Perhaps you’ve seen or heard of Defunctland, a YouTube channel that covers the lost history of amusement parks (Disney in particular) and television. I might’ve heard of the channel or seen a blurb or two in passing, but paid no attention as I’m not much of an amusement park person.
But all that changed when I saw this blurb in my recommendations.
Directed by Matthew Serrano, released in August of 2020, Live From The Space Stage: A Halyx Story is about the very brief rise and fall of an “experimental sci-fi band that rocked Disneyland’s space stage for one glorious summer”. Described as Star Wars meets KISS, Halyx’s (pronounced HAY-licks) lineup included a bassist made up as an ursine alien, an amphibious percussionist (and acrobat), and a robot keyboardist all lead by a female singer with a powerful voice.
It’s hilarious (and somewhat painful) to watch this documentary in the aftermath of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, when Disney originally created Halyx to cash in on the success of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Music-wise, Disney had found success with Mickey Mouse Disco, a 1979 album of Disney favorites remixed Disco style. Now as any pop star will tell you, when you have a best selling album, the next step is to go on tour. But by 1981, disco was dead and acts like Van Halen and Billy Joel were on the rise. So the folks at Disneyland Records decided to use the Happiest Place On Earth – Tomorrowland in particular – as a testing ground for a manufactured rock band with a sci-fi theme.
I wont go into detail about the audition or songwriting process – you’ll have to watch the documentary for that – but I will say who got the job. For the coveted role of lead singer, Lora Mumford was chosen out of dozens of women, while Jeanette Clinger and Karen Tobin were hired as backup singers. The role of robot keyboardist went to Lora’s husband, Thom Miller, while bassist Roger Freeland had the task of wearing the “wookie meets panda” costume (which he later dubbed “The Baharnoth”). Dancer and percussionist Tony Coppola played foil to Roger as an amphibian alien called the Waag. And rounding out the band as human drummer and guitarist was Brian Lucas and Bruce Gowdy respectively.
The band gave their first performance on June 20, 1981 and quickly developed a dedicated fanbase, who even went so far as to make their own band merchandise. And this was before Etsy and Teepublic even existed! Then by September 11(how ironic), it was all over. Despite promises of a record deal with Warner Music Group, the project fell through and the band was, well, disbanded. Disney just didn’t believe in Halyx, who were seen as too radical for the white-bread, family friendly studio.
What a missed opportunity. Here was a chance for Disney to create a sci-fi franchise of their own that could rival every major SF IP, if only they were willing to take a chance. I thought of all the merchandising opportunities just from the Baharnoth alone (I’d love to get my hands on a Baharnoth action figure complete with bass guitar). An animated series depicting Halyx as they travel from gig to gig, battling evil aliens and monsters with the power of rock – a la Hannah Montana meets Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. A televised concert. An animated movie. Comic books. The possibilities are endless. And the great thing is Disney can still pull this off in 2023. To quote Matt Carasquillo: “how long will Disney take to realize the value in the hidden gem of a franchise that is Halyx?”
But nope, Disney went the lazy route. They bought other SF IPs and then copied and pasted them as if they were their own. Then continually ignore – or ruin – their own SF titles, be it 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Buzz Lightyear, Tron, John Carter, or…
Captain EO.
Yes, five years after Halyx disbanded, Disney made another attempt at space rock, but with bigger names and more lavish (for the time) production values. Did Halyx pave the way for Captain EO? Possibly. Could Halyx have been successful? Arguably.
Does Halyx deserve a second chance? Absolutely.
the lady from planet x 