Kilroy Was Here is the eleventh studio album and rock opera by the rock bandStyx, released on February 22, 1983. The album is named after a famous World War II graffiti tag, 'Kilroy was here'. It was the final album of original material to be released by the "classic" lineup of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James "J.Y." Young, John Panozzo, and Chuck Panozzo. The album spawned two hit singles, the synth-pop "Mr. Roboto" which later became one of their signature songs, and the power ballad "Don't Let It End". Both of them were major hits in 1983, peaking at #3 and #6 respectively. The hard rocker "Heavy Metal Poisoning", fifth track on the album, begins with the backmaskedLatin words "annuit cœptis, novus ordo seclorum". Translated from the Latin, these words mean " has favored our undertakings, a new order of the ages". These are the two mottoes from the Great Seal of the United States on the reverse side of the United States one-dollar bill. The album is certified platinum by the RIAA. As of, it is the last studio album by the band to be certified platinum.
Background
The band created the album Kilroy Was Here partly as a mocking response to fundamentalist Christian groups and other anti-rock-music activists who had previously influenced the Arkansas State Senate to pass a bill requiring that all records containing backward masking be labeled as such by the manufacturer. Cited in the legislation were albums by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen, and Styx. ELO made a similar response with their own 1983 album Secret Messages. The album's somewhat rock-operatic story tells of a future where rock music is outlawed by a fascist and theocratic government and the "MMM ". The story's protagonist, Robert Orin Charles Kilroy, is a former rock star who has been imprisoned by MMM leader Dr. Everett Righteous. He escapes using a disguise when he becomes aware that a young musician, Jonathan Chance, is on a mission to bring rock music back. Kilroy Was Here was conceived by lead singer Dennis DeYoung as an album and accompanying stage show, which opened with a short film of the same name. According to the episode of "Behind The Music" featuring Styx, the early part of the supporting tour was a financial disaster, due to the fact that Styx had booked small, theater-sized venues for a more intimate experience, while later tour dates saw the group performing in large arenas to sold-out crowds. The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200 in its first week and sold over 1 million copies and peaked at #3 on the US charts; however, it broke the streak of multi-platinum albums for Styx, and ushered in a more keyboard-oriented, theatrical direction. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, James Young talked about the creative differences in the band, and what led to their breakup: "Dennis really wanted to do these soft, intimate love ballads, and that was against the grain for me and Tommy Shaw, so our differences got magnified, because Dennis was insisting on going outside the boundaries we lived with. He's an assertive and strongly opinionated guy." Despite the album's financial and chart success, after the Kilroy tour, the songs were not performed live by the band Styx in subsequent tours, until "Mr. Roboto" reappeared in full on May 30, 2018. DeYoung does perform the songs "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End" regularly during his solo tours.
Music video
Three of the four videos for the album—"Mr. Roboto", "Don't Let It End", and "Heavy Metal Poisoning"—were filmed at the same time and used footage from the minifilm. A fourth video, "Haven't We Been Here Before", was filmed a few months after the album was released; it did not interact with the album's story.
Track listing
Personnel
Styx
Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards
Tommy Shaw – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
