Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Nu Shooz

Those crazy DSW commercials with the stop-motion shoes remind me of the music video for The Point of No Return, which was a hit for Nu Shooz in the 80s. The husband and wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day fronted the group from Portland, Oregon. Their first big hit was I Can't Wait - but initially only on the local Portland stations. When a young Dutchman in Holland remixed the original song and imported it back to the States, Atlantic Records loved it and signed the band in 1986.

Other hits that followed include Don't Let Me Be the One, Should I Say Yes, and Are You Lookin' for Somebody Nu but I can't say they ring any bells. I just remember the two forgotten Friday favorites.

Smith and Day are still married today, and still performing. They re-released I Can't Wait to a much jazzier, acoustic arrangement in 2006, but the original version that burned up the dance floors in the 80s will always be my favorite. 

Wikipedia (by way of Billboard) says the song is played somewhere on the planet every 11 minutes - that's some staying power!

Here's the videos for I Can't Wait (the band apparently received a lot of curious questions about the dog wearing sunglasses) and Point of No Return, featuring some flashy 80s footwear: