Rick Springfield at the Rust Belt -- February 26.
Sunday, February 26, 7 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
Currently touring in support of his latest album The Red Locusts, a tribute to the Beatles and power-pop bands of the 1980s and 1990s, music and daytime-drama icon Rick Springfield takes the stage at East Moline venue The Rust Belt on February 26, the chart-topping rock singer/songwriter a longtime fan favorite for hits including "Affair of the Heart," "Love Somebody," and the Grammy Award-winning "Jessie's Girl."
Springfield was born Richard Springthorpe in Sydney, Australia in 1949, and with his father a military man who frequently shuffled the family between their home continent and England, the artist has said that he sought escape from the difficulty of making friends in music. He formed a band in high school and eventually joined the ’50s revival group Rock House, moving on to the teeny-bopper ensemble Zoot in 1968, which was one of the most popular groups in Australia until the musicians' disbandment in 1971. Springfield went solo after the breakup and garnered his first United States success the following year with a re-recording of his Australian hit “Speak to the Sky," which went on to reach number 14 on the Billboard charts. Years later, after securing a recording contract with RCA on the strength of his demos, Springfield was also signed to play the young, eligible Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital in 1981. Springfield’s popularity consequently skyrocketed, setting the stage for the release of his album Working Class Dog later that year. Powered by the classic single “Jessie’s Girl,” which eventually hit the top of the charts and scored its singer a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, he platinum-selling Working Class Dog.
Released in 1982, its followup Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet spawned the top-10 smash “Don’t Talk to Strangers," while 1983’s Living in Oz included its own top-10 hit in “Affair of the Heart." Springfield made the leap to the big screen in 1984 with Hard to Hold, which featured the iconic '80s smash “Love Somebody," and to date, the artist's discography discography consists of 22 studio albums, 12 compilation albums, five live albums, 34 singles, and 11 music videos. In 1995, Springfield also formed the side-project Sahara Snow with Tim Pierce on guitar and Bob Marlette on keyboards and percussion, which released a self-titled studio album in 1997. Beyond his musical accomplishments, though, Springfield has also been a prolific field and television actor. He appeared on the series High Tide from 1994 to 1997, took on a two-fer of 2015 supporting roles in Ricki & the Flash (opposite Meryl Streep) and True Detective, and has been seen on TV's Californication, Supernatural, and American Horror Story. In 2010, Springfield also published his autobiography Late, Late at Night: A Memoir, a New York Times Bestseller that Rolling Stone cited as one of "The 25 Great Rock Memoirs of All Time."
Rick Springfield headlines his East Moline engagement on February 26, admission to the 7 p.m. concert event starts at $39.75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
