1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/klaatu.jpg]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: John Woloschuk, Terry Draper, Dee Long.]] |
3 | |
4 | '''Klaatu''' were a Canadian ProgressiveRock band formed by John Woloschuk and Dee Long, with drummer Terry Draper later joining them. As their name indicates they named themselves after the alien Klaatu from ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951''. Their most famous track was the song "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", which reached even more exposure thanks to being covered by The Music/{{Carpenters}}. |
5 | |
6 | Their fame was also increased when they were mistaken for an anonymous reunion of Music/TheBeatles. This was due to a lack of credits on their debut album, coincidences that were construed as Paul Is Dead-like clues (such as the cover of Music/RingoStarr's ''Goodnight Vienna'' also using ''Day the Earth Stood Still'' imagery), and certain aspects of their music. In particular, Woloschuk sounded remarkably like Music/PaulMcCartney, and some of the songs he sang lead on (most notably "Calling Occupants..." and "Sub Rosa Subway"), with their light-hearted whimsy, recalled both the Fab Four's PsychedelicRock era and [=McCartney=] solo works such as "[[Music/{{Ram}} Uncle Albert--Admiral Halsey]]". It didn't help that Klaatu was signed to Creator/CapitolRecords (making them Beatle labelmates) outside Canada; while the band themselves never encouraged the rumors, their label's coy press releases didn't do much to clarify things. |
7 | |
8 | !!Discography: |
9 | |
10 | * ''3:47 EST'' (retitled ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Klaatu]]'' in the US) (1976) |
11 | * ''Hope'' (1977) |
12 | * ''Sir Army Suit'' (1978) |
13 | * ''Endangered Species'' (1980) |
14 | * ''Magentalane'' (1981) |
15 | |
16 | ---- |
17 | !!Tropes found within the band's history: |
18 | |
19 | * AnonymousBand: At first, but the band eventually credited themselves after being mistaken for a Beatles reunion. |
20 | * BasedOnATrueStory: "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" was inspired by World Contact Day, an event staged on March 15, 1953 by a group called the International Flying Saucer Bureau. Everyone was encouraged to join in sending a telepathic message into space that began "Calling occupants of interplanetary craft" and ended with the phrase "We are your friends." |
21 | * BoleroEffect: The "to [[Music/JohannesBrahms Brahms]]ian tunes" coda of "Sub-Rosa Subway". |
22 | * {{Brainwashed}}: The fate of any citizens who challenged claims of national superiority in "Long Live Politzania". |
23 | * CaliforniaCollapse: The subject of "California Jam". |
24 | * ConceptAlbum: ''Hope''. |
25 | * HistoricalBiographySong: "Sub-Rosa Subway", about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Ely_Beach Alfred Ely Beach]] and his failed attempt to build a subway in [[BigApplesauce New York]] in 1870, 34 years before the city formally built and opened its subway system. |
26 | * InnocentAliens: "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is about the hope that they will visit Earth and fix all our problems. |
27 | * KlaatuBaradaNikto: Quite obviously. |
28 | * LastOfHisKind: The Lighthouse Keeper from ''Hope'', who watched his race destroy itself in war. |
29 | * MarketBasedTitle: Capitol retitled their first album to the band's name in the US because they thought the reference was too obscure (3:47 P.M. Eastern Standard Time being the time Klaatu's saucer landed in Washington in ''[[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still]]''). |
30 | * SelfTitledAlbum: Subverted, as stated on MarketBasedTitle. |
31 | * TheWorldIsNotReady: "Sub-Rosa Subway" asserts that this is what happened with Alfred Beach and his railroad. |
32 | -->As for America's first subway\ |
33 | The public scoffed "it's far too rude" |
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