Uploaded originally to Youtube by Timothy Dwelle, This is possibly the only live performance of the song ever (The American Bandstand performance was...
I have a treat for you young’ns this fine Sunday.
This is a rad and 80s-riffic live performance of Buckner and Garcia’s “Pac Man Fever”. A song released during the height of...well Pac Man fever in the U.S.
Its hard to imagine now, but at one time Pac Man was the hottest game in the world. In the tornado of merchandise, cartoons, and canned pasta, "Pac Man Fever” was another by-product of Pac Man as a cultural phenomenon. The song sold 1.2 million copies and landed the duo at #9 on the Billboard charts - not bad for a novelty song.
Despite the song’s popularity, Buckner and Garcia never “toured” as a band so live performances are super-scarce. They “performed” the song for the TV show “American Bandstand” but as were all the performances from AB, its lip-synched.
Youtuber Tim Dwelle, however caught lightning in a bottle a recorded a super-rare performance of the song sometime in the 80s. I don’t know if its a wedding or a birthday party but the band TEARS THE PLACE DOWN. Despite the family-friendly venue, the band looks as if they’re playing at a grimy, smoke-filled, local bar downtown. The instrumentals are tight and Gary Garcia is killing it on vocals. Watching him light and smoke a cigarette between verses absolutely make this video worth watching. Rest in peace, legend.
The version I uploaded to Internet Archive is just the song “Pac Man Fever”. If you want the extended version, check out Timothy Dwelle’s Youtube account.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.
