The B-52s just might be America’s greatest-ever party band.
With “Rock Lobster”, a song twice recorded and twice released, first independently, then through Warner Music, and which inspired John Lennon to end a five-year break from music, the alternative rock outfit landed one for the ages.
Written by frontman Fred Schneider and late guitarist Ricky Wilson, both hailing from Athens, Georgia, “Rock Lobster” had it all: an all-time great guitar riff, cowbell, and it inspired audience participation when it played at every house party, everywhere, throughout the ‘80s.
Then, a decade later, B-52s dropped more pop explosives with “Love Shack” and the excellent “Roam.”
These B-52s carpet bombed us with hits.
“People say we’re camp, but we know we’re doing,” Schneider tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “Camp means you’re ridiculous in a way you don’t realise and you act serious about it. We’re serious about what we do and we know what we do.”
Australia and the B-52s have always clicked. Back in the late ‘70s, when “Rock Lobster” dropped for a second time as a track on their debut, self-titled album, Australia came to the party. “We’d been playing real dumpy clubs in America and then we come to Australia and it’s like, ‘oh my God.’ We’re playing these huge venues and rolling out the red carpet. We were still wearing thrift store clothes,” he says with a laugh. “Oh yeah, we loved Australia. I mean, that was a memorable trip.”
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B–52s last visited these parts in 2017 for a 40th anniversary tour.
Although the pop-rock band is done with full-scale live jaunts (“touring just wears you out”), the party isn’t over. “Love Shack” gets a dubby overhaul, thanks to Kingston Sound System.
Schneider and Kate Pierson lend their familiar vocals to the reggae-hued version, which is housed on Classic Hits In A Reggae Groove, a project that reimagines a range of massive international hits, including Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love”, Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass”, and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”.
Recounting the B-52’s ubiquitous comeback smash, Schneider says “luck” played its part early on.
“The record company thought ‘Love Shack’ was too weird, and so they didn’t really promote it at first. But then it went to No. 1 on all the college and alternative stations in the country, and then top 40 radio said, ‘uh-oh, we missed out on this,’ and got behind it. Then the record company really promoted it and the video really did a lot for it.”
Released in 1989, and housed on the group’s fifth studio album Cosmic Thing, “Love Shack” went all the way to No. 1 on the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and peaked at No. 2 on the Official UK Chart and No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100. It’s triple-platinum certified by the RIAA. At the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, the band won Best Group Video and Best Art Direction for “Love Shack”.
Ten years after their smash, the B-52s were once again the life of the party. Follow-up “Roam” also peaked at No. 3 in the US and cracked the top 10 around the world.
The update of “Love Shack” was something of a bolt out of the blue. The project was put on the table some years ago by management, borrowing the vocal stems from the masters. “I’d totally forgotten about it. I think everyone in the band forgot about it,” says Schneider. “Then a friend said, ‘Oh, I heard the reggae version of your song ‘Love Shack’. I checked it out and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought, ‘wow, this is great.’ I mean, it’s the perfect summer song.”
Conversation moves to Wilson, who passed away 40th years ago this October, at the age of just 32.
With his classic, bass-heavy riff on “Rock Lobster”, Wilson “said he came up with the stupidest guitar lick,” remembers Schneider. “We didn’t think so.” The group we went to jam on it. Magic happened. “Ricky was admired by so many other guitarists in other bands and we influenced people, who saw us on Saturday Night Live. He was totally original. New York musicians wanted him to work on their albums. But he also was very shy. He left us too young. I mean, it just threw us through a loop.”
Fast forward to 2025, and B-52s are very much in demand. They’re booked for a run of North American live dates in September through November.
Arriving June 20th in celebration of Pride Month, Warner Music released eight newly-remastered B-52s albums, spanning 1979 to 1992 — an era that saw the band sell over 20 million records worldwide.
Classic Hits In a Reggae Groove is due out August 20th.
