=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= B E T W E E N T H E L I N E S Volume 3, Issue 7 - June 16, 1991 DDDDD D D D D GGGG D D G DDDDD G GGG G G GGG A Debbie Gibson Discussion Forum =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CONTENTS * ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES * AN INTRO BY BILL CONSOLI - Bill Consoli * SONGWRITING TALENT AND SUCCESS - Constantin A. Caroutas * US OOTB AND EY ALBUM STATS - John Shew * CANADA AIP ALBUM/SINGLE STATS - Henry Lee * DEBWATCH * QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS * CLOSING REMARKS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Please send all submissions to mjung@bloom.ucdavis.edu and use 'SUBMISSION' as the subject. If you do not get a note indicating that we have received your submission within a few days, please remail it. Feel free to send suggestions to that address as well. If you have information that can't wait for release in a BtL issue, please send it to ez003229@castor.ucdavis.edu and a copy to mjung@bloom.ucdavis.edu. We will forward the information to other members if we believe that it would be of interest to others. We reserve the right to edit such information. DISCLAIMER : **************************************************************************** This forum does not necessarily reflect the views of Deborah Ann Gibson, Gibson Management Inc. (GMI), the Atlantic Recording Corporation, or any organizations to which members belong or represent. All songs by Debbie Gibson are copyrighted by Deborah Ann's Music (ASCAP) or Possibilities Publishing (ASCAP). This forum is a non-profit organization. **************************************************************************** BtL's moderators - * Matthew Jung : mjung@bloom.ucdavis.edu or myjung@ucdavis.bitnet * Sandra Chen : ez003229@castor.ucdavis.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= AN INTRO BY BILL CONSOLI Bill Consoli (BCONSOLI@HMCVAX.CLAREMONT.EDU) Mon, 3 Jun 1991 16:24 PDT My name is Bill Consoli, I'm 27, and the Computer Systems Manager for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. I don't remember the first time I heard Debbie Gibson but it was very early in the "Only In My Dreams" phase, and something about this teenager on the carousel pushed the right buttons. It was rather simple to become a bigger fan on discovering the usual things, that she wrote and produced her own stuff and that she was such a natural. I won't bore you with all the details. I've been persecuted my entire life because of the music I like, which is why I do not read any of the rec.whatever groups because you can't express an opinion there without being flamed out of existence. I appreciate this surrounding where I can mention that I like Barry Manilow and know(?) that nobody's going to jump down my throat about it. Liking Deb is a tough job, I've discovered, based on the amounts of "pressure" I get from a lot of people who dislike her. Thank God I'm not a sheep who does what everyone tells me to do. Anyhow, I have a wide range of musical likes after Debbie, spanning most of the last two decades, including The Eagles, Jefferson Starship, ELO, Chicago, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Billy Joel, Wilson Phillips, Meat Loaf, Barry Manilow, Gloria Estefan/MSM, as well as liking one or two songs from about a zillion other groups. Some country, some metal, some rock, some pop, some mellow, some reggae, some soul, some disco, some from just about every walk of music except rap. I have a collection of over 2000 45's. "Electric Youth" is one of only two albums I can name on which I like every song, the other being Randy Newman's "Sail Away" (how's *that* for a combination!). "We Could Be Together" is not only my favorite Gibsong, but it's my all-time favorite song. From the first time I heard it I couldn't imagine how anybody could not like this song. I've been known to drive around and around in little circles in the Rams parking lot blasting WCBT out my windows for the whole organization to hear. Some appreciate it; some don't. I've got my own (small) recording studio set up in my apartment, and have put together some (all modesty aside) killer arrangements of some of Deb's work. It's my hobby, although I have made a few dollars at it. Computer sequencing, MIDI, multitrack recording -- sound like anyone else we know? In my spare time I exercise a lot, I have my music, and I write. Nothing published yet but "that's only a matter of time," my friends tell me. I found BtL only recently through Bill Jackson at UOP who posted to the USENET group misc.wanted about Deb's recording of "Silent Night." Being the Gibson fan that I have been for so long, I'm surprised I didn't know about this little group earlier but I'm glad I do now. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute something to the common good. I've had the great fortune to talk to Debbie twice, and I might go so far as to consider us friends, based on our last meeting. She's everything you'd expect -- caring, funny, smart, and most importantly, REAL. No phony politeness or uppity snootiness here. Maybe that's what I saw so many years ago riding around on the carousel singing about dreams... MEETING DEB {before I begin I want to assure everyone that they should not construe any of the following as "bragging," since I loathe nothing more than a braggart. I'm going to try and discuss events as they happened, and if anything comes off sounding like I'm bragging then I apoligize whole-heartedly right now because I do not intend anything to be taken that way} I first met Debbie Gibson in October of 1989 when she was in Los Angeles to do a show at the Forum on the Electric Youth tour. I went with the Entertainment contingent from the Rams to meet with some of the Gibson gang about the possibility of Deb singing the National Anthem at a future Rams game. My only contact with her during this meeting was to meet her along with everyone else and exchange handshakes while saying our names. She couldn't stay long because of some other L.A. type stuff she needed to do while she was here but the meeting continued without her. It turned out she was booked up through the football season so she never did the national anthem for us but I managed to get tickets for some of Keeth Stewart's L.A. friends to come to a game (didn't really understand what he was at the meeting for but it was neat meeting him too) so that worked out great. I asked if Deb wanted to come to a game and I left her a standing invitation but Keeth said she wasn't much into football. For this meeting I was a lot calmer than I thought I would be, and that I attribute to the environment I work in, where "famous" people wander in and out all the time. I wouldn't have lasted very long around here if I'd screamed "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE JIM EVERETT!!!!" the first time our quarterback walked into my office. Players hate that, and I guess famous people in general don't care for it too much. Recognition is fine, but these people are just people, like you and me. I mention this only as a precursor to the next time I saw Deb. I got to talk to her again in April when she was at Disneyland. Again I used my connections with the Rams (knowing someone on the Board Of Directors of the Rams gets you into a lot of places in Orange County) and was allowed "backstage" before the show. Of course she didn't recognize me at first and she didn't know the name but when I named the company I work for she perked right up and said "Oh yeah, you're that Rams guy." Not many fans in the NFL, I suppose. She then went on to recall our previous (brief) meeting, remembering that I had gotten tickets for Keeth, and she mentioned the letters I had written (I always wrote on Rams stationery). We talked a while about "Anything Is Possible" and then about stuff that goes on here in Anaheim, and it was just like talking to any one of my friends. I truly forgot that she was this music superstar and that I was a nobody; she elevated me to her level and we talked as equals. We found out we've got a lot in common, like music and exercise and the way we approach life. Then she had to go meet some other people or do something else in preparation for the show and it was clear to me that my time was over. As we stood up she grabbed my hand and I said something corny like "I hope someday I'm in a position to help you out somehow, maybe through the Rams or something else, 'cause I really appreciate everything you've done. Thanks for just being you." She threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug and whispered "thank *you*" in my ear. Then she bounced off to her next destination, turning and waving as she went. That was without a doubt the greatest moment of my life. Then Diane came over and we chatted for a little while, which was pretty neat as well. The show was great as other BtLers have already described and therefore I won't go into it again. She was obviously busy after the show so I didn't go bug her any more. I did manage to catch her eye before I walked away and she waved goodbye at me again so I waved back. COMMENTS ABOUT DEB IN CONCERT A lot has been said about the shows themselves so I won't go into that. Suffice to say that Deb sings as well in person as in the studio, and that she puts on a fun show full of a lot of energy. And Adam Tese on Sax doesn't get nearly as much credit as he deserves. This guy is tops. No, the comments, here, except for one, are restricted to the atmosphere and sights to be seen at the concert. I've been to three shows (not counting DisneyLand), and there are many constants to all three. First, the in-the-show comment: The "Shake Your Love" bit has to go. Go ahead and sing the song but this little audience participation thing is a little embarrassing. I had this dream once where Deb was a washed-up 35-year-old has-been singing in a lounge in Las Vegas. He was pointing out over the smoke-filled room and saying "OK, that table in the back, sing 'shake your love'..." Now for the other observations: Most of these fans are *young*. REALLY young. So most of them had to bring Mom or Dad or both in order to get there. I notice a lot of seemingly bored parents at these things. And boy, when the musicians leave the stage for the first time, most of these folks pack up the kids and say "show's over" and beat a path for the exit before the encores begin. I always get a good laugh out of that. Then there's the Mini-Gibbies, the Little Debbies as it were. All the little girls come wearing their skirts and vests and hats, and everywhere you look you can see nothing but miniature Debs. I think it's cute, but I wonder how the parents keep their kids from getting mixed up with other kids. Coming in to/Getting out of the parking lot is much much easier than at, say, a Billy Joel concert or a football game since most of these people are parents there with their kids, and they're going to drive a little more carefully and be a little more courteous. Also there's very very little alcohol consumption at these venues during the concert and so the attitudes and motor coordination are much better afterward. The shows in L.A. usually bring out all the other teen-idol stars, so before the show and between the pitiful opening acts and when Deb comes on, there's these entourages of stars being followed by little fans with pencils and papers. The screaming fan phenom becomes very apparent when all you can hear is little prepubescent voices screaming "LOOK IT'S SCOTT GRIMES" or "OH MY GOD, COREY HAIM." Get a grip, kids. It seems like there were other things going on that I didn't encounter at Joel or Estefan or Carlisle concerts but it's been too long and I don't remember any more. Deb puts on a hell of a show, and if you've got an observer's eye the show can be made just that much more enjoyable by keeping your eye pealed for little differences like these. I get a kick out of them, at least. WHAT DEB MEANS TO ME Debbie Gibson became the prominent entertainment figure in my life shortly before I suffered a severe head injury in a nasty accident. I sang her songs to myself to pass the time during the hours of uncertainty in the emergency room, and during the recovery process she is the one constant I remember, in stereo and on video, through what were rather hazy days. Throughout my rehabilitation, the pain, the learning to walk all over again, hers was the music I demanded when it was time to do those awful exercises, hers was the voice of optimism shining through the weeks of agony. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't like Babe Ruth hitting a home run for the little boy who was dying in the hospital, and then he made this miraculous recovery. I always knew I'd make it, it's just that Debbie's music made the trip back a lot easier. My Aunt Leaota was dying of cancer in 1988 in Arizona. In August she came to live with me in my new apartment in Lawndale, in order to be closer to the Cancer hospital in Los Angeles. The day before she arrived was the day I saw Debbie at the Greek Theater in L.A. Through the fall and winter my Aunt was in and out of the hospital, with numerous relatives coming and going, and there were times that my little one-bedroom apartment had 5-9 people living in it. When I needed to get out and be by myself I would go walking, sometimes up to 12 miles at a time, taking along my walkman and my own pacifier, the tape I made from "Out Of The Blue." My Aunt eventually went home, in January, after the doctors in L.A. declared they had done "all they could" for her. The day after I took her to the airport and said goodbye for what I knew was the last time, was the day "Electric Youth" hit the stores. I moved out of Lawndale shortly thereafter, coming to Anaheim and my new job here with the Rams. When I look back at those Lawndale days, always with fondness, I of course remember my Aunt, and I remember how my stay there was bookended by a trip to a concert in August and a trip to a record store in January. And when I got that phone call in August of 1989, telling me of my Aunt's inevitable end, it was "Out Of The Blue" I went back to one more time to help ease the pain. On a happier note, an offshoot of all the walking I did in Lawndale (got to the point where I was walking to and from work each day -- 6 miles each way) is that now I'm a champion race-walker. I've won a medal, plaque, or trophy in every race I've entered since starting in late 1988. In my mind (maybe not in anyone else's) this is some feat considering the shape I was in after my accident in 1987. In every race I wear some tribute to Deb -- either a T-shirt, button, or picture of some kind somewhere -- to honor the person most responsible (besides myself, of course) for getting me to the finish line ahead of most everyone else. I even carried her along with me in walkman-form for one race last year, and turned in my fastest 5K time ever. Meeting her and talking to her at Disneyland in April was just the culmination of everything I've already said. She knows all about it -- I've written most of the above to her and offered my humble thanks, and I assume more than anything else that this whole story is why she felt the need to hug me before she left. When I talked to Diane Gibson at Disneyland, she noted that I was probably "older than the average fan." This was when she thought I was 30 or so but even when I corrected and said I was 27 she still said that was a little older than "usual." I guess most of the "non-famous" or "non-recording" people Debbie meets or comes in contact with are either her age or a little younger. I'm not one of the "electric youth" who grew up along with her, but I'm not so far removed that I've forgotten when I used to feel the way she does now. And I also have an idea of what's ahead of her in life, so I'm looking forward to the natural growth and progression of her music to match these changes. The posters on the wall are like old friends now. Last year when I was having troubles with my girlfriend I went and sat on the floor in the middle of my room and asked the poster "What should I do, Deb?" In talking out loud there alone I managed to work out some of the problems and was able to deal with the situation. You might think I'm a little nuts to talk to posters on the wall but it really helped. My car is called Deborah Ann, sort of by accident, since for a long time I only played one cassette, over and over again. It was the "Out Of The Blue"/ "Electric Youth" hybrid I made and took with me everywhere. When I'd need to go somewhere in a hurry I'd jump in the car, start it, pop the cassette in the player and say something like "C'mon, Deb, get me there," or "C'mon, Deb, let's go." My friends were in the habit of naming their cars and one was along with me once when I addressed my car in this way, and the name sort of stuck. It was lengthened from Deb to Deborah Ann during a few difficult moments when, like a mother to a bad child, I felt the need to talk sternly to my car and thus addressed her using a first and middle name. And if you didn't think I was nuts talking to the posters on the wall, well now I'm talking to my car and calling it by a first and middle name. I'm in the middle of writing a book which was in part inspired by people I know, one of which is Debbie Gibson. Should I ever find the time to finish this darn thing all my friends tell me it's going to be quite big. We're talking TV Movie of the Week, at the very least. So that's what Deborah Ann Gibson means to me. She's an idol. She's an inspiration. She's my friend. She's someone I care about. She's given me music that I listen to everywhere (the "Out Of The Blue"/"Electric Youth" tape on walks; "Anything Is Possible" at work; and my own "Deb's Greatest Hits" compilation in the car). She indirectly helped me through more than a few rough moments in the last several years. She's far and away the most talented woman in music today, and she's not willing to compromise herself for a buck. She's one in a million. Most importantly, like I've said before, she's REAL. Bill =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= SONGWRITING TALENT AND SUCCESS Constantinos A. Caroutas (cc433336@longs.LANCE.ColoState.Edu) Fri, 14 Jun 91 14:58:46 MST GIBSON'S SONGWRITING TALENT Critics have been attacking Debbie Gibson's undisputable songwriting talent with the empty, but catchy, assertion that she has not experienced what she writes. This assertion must be true, in general. After all, she has a pile of unpublished songs and I can't see how more than a few could be related to real events in her life. Anyway, so what if Debbie Gibson has not experienced what she writes? It takes very little talent to write down one's personal experiences (at least in a straightforward fashion). On the other hand, it takes a lot of talent and creativity to write something right out of the blue. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE NOT A FAILURE In an article in NY Times on 10 March 1991, Karen Schoemer claimed that [record] industry experts called ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE a flop. After all, it's been five months now since Gibson had a song on the charts --just the first release-- and about three since the album slipped out of the charts. But, we have never heard of any experts calling the album a flop, and it is certainly not. The album sold briskly at the beginning and it soon was certified gold --500,000 copies sold. That number, and the speed it was attained, is by no means that of a failure. True, it represents only 17 percent of the sales of ELECTRIC YOUTH, but it also represents a healthy profit for Atlantic Records who did not bother to promote it. Record companies spend between $100,000 and $300,000 to produce an album. Even if they spent $300,000 and made only $1 per copy sold, they got a 67 percent return on their invest- ment. As you can imagine, they must have spent less and made much more per copy. What does Debbie Gibson have? I don't know the particulars of her contract; usually, artists get something like 22 percent on 85 percent of the album copies sold. (Royalties are quite lower on sales through music clubs.) And, that's not all. She also receives songwriting royalties, the usual being $0.055 per song sold (500,000 albums sold = 500,000x16 songs... add to that the songs in the cassingles...). Also, the single "Anything Is Possible" received significant airplay. ASCAP must have collected a bundle for her from radio stations. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE didn't do as well as Gibson's two other albums, but to say it failed is just not correct. And, the album is still active. The record company seems to be testing for another release ("One Step Ahead"), while Gibson finally gets to tour. Why didn't AIP do as well? Here's my simplistic conjecture: It seems to me that of the people that buy a successful debut album, usually only some become loyal fans. Hence, the sophomore jinx: The follow-up doesn't sell as well. But, it doesn't always work this way. Because of various factors, sometimes an artist keeps most (or many) of the nonloyal fans for a while. What factors? How about talent? By the way, I have estimated that Paula Abdul's loyal fans are about 15 percent of the total which is similar to Debbie Gibson's. (Abdul's debut went sevenfold platinum, while her remix one --an item only her loyal fans would get-- went only platinum.) ROYALTIES COLLECTED BY ASCAP, OR HOW TO MAKE AN EXPENSIVE GIFT TO DEBBIE THAT WON'T COST YOU ANYTHING I knew about ASCAP's function for about a year, but this only occurred to me just recently. Do I feel dumb. Anyway, here's the setup: To play a song, a radio station must have permission from the song's writers (the copyright holders) and publishers. To facilitate things, organizations like ASCAP and BMI were established to represent the songwriters and the publishers. They permit the media to publicly perform their members' songs in exchange for royalties that the organizations collect on their members' behalf. These organizations are affiliated with corresponding ones in other countries and so they can virtually reach anywhere on earth and collect royalties. Debbie Gibson is a member of ASCAP as a songwriter and, I'd imagine, as a publisher. (Originally, I thought that Atlantic Records was the publisher, but I think it is Deborah Ann's Music and Possibilities Publishing.) So, you might ask, are these royalties through ASCAP much? Well, more than I thought and certainly no small potatoes. I have in front of me an ASCAP flyer with four examples. Note that the royalty amount per song depends on the station's location and audience size. The performances are tracked thru a sample survey system designed and supervised by independent experts. The licensees are not just the radio stations. They include television stations and networks, colleges and universities, taverns and restaurants, Muzak, private clubs, hotels, shopping centers, etc. Well, here are the examples -- the numbers: All four cases refer to one performance of the song "I've Had The Time Of My Life" (in four different media). KAER-FM (I'm told it is called KYBI now) in Sacramento played the song on 1 January 1988 between noon and 6:00pm (the sampling period). The royalties collected by ASCAP were $120 for the songwriters and about as much for the publishers. WFAA-TV in Dallas/Ft. Worth played the song on 28 February 1988 between 10:20pm to 1:15am (in the program "Entertainment This Week".) Consequent royalties collected: $630 + $630. CBS: $1500 + $1500. VH-1: $45 + $45. All that for just one performance... Well, need I say more? Here, KIMN has an All Request Lunch Hour. They take requests starting at 11:00am on weekdays (enough for one hour), and they play them from 12:00pm till 1:00pm. I found that if I call early enough, I can get a request through. Your local stations must have something similar. So, call and request songs with Debbie Gibson... You will be making her an expensive gift at no cost to you. I called last week and on top I won a lunch for two :-) Note that radio stations are sampled (they are not monitored continuously). So, not all of your requests will generate gifts (royalties) for Debbie. By the way, only to artists who write their own songs --like Ms. Gibson-- can you give such a gift. I wouldn't have it any other way. After all, they are more talented than others. Constantin Caroutas =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= US OOTB AND EY ALBUM STATS John Shew (unify!uunet!naitc!point!akcs.tbbsjohn@csusac.ecs.csus.edu) Sat, 4 May 91 13:13 CDT The latest edition of Joel Whitburn's "The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Albums" has just been released. It contains the following facts about Debbie's first and second albums. "Out Of The Blue" Entered the top 40 on 12/19/87 and remained there for 45 weeks, eventually reaching #7. Four singles from the album made the top 5: Only In My Dreams (#4), Shake Your Love (#4), Out Of The Blue (#3), Foolish Beat (#1). "Electric Youth" Entered the top 40 on 2/18/89 and began a 5 week stay at #1 on 3/11/89. The album stayed in the top 40 for 25 weeks and produced one top 5 song, "Lost In Your Eyes," which was #1 for four weeks. The book also contains the following comment: "Debbie Gibson seemed but one in a wave of teen stars that included Tiffany and Tracie Spencer in the late 80s. However, her constant flow of hits--the bulk self-penned-- has garnered here considerably more respect than has been accorded her contemporaries. Her first top 40 LP, "Out Of The Blue," contained four top 10 singles. -John Shew Fidonet 1:115/769 Internet: akcs.tbbsjohn@point.uucp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CANADA AIP ALBUM/SINGLE STATS Henry Lee (lee@physics.ubc.ca) Mon, 3 Jun 91 20:24 PDT Stats on AIP (both single & album) from RPM, a weekly music summary magazine from Toronto: RPM100 Hit Tracks (AIP) RPM100 Albums (CDs & Cass) Dec 1/90 97 -- Dec 8 92 -- (! 1) Dec 15 72 -- Dec 22 50 -- (Dec 29 - Jan 5 : total freeze/no "totals" carryover) Jan 12/91 43 -- Jan 19 33 -- Jan 26 32 (peak) -- Feb 2 33 -- Feb 9 49 -- (! 2) Feb 16 96 -- Feb 23 -- 91 Mar 2 -- 86 Mar 9 -- 85 (peak) Mar 16 -- 86 Mar 23 -- 95 Mar 30 -- 100 (! 1) : front cover AIP chosen as ALBUM PICK plus (page 7) full page AIP promotion ad (! 2) : Pic/caption of Deborah at 990Hits (Montreal) with Morning Crew; in support of Sun Youth Food Bank Stats on AIP (both single & album) from The Record: AIP single : * THE HITS (Top40) based on national rack & retail accounts : peaked at #17 for weeks of Dec 17 to Jan 7 (includes the usual Christmas freezing of charts) : total 6 weeks on * CHR (Top75) radio play (I suppose almost all CHR stations in Canada would report to The Record) : peaked at #24 for the week of Jan 28 : total 9 weeks on AIP album : * TOP ALBUMS (Top75) : debuts at #58 for the week of Dec 17-24/90 : falls to #73 the following week (Dec 24-31/90) and promptly disappears thereafter I do not think AIP has been certified to any standing yet. Henry Lee =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= DEBWATCH Here is a summary of the known TV appearances that Debbie made between June 3, 1991 - June 15, 1991. - HOME VIDEOS OF THE STARS (6/5/91): This entire segment was about 30 seconds long. Robin Leach obtained a videotape of Deborah performing at Something Different (a children's nightclub). A few seconds were shown of Deb playing at the piano with music director Bob Marks and a few seconds were shown of Deb performing another song. These segments were different from the one shown on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q. Peter Blomgren (@sunic.sunet.se:root@nduvf) Another elusive item: was there ever a Debbie Gibson jigsaw puzzle? It was advertised here (in Sweden, can you believe it?) back in '87 or '88 but it never hit the stores. I haven't seen any ads for it anywhere else since then, so maybe it never existed. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CLOSING REMARKS A 12-inch single of "One Step Ahead" is now available and the latest issue of DGIF has been released. Reviews and impressions of these are welcome for the upcoming July issue (BtL 3.8) to be released on July 1st. Date Location Venue Tickets on Sale ---- -------- ----- --------------- 7/23 Latham NY Starlight on sale 7/24 Lenox MA Berkshire PAC to be announced 7/26-28 Atlantic City NJ Sands on sale 7/30 Wilkes-Barre PA Kirby Center 6/15 7/31 Poughkeepsie NY Civic Center 6/15 8/5-6 Westbury LI/NY Westbury Music Fair on sale 8/07 Valley Forge PA Valley Forge MC on sale 8/09 Toronto (Canada) Kingswood on sale 8/21 Seattle WA Paramount Theater to be announced 8/22 Salem OR L.B.Day Amphitheater to be announced 8/24 San Francisco CA unknown to be announced 8/25 Anaheim CA unknown to be announced 8/26 Phoenix, AZ unknown to be announced