The film "Streets Of Fire" wasn't well received when it was originally released in 1984. It failed to break even, putting an end to plans for a pair of sequels. A heavily stylized attempt at rock and roll film noir, it was full of 50's cars, 80's neon, and MTV ready music sequences. The story centers on the rescue of a rock singer kidnapped by a biker gang led by the sinister Raven. A great concept for the time, but Hollywood has proven over and over that a great concept does not always mean a great film.

If nothing else, it's full of familiar faces. Willem Dafoe, Rick Moranis, Bill Paxton, Ed Begley Jr., even an appearance by The Blasters. The actress who played the sultry singer Ellen Aim had to wait until the 90's to regain her stardom, but she makes for an alluring 80's rock star in this film. So who was it?

Bonus Question: Streets of fire was full of tunes, but the one that became the biggest hit was a Dan Hartman song called "I Can Dream About You." Hartman was in the music video version, but in the film, the song was performed by a fictional 60's style doo-wop group. What was the name of this doo-wop group in the film?

This Thursday is the True Colors tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The headliner for the show is legendary 80's pop-star Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi Lauper was responsible for the central female anthem of the decade, the song "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." As timeless as that song has become, it only made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lauper's first #1 was actually "Time After Time," but those two hits plus two others put Cyndi Lauper in the record books as the first female artist to have four Top Five singles from a debut album. Among her many other achievements, she was the #1 Singles Artist and #1 Female artist of the year for 1984, and she won awards from the MTV Video Music Awards, the American Music Awards, and Rolling Stone Magazine. Cyndi Lauper also won a Grammy Award, what was the category?

Bonus Question: Cyndi Lauper's second album "True Colors" featured lots of guests, including The Bangles, Aimme Mann, and Billy Joel. One of the guests on the album provided a voice over segment at the end of the song "911," playing the role of an emergency operator. Who was it?

This Thursday is June 7th, and there are a number of famous people who have a birthday on this date. Actor Liam Neeson was born on June 7th, along with tennis star Anna Kournikova. One of the best known pop stars of the 80's was born on June 7th, 1958.

The artist in question was and is one of the most prolific songwriters and recording artists of his generation, with several platinum albums, no less than twenty top ten singles, chart topping songs written for other artists, a stable of his own protégés, and a hit movie. So who is the birthday boy in question?

Bonus Question: There's another popular singer who will be celebrating a birthday this Thursday, only this one was born in 1940, and experienced most of his success in the 60's. He did make it back into the charts in 1988, though, when he teamed up with the Art Of Noise to record a cover version of a song that was previously a #1 hit for the very same artist mentioned in the first part of our trivia challenge. So what's the name of our other birthday boy?

Last week pop star Britney Spears earned some fresh demerits from critics and fans when her performance at the House of Blues in Florida went awry in a most undignified fashion. It seems the prerecorded track that she was lip syncing to began to skip. Now, I feel for Ms. Spears. Anyone who relies on CD's (or DVD's) has probably had them skip or jam at the worst possible times, so I would figure the controversy would focus on more reliable discs. Actually, no. The controversy is over the revelation that Britney lip syncs. I didn't realize this was news, but I digress. Of course Britney is not the first popstar to suffer from such a scandal. Ashlee Simpson got burned back in 2004 during a Saturday Night Live appearance. And every time something like this happens, people will no doubt recall the most infamous example of rock and roll swindles from back in the late 80's.

In July of 1989, a popular dance duo had their 'live' performance on MTV ruined by a skipping playback machine, fueling speculation that their live shows were faked. But by the following year, their careers were over when their manager officially revealed that they didn't actually sing on their studio recordings either. They even had to give back their Grammy. What was the name of the group?

Bonus Question: Maybe all these discredited pop stars could turn their lemons into lemonade by pointing out that decent lip syncing is itself a tricky skill to master. Not convinced? Well, back in 1984 there was a T.V. show that rated contestants for their originality, appearance, and lip sync ability as they mimed along to popular songs of the day. What was the name of the show?