LUNCH RECORDS and STREAMS

The story behind the release of  Rick Berlin: THE MOVIE

 

On a warm April evening in 2023, legendary Boston musician, author, singer-songwriter Rick Berlin produced a career spanning evening of music at the Brighton Music Hall featuring musicians playing songs stemming from his nearly 50-year output.

 

This ambitious night of music (see it all here) featured first-time reunions from his late 70s band Orchestra Luna and his early 1980’s band Berlin Airlift, interspersed with his current band of the past 14 years, the Nickel and Dime band. What was surprisingly missing from the evening’s repertoire were any songs from Rick Berlin’s late 80’s band, the unabashedly named, Rick Berlin: The Movie - which were a major club headliner and spawned the 1987 local Boston radio hit, "Rock n' Roll Romance."

 

I’ve known of Rick Berlin's aura and his vast music career eve since I was a teenager. I was fortunate enough to take drum lessons from his superb drummer Joe Pet (Luna/Berlin Airlift) while in high school and was lucky enough to see him perform - with Berlin Airlift and Rick Berlin: The Movie - which had a profound impact on me to get started playing in bands.

 

So the following day, I ventured to Rick’s website and sent him a complimentary email simply glowing and congratulating him on the past evening’s performances. I also delicately questioned why Rick Berlin: The Movie’s catalog was omitted. After several text’s back and forth and some additional questions, I came to realize that the music from Rick Berlin” The Movie – aside for radio airplay - was never properly released and the current recordings were of low quality. So I made it my passion project to get this re-mastered and released.

 

A few dinners and several emails later I got the go ahead from Rick to embarked on my ambitious restoration project to bring Rick Berlin: The Movie songs out into the open and on to digital platforms for all to enjoy.

 

The first step was to find all these lost recordings, tapes, cassettes, photos, interviews, press clippings and assess and assemble was what salvageable and was not. Rick gave me all the tapes he had and I enlisted the great audio mastermind, producer/musician Brian Charles - who worked with Rick's Nickel and Dime band - to painstakingly restore the audio from various sources to today’s standards. This was an arduous process that resurrected more than an album's worth of theatrical new wave rock anthems that will take the listener back to what is was like to be in the Boston rock clubs I the late 80s.

 

The fruits of this project are four standout singles and the full-length album cinematically titled “Celluloid Heroes 1985-1989” starting with "Rock 'n Roll Romance" to be released on April 19 – Rick’s 79th birthday.

 

This is a personal birthday present to a Boston legend that inspired me to be the best that I can be so many years ago.

 

Thank you Rick.

 

-Paul Buckley

Lunch Records Founder