Based on the success of debut single “Drivin’” — which sold 10,000 copies for the fledgling 415 Records — Pearl Harbor & the Explosions were quickly signed by Warner Bros. Records. The band name “The Explosions” and Pearl’s name switch from Gates to “Harbor” were done in the spirit of the punk rock times during which they were working. However, Gates now admits that the names caused trouble, especially when it came to conservative-leaning radio stations. “Yes, we were met with resistance,," Gates told Insounder.com last year. “But to be honest, I didn’t really care because I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. That’s how I’ve always been and I’m still that way… But it’s true that it wasn’t a very smart move to call the band Pearl Harbor & the Explosions because Americans did not like it.”
The group’s self-titled debut album was an early production by David Kahne, who went on to work with the Bangles, Tony Bennett, and Paul McCartney, among many others. For historical perspective, Pearl Harbor & the Explosions was released at the start of January 1980, during the same month that the world learned the name Chrissie Hynde with the arrival of The Pretenders’ debut album. In addition to “Drivin’,” Pearl Harbor & the Explosions’ debut featured eight tracks that presented a unique blend of pop, R&B, rockabilly, jazz, and new wave energy. The jangly pop-rocker “You Got It (Release It)” was another spirited track that won favor at radio.
After a year on the road, Gates was feeling disenchanted by the direction of the band, with Bilt and the Stench Brothers wanting to go in a more “jazz fusion” direction. Much to the displeasure of Warner Bros., she decided to take a walk. “I wanted to be in a rock & roll band and they didn’t,” summed up Gates. The singer soon got her wish as she moved to London, hooked up with members of the Clash and Ian Dury’s Blockheads, and recorded the fervent rockabilly platter, Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too (1980). The album was given a new lease on life in 2023 when it was also released in an expanded edition by Liberation Hall.
Gates, who is now in remission after a cancer diagnosis, enjoyed last year’s promotion for Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too, and is eager to share her memories of Pearl Harbor & the Explosions. Liberation Hall will be releasing the same tracklist of the album that was reissued in 2019 by Blixa Sounds — including live covers of Ron Wood’s “I Can Feel the Fire,” Nick Lowe’s “Let’s Eat,” and Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones’ “Black Slacks” — but is now out of print. The CD, vinyl LP and download will all feature rare photography from Pearl’s archive alongside a liner notes essay by author and former San Francisco Chronicle music columnist Joel Selvin. Longtime fans of the band might be surprised by the album cover. Liberation Hall’s new package will feature the original UK album jacket, which is a colorful photo of the band, rather than Warners’ stateside 1980 design of an orange logo against a black background.
PEARL HARBOR & THE EXPLOSIONS – Pearl Harbor & The Explosions (LP: LIB-2126; CD/DL: LIB-2125)
TRACKLIST: 1. Drivin’ | 2. You Got It (Release It) | 3. Don’t Come Back | 4. Keep Going | 5. Shut Up and Dance | 6. The Big One | 7. So Much for Love | 8. Get a Grip on Yourself | 9. Up and Over | 10. Busy Little B Side | 11. Drivin’ (415 Single Version) * | 12. Release It (415 Single Version) * | 13. Let’s Eat (Nick Lowe; Live 1979) * | 14. Black Slacks (Jimmy Denton, Joe Bennett; Live 1979) * | 15. I Can Feel the Fire (Ron Wood; Live 1979) * | 16. 1979 Radio Spot *
* Bonus tracks available on CD and download
Tracks 1-9 appeared on the Warner Bros. Records album, Pearl Harbor & the Explosions.
Tracks 1-10 appear on Liberation Hall’s 2025 vinyl LP reissue of Pearl Harbor & the Explosions.
Track 10 appeared as the B-side of the Warners 45 RPM single, “You Got It (Release) It.”
Tracks 11 & 12 appeared on the “Drivin’ 45 RPM single released in 1979 by 415 Records.
Tracks 13-16 appeared on the 2019 expanded edition album from Blixa Sounds.
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