Steve Perry - Circus January 1983

The meteoric rise and fall of rock & rollers is often as unpredictable as the arrival of autumn or the end of spring. But the 10 artists featured here are those our staff believes will hold the best hope of sustained success in 1983. A consensus of crystal-ball predictions is never easy to reach; each musician included needed some track record of album sales or reader reaction. The removable calendar that we've combined with the test and special photos is designed to aid your own peerings into the rock & roll future of '83.

Selling five million copies of Escape didn't satisfy Journey, the five-man group that also played 110 concerts in 50 cities last year. In the summer, the Columbia Records outfit regrouped in Berkeley, California to mastermind a three-pronged campaign aimed at present and future fans. The follow-up to escape is earmarked for release no later than April '83 and will contain material chosen from songs submitted by Neal Schon, Steve Perry, "J" Cain and Steve Smith. "There's a spark we're trying to capture on vinyl," says

co-producer Kevin Elson, "that exists in the live show." A string of those shows takes the band to Japan in February, dates that will be followed by a longer U.S. spin.
Journey's third source of revenue will be a pop-rock first: a home video game that takes its name from the Escape LP. Computer animation leads the simulated Journey-men past such "hazards" as groupies, photographers and concert promoters. The goal of the animated musicians is to reach the scarab-shaped escape vehicle before time and cash run out. Journey will promote the game throughout the concert tour.

This issue featured a double-page pin up and a double-page advertisement for the Escape computer game. Click on the thumbnails to see larger versions.