I'll never forget the first time I saw Erasure perform. It was at The Ritz in NYC, 1987. I was 17 years old, and singer Andy Bell took the stage in what could only be described as a red rubber diaper.

Since 2005 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in ...