"Lunatic Fringe" - Red Rider

I remember hearing Lunatic Fringe on one of the local radio stations in the Sacramento area sometime in the early autumn of 1981. That keyboard intro was haunting. The steel guitar solo was inspired enough by some of David Gilmour's work that this song could almost be mistaken for a Pink Floyd outtake. I say almost because Tom Cochrane has a very distinct vocal style. I probably gravitated toward this song as a then-15-year-old because of the lyrics, which had a noticeable anti-fascist/anti-Nazi flavor. As someone who had become aware that where I lived at the time had a noticeable neo-Nazi problem, those lyrics hit hard. The lyrics are just as relevant over four decades later. As it turns out, Tom Cochrane wrote this song out of concern about a rise in neo-Nazi activity that he was noticing in the late 1970s. Musically, it holds up nicely and lyrically it's as timely as ever. Here's the promo video:


I'm also going to include an interview he sat for a few years ago where he discusses this song. Apparently he was being pressured by his band's record company to use lyrics that were less heavy and more pop. News of John Lennon's assassination, a recording artist who, as Cochrane puts it, "wore his heart on his sleeve" was sufficient for Cochrane and the band to double down and keep the lyrics as is. That turned out to be a good choice. This song is a classic that will probably still be played for years to come. Here's the interview:

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