An excellent article on the attempted rebirth of some of the 1980s' top acts, why they're failing on radio and in music sales --but also why they're expected do well in their concert tours.

Some excerpts:

... Performers lost in the pop wilderness for a generation suddenly decided to get in touch with their old, often estranged mates, and get the band back together in the name of art, commerce or both. A raft of once-popular acts, from the danceable R&B group New Edition to the pop idols Duran Duran and George Michael to the more self-serious Tears for Fears to the standard-bearers of teenage angst, the Cure, all shook off the dust and signed new recording contracts in the past 18 months or so, releasing CD's of new music in some cases for the first time in 15 years. In the footsteps of Motley Crue's double album, the stylishly snarling Billy Idol, the dark darlings New Order and the famously burly rapper Heavy D will be releasing new albums as well.

All have returned with attendant fanfare, sweeping across red carpets and past screaming fans at radio station visits and showcase concerts.

Yet despite the grass-roots enthusiasm and VH1 dogma - not to mention millions of dollars in marketing - the 80's are not selling. People may be donning the once-again fashionable styles of the era (even leg warmers and Flashdance tops) and dancing to the bands of their youth, but they are not going to the store to buy the albums. For the industry that bet on the revival, it's mourning in America. ...

According to Ann Fishman, president of Generational Targeted Marketing, the problem's not with the music, it's with the memories. The fans from Generation X, she says, "are not particularly grounded in their youth."

"Would you be grounded in something where you had divorced parents, poor schooling?" she asks. "We presume nostalgia is a great selling tool. It is to the baby boomers. It's not to Gen X. The history of their youth has forced them to grow up more quickly. Nostalgia is not necessarily something that's going to move them ahead. They enjoy the music of their youth, but it's not a need." ...

The stars of the 80's also now have middle-aged bodies, and hauling them around the country on long tours isn't as easy as it once might have been. Mick Mars, the guitarist for Motley Crue, has undergone hip replacement surgery. Mr. Smith has two young children.

Still, you won't hear any of them complaining too loudly. Pop music has always been a young person's game, and for those who get a rare second turn in the spotlight, even tepid album sales and a backward-looking concert tour are a rush. But for many fans watching the marketing machinery creak into gear, the industry's attempt to catch up to what was once a just a kitschy, spontaneous goof feels all too familiar.