Song:Remote Control
Album:Rock 'N' Roll Enforcers
There were two bands in the 80s known as The Silencers. The better known of those bands was from Scotland and were active in the late 80s. This is the other band. They were from Pittsburgh. Their claim to fame was that their video was played on MTV's first day of operation. Unfortunately they only recorded two albums and split up. The leader of The Silencers was Pittsburgh music veteran Frank Czuri. As a teen, he was in the doo wop The Igniters who recorded for Atlantic in 1959. Later on he was in The Jaggerz who scored a top ten hit with The Rapper in 1969. Then he was in Diamond Reo in the mid 70s. In 1979, Czuri produced demos for the CBS label Precision Records. He got a record deal and Czuri formed The Enforcers with Diamond Reo guitarist Warren King, Dennis Takos on keyboards, Mike Pella on bass and drummer Ron "Byrd" Foster from Roy Buchanan's band. King was a big Joe Jackson fan and he wanted to form a new wave band. Their 1981 debut album Rock 'N' Roll Enforcers was produced by veteran recording engineer Bob Clearmountain. The video is interesting because it's a medley of The Peter Gunn Theme, Remote Control and Illegal. Why was a medley done? Music videos were new at the time and I guess they didn't know any better. CBS wanted a reedited video that would be easier to promote. But MTV played it anyway when they began broadcasting on Aug. 1, 1981. Supposedly it was the 39th video played on that day. They had enough success that The Silencers recorded the album Going Romantic in 1982. King left The Silencers and then Czuri ended the band in 1984. Rock 'N' Roll Enforcers is available as a digital download. Czuri formed the doo wop group Pure Gold in 1985. He has toured the nostalgia circuit for years. He is a member of the current version of the legendary doo wop group The Skyliners. King worked with Diamond Reo bandmate Norman Nardini. He died in 2010. Foster was in The Iron City Houserockers. He died in 2011. Here's the video for The Peter Gunn Theme, Remote Control and Illegal by The Silencers.
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