The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope." They went on to release 12 more albums (including live and greatest hits albums).
The band’s core membership remained largely intact for more than a decade: Fee Waybill (real name John Waldo Waybill) (vocals), Bill "Sputnik" Spooner (guitar, vocals), Roger Steen (guitar), Prairie Prince (real name Charles L. Prince) (drums), Michael Cotten (synthesizer), Vince Welnick (piano), and Rick Anderson (bass). Singer Re Styles (born Shirley Marie MacLeod) (vocals) and ex-Santana percussionist Mingo Lewis were also fixtures for much of the band’s early history.
Kenny Ortega was the choreographer for all of The Tubes’ stage productions, which were known to be very extravagant. They put their creativity and art skills into their live performances, in which songs could be full-fledged production numbers, from a beach movie parody for "Sushi Girl", to leather clad S&M hijinks in "Mondo Bondage", to the game show antics of "What Do You Want From Life?" At their peak, their live act featured dozens of other performers, including tap dancers and acrobats. They played reverance to pop-culture and literature with over-the-top theatrics, which earned the band a reputation for being one of the most entertaining live acts of all time until the 1980s when they had to scale back their shows due to money.
In 1980, the band performed for the movie Xanadu that Kenny Oretga also choreographed. Kenny actually was featured as a member of the band in the movie.
