” won an Oscar and Golden Globe for producer/composer Giorgio Moroder. Then Berlin broke up in 1987 at the height of success.
Nunn went solo and rejiggered Berlin with new members by the late ‘90s. A catalyst for the core trio’s reintroduction was VH1 reality series “Bands Reunited” in 2004. The original members went their separate ways afterward, but some casually stayed in touch. A little over a decade later, Crawford called Nunn to vent about his divorce and Diamond’s long relationship ended. Suddenly, the time seemed right for a new beginning.
Assimilating into the existing Berlin lineup was a gradual process.
“At first, David started playing with us for fun,” Nunn said. “John came to a few shows and loved it,” Nunn explained. “Then we coaxed him into coming in. Both [guys] were out of music for a long time.”
Songwriting commenced for about a year before they teamed with Aussie producers Andy and Thom Mak, who co-wrote half the material on the alluring “Transcendance.”
The brothers “really inspired John and me” by bringing different kinds of arrangements and “added so much” that the songs “really came alive.”
A sense of tranquility informs several tunes, including the ethereal title track and a pair dedicated to Nunn’s husband and daughter respectively. Other selections verge upon Erasure and Pet Shop Boys musical territory.
“People love it when I do ballads and a lot of the subject matter lent itself” to that type of sound.
Slinky dance-pop standout “Show Me Tonight” revolves around body issues, “always being inundated with ads and pictures and everybody telling me that I’m not good enough. I’ve fought it and it’s hard,” Nunn admitted. “I had this fantasy about a sleazy commercial announcer telling you all this BS” in a song. “Then I imagined getting madder and angrier as he kept talking.”
So Nunn asked SiriusXM 1st Wave DJ Richard Blade, a longtime friend and Berlin supporter during his time at KROQ and beyond, to fill the role.
“She sent me over the rough track and I thought ‘this is going to be a great song,’” said Blade, in a separate interview. “I’m sort of playing against type...It was fun. You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself. To be part of one of her best albums ever is an honor and a thrill. I get emails almost every day” asking whether I am really the one on the song.
The latest album also includes an remixed version of “Sex (I’m a),” now with a fresh EDM-styled vibe. Nunn gave Blade an advance copy to get his opinion (the pair dated awhile when Berlin was on the rise; the explicit tune is based on their relationship). The DJ urged her to get a final version down that he could play on the radio.
“It’s so good and relevant to today’s music,” Blade enthused, describing the twist Berlin put on it as “unique and fresh.” Particularly when the band plays it live, “it really is a show stopper.”
Berlin performs at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at The Canyon in Santa Clarita; 7 p.m. Feb. 29 at The Canyon in Agoura Hills; 7 p.m. March 20 at Ramona Mainstage in Ramona; 8 p.m. March 21 at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano; noon May 2, Cruel World Festival, The Grounds at Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson; 8 p.m. Aug. 28-29, with the B-52's at the Hollywood Bowl.
My article originally appeared in the OC Register, Riverside Press Enterprise and other SCNG (SoCal News Group) newspapers in Southern California.
For more info on Berlin, go to: berlinpage.com or Berlin - Official Band on Facebook.
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