Still Totally Obsessed: A conversation with Animotion’s Bill Wadhams ahead of taking on Uptown

Photo Courtesy of Bill Wadhams

Forty years ago this week, Animotion’s synth-laced anthem “Obsession” was entrenched in the Billboard Top 40 while its surreal, cinematic music video was in constant rotation on MTV. With its hyper-stylized visuals and addictive hook, “Obsession” didn’t just become a Top 10 hit—It helped define the visual and sonic landscape of 1980s pop.

We chatted up co-lead singer Bill Wadhams recently to dish on all things ’80s and his upcoming visit to KC.

Wadhams and Animotion are currently back on the road for the I Love the 80s tour alongside fellow New Wave icons A Flock of Seagulls and Bow Wow Wow, landing at Kansas City’s Uptown Theater on Friday, June 13. For Wadhams, the tour doubles as a sort of family reunion.

“When we reformed in 2001, our original drummer was not available, so we pulled in a local guy named Kevin Rankin,” Wadhams explains from his home in Portland. “And Kevin—he was with us for 15 years—migrated over to Flock. And we eventually coaxed Jim Blair back, our original drummer. He’s now touring with us, and he’s amazing.”

With a voice that carries both warmth and gravitas, Wadhams speaks candidly about the pressures of nostalgia, the behind-the-scenes realities of 1980s fame, and why, even now, reinvention is still a driving force behind his art.

Photo Courtesy of Bill Wadhams

The Pitch: Out of the gate, I want to ask: What are you listening to this morning? Like, are there any earworms that I need to know about?

Bill Wadhams: First of all, the song “Kansas City” is in my mind. I did grow up playing that—and I hear you do have some crazy little women out there! Also, I went to have my car’s air quality done, and, I don’t even know what it was, but somebody was playing a very infectious rap song in some big, huge car behind me. But other than that, let’s see. I have a son named Charlie Wadhams, and he’s a singer-songwriter. He’s put out a number of albums. He lives down in Los Angeles, and he’s got a song called “Free Up Your Schedule.”

What genre of music is it?

He started out—he was living in the Silver Lake area, Echo Park—around the time that Beck was coming up. And one of his favorite bands was Sonic Youth. So, he started out kind of punky-indie. One of his favorite composers is Chet Baker. And his singing and songwriting are very sweet. He landed in this place where he really sings about his life and his loves. So that’s kind of where he’s at.

Photo by Paul Michael Photography

What is this musical memoir of yours I see? It’s called Up in the Air. Tell me about it.

There is a singer-songwriter and actor named Benjamin Scheuer who wrote a show called The Lion. He was playing and singing around New York City, and someone said to him, “I think your songs and your story should be a show.”

The essence of his story is two things: one, his relationship with his father, which was difficult, and two, at the age of about 30, he got cancer. And he’s literally singing about trying to survive. It was one man, six guitars—and he’s a brilliant, brilliant guitar player and singer. It just blew my mind.

The essence of my story is: My little brother Tad and I saw The Beatles on February 9, 1964, and we decided, This is what we want to do. He went into the hospital at the age of nine. He had a really rough go.

In order to cheer him up, my father shot out a letter to Paul McCartney—care of The Beatles, Liverpool, England—saying, ‘Please write to my son.’ No inside track.

And Tad got a two-page handwritten letter from McCartney. I turned that into a song. Little brother Tad became a bass player and toured the world with Sheryl Crow, co-writing a song called “Love Is a Good Thing.”

We had a parallel track—Sometimes we were in bands together, and then an opportunity would come up for me or for him. So, it’s about our intertwining path through music, and then, for both of us, how the music business became difficult. So, it’s not just, ‘Hey, I wanted to be a rock star, and I had my minute of stardom.’  It’s about the ups and downs of life, and how so many people have their big moment—and then they’ve got to figure out, how do I follow that up with my next moment? 

Photo by Paul Michael Photography

A couple years ago, I interviewed songwriter Holly Knight. She came out with a book—I think it was called I Am The Warrior. Anyway, we talked about all of her hit songs. She told me she always had these high hopes for “Obsession.” Did you ever hear her demo or her version of it?

Absolutely. That’s the first thing I heard. We were working on the first Animotion album. I was the only writer in the band, so it was all my songs. The producer said, ‘I’ve got this song from a publisher. I think it could be a hit for you guys. I’m going to play it for you over the phone.’

And I heard Michael Des Barres speaking: ‘You are … an obsession. I … cannot … sleep.’ And I said to someone in the room, ‘He tells me this is going to be a hit, and I’m not even singing. I’m speaking the part!’ So, we got in the studio, and I begged them to let me sing. And the record—if you listen—you’ll hear me speaking and singing.

Holly didn’t like our horns at first. She wasn’t fond of our take on it. After a while though, she said she was okay with it because it was such a big hit.

Speaking of, it was literally 40 years ago this week that you guys were in the Top 40. If you were a betting man—just ballpark, spitball—how many times do you think you have sung “Obsession”?

On stage? Probably 100. The year it came out, we toured with Howard Jones. We might have done 40 shows. And then, the next year, we launched into our breakup mode. 15 years went by and then we reunited.

Yes, welcome back!

Since then, I think we’ve averaged maybe 15 shows a year, soooo…

I interviewed HoJo last year. He was great!

I have one little story about Howard. We were on tour with him and had a whole day off before the show. I came to his dressing room and I said, ‘Hey, we’re all going to go out and have some fun. You want to go?’ And he was like, ‘Sorry, I’m writing.’

He was writing his next album, and I’ve always thought, Shit, that’s what I should have been doing. I spent so much time just enjoying myself, and then I was like, ‘Oh, shit. We gotta write the next album!’

Can we please talk about “Obsession” and that iconic video? What do you remember about that shoot? I mean, every shot in that video is ingrained in my medulla oblongata.

First of all, I did not see that this was going to be a big deal. I just didn’t. So, the record company says, ‘You’re going to do a video.’ And when you do a video, directors, creators will propose to you, ‘Here’s what we think it’s going to be.’

The record company says, ‘We’ve got all these famous directors coming at you.’ And I said, ‘Well, look, Astrid and I are not a couple. I’m engaged to be married.’ I was married soon after the song became a hit. And I said, ‘I don’t want it to look like I’m in love with her.’ Because some of the treatments had been like, ‘You walk into a bar, you see Astrid.’ And I’m like, ‘No!’

So, then a director named Amos Poe—shout out to Amos—wrote and directed a film called Alphabet City. I think he worked with Cyndi Lauper. He said, ‘Okay, we’ll make it like a Fellini movie with a lot of different characters, a lot of wild characters.’ So, we went down to Hollywood Costume Supply. I came out as Mark Anthony, and she’s Cleopatra. And it’s just wacky. If you look at it again, there’s a moment where she and I are kind of dancing in front of a fountain and I’m just kind of looking around. I’m thinking, Look at this! It’s, like, midnight in Hollywood, and we’re dancing to this song.

I don’t know if you know this, but when it was released, it was a hit in Los Angeles, but nowhere else. In January 1985, a radio station—KISS FM—had an unknown battle of the bands, and “Obsession” won five nights in a row. So, they added it to their playlist, and that was the biggest pop station in LA. And other stations took note.

But for a while there, it wasn’t even on MTV. It was just being played on a local station. Everything was local. And I thought, Well, I don’t know what’s next. And then it caught fire.

No offense to Astrid, but if you could duet with another performer, who would it be? 

Annie Lennox. Oh God, I love Annie Lennox. I met Annie Lennox one time at the Montreal Rock Festival in Switzerland in 1986. We were backstage, and she was quietly sitting by herself. I couldn’t help it—I just kind of went over to her and very, very gently struck up a conversation. And she just took me into her space and engaged with me in the most humble and compassionate way that still gives me chills.

You guys are on tour this time around with Bow Wow Wow and Flock of Seagulls. So, have you found your New Wave people again?

We’ve shared the stage with both of these groups many times over the last 20 years. In recent years, we started out with a tour where there were only three or four bands, and we would all play 40 minutes, something like that. As years passed, more bands, more bands, more bands—and the shorter sets. So, it’s going to be fun to go back out with just a few bands, people that we know.

Since your KC concert got canceled last year, I want to know if you’ve been here? What do you know about Kansas City?

I have not. I’ve heard people say that it’s a sweet city, kind of like Portland. I don’t know if it’s a similar size, but I know that it’s got some great culture and great food that I’m looking forward to. I’m a ramen hound. Oh, and pho. Ramen and pho!

Can we go back into the wayback machine for a minute and talk about being on American Bandstand? What was that like?

The first time that we did American Bandstand, they had us go out onto the stage. We’re waiting. The audience has come in. We’re on the stage getting ready to do our bit. Dick Clark walks in, and he walks right up to me and says, ‘Hi, Bill. Welcome!’  I mean, he knew my name, my first name. It just blew my mind. I just couldn’t. It was really hard to grasp that I’m actually on a hit show with Dick, and he was just so sweet to me and Astrid. It was, it was amazing.

I Love The 80s, with Animotion, Bow Wow Wow, and Flock of Seagulls takes over Uptown Theater on Friday, June 13 with the show starting at 8:00 p.m.

Interview gently edited for content and clarity.