Poolside with Pretty Poison

Summer of 1987. Poolside with Pretty Poison. I suppose the only notable factoid about their only chart-topper, the infectious bubblegum of “Catch Me (I’m Falling),” is that it was the theme to the Jon Cryer vehicle Hiding Out. Previously he was only known as Duckie, type-cast as the lovable, yet fey and therefore un-dateable, outsider of teen filmdom. Here he had the leading role, a dashing lawyer (?), forced to hide out as a popular new student at his local high school. I remember paying money at the Mayflower in Troy to see this garbage – don’t remember much of the movie, but do remember this song.

Pretty Poison was of course a turn-yr-head and miss them fabrication of the ‘80s, but look at how many cultural identifiers you can pick from just this clip. They had it all – wild, freestyle beat, roller-skate synth-line, a keytar, a wicked vocoded guitar solo right there at 2:48 (worth the nostalgic pain, just for that), and a hairspray-shellacked lead singer. A shame they couldn’t have a follow-up with this much plastic.