Berlin to play Wiens Family Cellars

By Scott McDonald - For The Californian | Thursday, June 26, 2008 12:22 PM PDT ∞

Terri Nunn, lead singer of Berlin, says she still enjoys touring after all these years. When the band plays Wiens Family Cellars in Temecula Friday night, she'll have a chance to back that statement up.

"The live shows are the reason I do music," Nunn said from Los Angeles. "I like making albums, but the process doesn't do anything for me. The whole concert experience, whether I'm in the audience or on the stage, is still the best drug that I've ever had."

Perhaps the fact that Nunn's drug of choice is shared energy has something to do with the unusual longevity of the band.

Nunn joined Berlin in 1979, two years after John Crawford started the band. Their first singer, Toni Childs, went on to a successful career of her own and even received a Grammy nomination. Nunn joined after Crawford responded to an ad she ran in a local newspaper claiming she was looking for a unique musical experience. Berlin was that unique experience.

Together, they created the demos that ended up becoming their first album, 1983's Pleasure Victim. Thanks to (Los Angeles radio station) KROQ, the singles were heard and really took off. "Pleasure Victim" ended up spawning the hits, "Sex (I'm Aâ€-)" and "The Metro."

"I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for KROQ," Nunn said. "Because all the other stations would have never played us."

Berlin immediately scored again in 1984 with the release of their second album, "Love Life." It produced another massive hit, "No More Words."

But nothing could have prepared them for what was about to happen.

In 1986, Berlin was included on the soundtrack of "Top Gun" with a song called "Take My Breath Away."

The song went to No. 1 in the U.S. and top five in almost every country in the world.

Band members weren't prepared for the phenomenal success of both movie and song.

"It was an atomic bomb, both in a good and a bad way," Nunn said. "It literally opened up the world to us. The bad part was that it splintered the band. When it became the hit that it did, it really alienated us from each other. It was great, but it was also very difficult."

The band broke up shortly after.

Nunn obtained the rights to use the band's name when Berlin disbanded in 1987, causing a rift between her and Crawford that would take years to heal.

"I wasn't done with the potential of Berlin yet," said Nunn. "Berlin really helped to establish electronic music here in America. I brought Berlin back because I thought that we still had something to say."

Nunn continued to make music without Crawford until VH1, of all things, helped to heal their on-going rift.

"It changed my life," Nunn said. "At the time, John and I hadn't spoken in 7 years. He was very upset about me going on with Berlin and going on in a business mode without him. VH1 came in and brought us back together. It was incredible and it was so much bigger than either of us expected it to be."

These days, in addition to Berlin, Nunn keeps herself occupied with a variety of things.

She is a talk radio host on Los Angeles station 97.1 FREE FM and loves the job. She finds that talking to callers and helping them is incredibly empowering to both parties.

She is also working with L.A. concert promoters, Goldenvoice, to develop a new concert series titled "Girls Night Out."

"We're not just going to bring the greatest women artists together on the same bill," Nunn said. "We're going to have them sing together on the same stage. The response of interested artists has been inspiring. Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Joss Stone, Mary J. Blige, Amy Lee, Sheryl Crow, Shirley Manson, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire have all committed to the project. It's going to be amazing."

Given the tenacity with which Nunn approaches Berlin, the new projects are, in fact, likely to be amazing.

Berlin

When: 7 p.m. June 27

Where: Wiens Family Cellars, 35055 Via Del Ponte, Temecula

Tickets: $85

Info: (951) 658-2411

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