In the mid-1980s, the Monkees are hot stuff again after MTV has reintroduced them to a whole new generation of fans. The executives at their old recording label wants them to record some new tunes for a 20th anniversary album and go on a reunion to...
Wendy's new job with I.R.S. Records came with an amorphous set of duties and no set job title either. The idea was to see what she was capable of and find a suitable slot for her. Miles Copeland, the head honcho, knew Wendy kicked ass, but like all men of his generation he had trouble ceding authority and control to a woman, and in the back of his mind, he felt that this approach would keep Wendy on the hop, in a position of uncertainty, always on her back foot, trying to please and never getting too cozy in any one spot for long. Wendy saw it as the ultimate opportunity to show Miles that in his absence, she could run the whole damned company if she had a mind to, because she could do any job and had all the skills and instincts about how a successful record label worked.
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She now relished the opportunity to work with some of the hip, up-and-coming bands the I.R.S. label had begun to sign. The label was staking its claim in the new wave and punk genres that were taking hold of the early 1980s music scene, and Wendy could feel the energy and power emanating from their label, a sensation she never had had before. She started dropping albums by the one Los Angeles radio station that really mattered, KROQ, which was committed to playing alternative and new music of any and all genres.
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She made friends with their disc jockeys, who had carte blanche to play whatever records they fancied. Eventually, she cultivated an excellent working relationship with their most important influencer DJ, a British expatriate named Richard Blade, who launched the careers of many bands and performers who would otherwise have stayed mere curiosities and favorites at local Los Angeles clubs and bars. She'd stop at the studio and give him records and chat him up, he'd play them, then other stations would start clamoring for their own copies, and then they'd hit the industry sales rating charts.
