The Eighties by Dave Di Vito

Author:Dave Di Vito
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dave Di Vito
Published: 2022-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

MIAMI

In 1985 Michael Estes bought himself an opulent house in Coconut Grove, Miami.

Initially it served as a trophy house, a belated present to himself after many fulfilling, if not incredibly lucrative years in the industry.

He’d bought it for a song from the widow of an old, notorious super–agent from the seventies, who, rumour had it, died in the pool room when his heart finally gave way after years of heavy drug use.

The house was part of Michael’s fantasy screenplay about himself. One in which he practically pictured himself in a turtleneck, riding out his early retirement by the pool or, on a boat (which was going to be his next major purchase).

But soon enough work commitments rendered the house less a dream home and more an unofficial headquarters for his and Alex’s emerging, joint empire. Indeed, it seemed as if the villa was becoming a living temple to them both, filled with framed Warholesque portraits of Michael and dozens of Alex’s gold and platinum plaques.

While Alex’s second album was still in the charts, Alex began to focus on new material, keen to experiment with genres to expand his sound. To achieve this, he invited all kinds of producers and songwriters to the mansion to present or develop their ideas.

But Michael had plans of his own for Alex’s music. He wanted Alex to make a leap towards a more mature, universal sound. It was part of his long-term goal to take Alex as mainstream as he could go. He wanted Alex’s music everywhere; in the clubs, on the radio and filling out stadiums. In short, it was time for Alex to become a fully fledged pop act.

Michael had spent much of the year setting up Alex’s new boutique record label Kēvala (a Hindi term for “solitary” or “pure”). He secured distribution of Kēvala’s music through Alex’s old record company, brokering a lucrative four album deal for Alex in the process.

Michael’s own involvement in the deal put him in a position to be able to buy the Coconut Grove villa outright. He imagined that with Kēvala, they’d have their own ‘Paisley Park’ and as such, modelled the next phase of Alekzandr’s career on that of Prince’s.

Michael had lofty ambitions for Alex, desperate for Alex to be regarded as pop royalty but in the summer of 1985, Alex was still obsessed with low art. Namely, with Billy Idol.

Still playing the Rebel Yell album repeatedly, Alex’s blind inspiration doomed many of the collaborations with songwriters in Coconut Grove, many of the songs sounding like inferior Billy Idol castoffs.

But as they settled into life in the Miami manor, Michael was contacted by an old friend; a Puerto Rican producer known to everyone as Rudy.

Rudy was an industry veteran who’d racked up dozens of songwriting and production credits across South America. Visiting Miami, where he had his own sizeable following, Rudy made it clear to Michael that he had a batch of songs that were perfect for Alex.

Where Rudy’s typical songs were simple, catchy Latin pop

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