I own Huey Lewis albums because of the video for ‘I Want a New Drug’

[Huey Lewis and the News - Sports]

I posted on Facebook that I owned some Huey Lewis and the News albums, and the reaction from my friends was surprise. How did a discriminating listener such as myself end up with perhaps some of the most milquetoast music from 1980s? (Those exact words weren’t used.)

I was honest — these purchases were purely hormone-driven. Huey Lewis was a sex symbol at the height of the News’ fame, and I wasn’t immune to his corn-fed good looks.

But what cinched the matter for me was the video for “I Want a New Drug.” It opens with Huey wearing nothing but his skivvies.

[Huey Lewis in his underwear]

 

No, he doesn’t have the physique of similarly clad guys on Grindr or Scruff. In fact, far from it.

[Huey Lewis lacks a shirt]

But a 12-year-old starting to waken to his attractions wouldn’t make so fine a distinction. He was a barely-dressed handsome man. That was enough.

My household had no cable television, so the fact I managed to see this video at all without the aid of MTV was pretty remarkable. A prime-time afternoon video show aired the clip, which I managed to capture on Betamax. (Yeah, Betamax.)

It was an incredibly rare occurrence for me to be alone in a house where five other people lived, so I couldn’t really give the video the repeat viewings I had wished.

Instead, I had to content myself with gazing at pictures that only hinted as his physique.

[Huey Lewis and the News - If This Is It]

And I’ve done far worse than Huey Lewis where hormone-driven purchases are concerned. Nick Lachey? 98 Degrees? Check and check.

It won’t be the last time either. One of my favorite recent discoveries is Royal Wood, whose EP I downloaded based entirely on the cover:

[Royal Wood - The Lost and Found]

Thankfully, Woods has turned out to be a very good singer-songwriter.

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