The group Quarterflash was formed by merging two popular Oregon bands….Seafood Mama and Pilot…. and while continuing under the name Seafood Mama….the band originally released a picture-sleeved single of “Harden My Heart” on a local private label, Whitefire Records, in the spring of 1980…..which was a big hit on Portland radio stations and got the band a one-hour TV special, Seafood Mama In Concert, on KOIN TV on June 5, 1980…..as “Harden My Heart” would later be rerecorded by the band after they renamed themselves Quarterflash…..which is a name that came from an Australian slang description of new immigrants as “a quarter flash, three quarters foolish”.
Quarterflash signed to Geffen Records and released their self-titled debut album Quarterflash in September 1981…..which reached # 8 on Billboard’s Top LPs & Tape chart…..while selling over a million copies and earning RIAA platinum status on June 30, 1982. A second one-hour Portland television special, Quarterflash In Concert, was broadcast on KOIN on October 22, 1981….and simulcast on KGON. This concert was taped at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on October 15, 1981.
In between albums, the band appeared on soundtracks of two of 1982’s biggest films….while charting the theme to Ron Howard’s Night Shift up to # 60 on the Billboard Hot 100….and landing one of their B-sides, “Don’t Be Lonely” in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Quarterflash released their second album, Take Another Picture, in 1983…..which reached # 34 in Billboard….and scored the single “Take Me to Heart”….which reached # 14…..and the group released their final album, Back Into Blue in 1985…..which peaked at # 150 in Billboard. The group later disbanded after getting dropped from Geffen Records. In this video herewith, Quarterflash performs their song “Give Me The Right Kind Of Love” in their 1983 concert that was televised live on tv.
