Hip To Be Square

At their peak, Huey Lewis and the News were criticised for being “too safe” — which is exactly why they lasted.
Strong melodies, tight playing, no nonsense. The songs still sound good because they were built properly in the first place.

Huey Lewis famously appeared in Back to the Future as a grumpy teacher who tells Marty McFly’s band they’re “too darn loud”. That joke has aged beautifully.

Huey Lewis was a harmonica player before he was a frontman, and that bluesy edge is all over the band’s sound. It’s a big reason their music feels warmer and more human than a lot of glossy 80s pop-rock.

Huey Lewis and the News became one of the biggest bands in the world in the mid-80s by making rock music that sounded effortlessly fun, even though it was extremely well crafted.