B-52s end lengthy recording break with "Funplex"

By Katie Hasty

NEW YORK (Billboard) - They've been gone awhile, but the B-52s haven't been forgotten. Their new single, "Funplex," arrives this week at No. 23 on the adult alternative album radio chart, the quartet's first track since 1998 to appear on any radio list and its first on the triple-A tally.

"Funplex" is the title cut from the group's first new album in more than 15 years, due March 25 via Astralwerks.

After 1992's "Good Stuff," the band took a "short break" that lasted several years. About 10 years ago, it started performing again with some regularity. But "in order to continue this, we needed to put out a new album," drummer/principal songwriter Keith Strickland says. "Our fans have been very patient with us."

So, the B-52s reconvened to write new material in 2003, with 11 songs making the final cut on "Funplex." Describing the new set as "some sort of update" on the group's boisterous sound, Strickland says he was influenced by electronic dance music and a more streamlined rock edge. "I wanted it very lean and a focused sound."

The band, which was most recently signed to Warner Bros., shopped the record to a number of labels. It landed with Astralwerks because the label "just loved it -- the excitement was tangible," according to Strickland.

Album track "Juliet of the Spirits" will be featured in the February 10 episode of Showtime's "The L Word." The B-52s will tour this summer as part of the True Colors outing and will visit Europe afterward.

Reuters/Billboard