For Lewis, the news is still good

By Ed Hannan, Sun Correspondent

They've been around for 30 years and, even though their biggest hits are 25 years old, Huey Lewis and The News are still going strong.

While their calling card in the '80s was, as one critic said, "the ultimate garage band," Huey Lewis and The News really made their mark with a series of Top 10 hits: "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug," "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "If This Is It," "Stuck With You," "Hip to Be Square," "Jacob's Ladder," and "Doing It All For My Baby" and their number-one hit from Back to the Future, "The Power of Love."

Yet, once they had those hits, which came from the albums Sports and Fore!, in their back pocket, their 1988 album Small World began their progression from a rock 'n' roll band to a jazz, rhythm-and-blues group. In fact, the title track from that album featured jazz saxophonist Stan Getz. They also worked with the Tower of Power horns section through the 1980s (you can hear them on "Hip to Be Square") into the early '90s.

They have sold more than 30 million records worldwide, the 1983 album Sports sold 10 million copies in the United States, they have won two Grammy Awards, and all five albums released between 1982 and 1991 have been certified either gold, platinum, or multi-platinum.

The band continues to record, with their 2001 album Plan B their most recent work, although they did record the theme song to last year's movie Pineapple Express. They play 60 to 70 shows a year, including an annual swing through New England, including this Sunday night's show at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom.

They still feature a horn section and are as likely to play oldies (they recorded the Curtis Mayfield classic "It's Alright", the J.J. Jackson classic "But It's Alright" and The Drifters' "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the '90s) as they are their biggest hits.

Having seen them maybe a half-dozen times, including most recently in 2006 at Bank of America Pavilion in Boston on a co-headlining tour with Chicago, what you get from Huey Lewis and The News is an evening of great music, some of their biggest hits, and a voice that, while a bit weathered, still can evoke memories of warm summer nights as a teenager combing the beach.

Much like most of their fan base, they have moved from the MTV generation to "80s Flashback" shows on the radio. Yet, their mix of upbeat songs remains timeless.

Huey Lewis and The News perform Sunday at the Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, N.H. Paul Thorn opens. Doors open at 6 p.m. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $41-$76. For information, visit www.casinoballroom.com.