Heartbeat City

The Cars: Ric Ocasek (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Ben Orr (vocals, bass); Elliot Easton (guitar, background vocals); Greg Hawkes (keyboards, background vocals); David Robinson (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Battery Studios, London, England.
Personnel: Elliot Easton, Ric Ocasek (vocals, guitar); Greg Hawkes (vocals, keyboards, programming); Ben Orr (vocals); David Robinson (drums, programming); Andy Topeka (programming).
Recording information: Battery Studios, London, England.
Directors: Bill Gerber; Elliot Roberts.
Photographers: George Holz; Doris Kloster.
Coming off the 1981 hit album and single SHAKE IT UP, the Cars took the next few years off to pursue other areas of interest (Ric Ocasek released his '82 solo debut, BEATITUDE) and record it's follow-up. Buoyed by the high-gloss production sheen of Robert John "Mutt" Lange, HEARTBEAT CITY yielded such hit singles/videos as the the moody, transcendent "Drive," the poppy, almost ELO-like "Magic," and "You Might Think," which hews closest to the band's previous work. Though the band peaked artistically in 1980 with PANORAMA, this was the Cars' commercial pinnacle. Both "You Might Think" and "Magic" were anthems for the summer of 1984, while "Hello Again" showed that the band could still be quirky and achieve chart success.