This was perhaps one of the greatest promotions ever. You just don't see stuff like this anymore.
JANUARY 26th, 1988 – SKYSCRAPER RELEASED
TOWER RECORDS
Billboard Magazine
Delanoy (Bob Delanoy – Tower Records Manager – 1976-1985) recalls the David Lee Roth promotion for his Skyscraper album, which closed down Sunset Boulevard for about four hours Friday during rush hour, and changed the way West Hollywood regarded the store’s promotions.
2.jpg
“Roth had a gigantic display which encompassed the whole roof of the building, and he flew in on a helicopter” Delanoy remembers. He propelled down the side of the building onto a stage. After that, we were required to get permits and licenses.
1.jpg
(DLR – Crazy From the Heat)
Did a trick when we released the album, “Skyscraper.” We got a special consideration from tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. They let us build a twenty-eight foot mountain on top of the store. Same guys who built the Matterhorn for Disney. A major peak with six little platforms to stand on. So we could have little climberettes in bikinis with hard hats and little ice picks and a coil of rope on their shoulders, you know, kind of chipping at the mountain in slow motion. We knew that there were going to be a big syndicated radio confab right next door in Spago. We didn’t tell anybody, but we also hired the marching band from U.S.C. and positioned them about six blocks away, down near Barney’s Beanery. And we said, “Oh, we’re just going to play a little music in the parking lot, there will be a few people, we’ll unveil the mountain that says, “Skyscraper.”
Comes the right moment and – synchronize your watches, gentlemen-the band fires up, starts marching down Sunset Boulevard and traffic backs up, no shit, for three-and-a-half miles. The cops go nuts but they love it, ‘cause this is show biz, this is why we’re all in Hollywood anyway. As the band comes around the corner to the record store, I pop out of the top of the mountain and rappel upside down to one of the platforms, waving and yelling at the people, on the end of the rope. And the band played in the parking lot, pedestrians backed up for miles in every direction. Every nose was pressed against the window at Spago. I’ve never seen so many Oliver Peoples glasses reflected in one place. It was completely illegit, but in these kind of cases, it’s far better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by THE SAINT
