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Kilroy Was Here
Studio album by Styx
Released	February 28, 1983
Recorded	1982 at Pumpkin Studios, Oak Lawn, IL
Genre	Rock
Length	40:41
Label	A&M
Producer	Styx
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Styx chronology
Paradise Theatre (1981) Kilroy Was Here (1983) Caught in the Act (1984)

Kilroy Was Here is a rock opera/concept album by the rock band Styx. It was released in February 1983. The title comes from a famous graffiti saying "Kilroy was here."

Contents 1 Background 1.1 The Story (from the album insert of "Kilroy Was Here") 2 Music video 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Production 6 Charts 7 External links

"Kilroy Was Here" was conceived by lead singer Dennis DeYoung as an album and accompanying stage show, which opened with a short film of the same name. While the supporting tour was a financial disaster, the album sold over 2 million copies and peaked at #3 in the US.

The album's somewhat rock-operatic story tells of a future where rock music is outlawed by a hyperconservative government and the "MMM, (the Majority for Musical Morality)". The story's protagonist, Kilroy, is a former rock star who has been imprisoned by MMM leader Dr. Righteous. He escapes using a disguise (according to the album's famous song, Mr. Roboto), when he becomes aware that a young musician, Jonathan Chance, is on a mission to bring rock music back. The MMM was a fictitious reference to the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) who had previously attacked Styx for "backmasking" the word "Satan" in the song "Snowblind" on 1981's Paradise Theatre.

The album spawned two hit singles, "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End".

T H E P A S T "Dr. Everett Righteous, founder and leader of the MMM (the Majority for Musical Morality) became influential in American politics through the use of his own cable/TV network. He spoke about the evils of Rock 'N Roll Music and how its permissive attitudes were responsible for the moral and economic decline of America. He was charismatic, entertaining, and above all, he understood the media. The MMM soon gained enough power to have Rock N Roll banned."

"Robert Orin Charles Kilroy was a world famous Rock N Roll star. As this new law was passed, Kilroy and his band were finishing a national tour. Their last performance at the Paradise Theater would serve as the test case. On the night of the concert, as Kilroy played to a packed house, the MMM marched in and stormed the stage. When it was over, a MMM protester was dead. Kilroy was convicted of the murder and sent to a prison ship with other Rock N Roll misfits."

T H E P R E S E N T "... is a future where Japanese manufactured robots, designed to work cheaply and endlessly, are the caretakers of society. Mr. Robotos are everywhere, serving as manual labor in jobs that were once held by humans."

"Dr. Righteous enforces his own morality by holding nightly rallies where crowds hurl Rock N Roll records and electric guitars into huge bonfires. Jonathan Chance, the rebel leader of an underground movement to bring back Rock N Roll, has made Kilroy the symbol of his cause. Meanwhile, Kilroy has spent a number of years in prison. With no hope of release, he is subjected to the humiliation of mind control via the MMM cable network. In an attempt to contact Kilroy, Jonathan jams the airwaves of the MMM network, replacing a mind control session with outlawed footage of a Kilroy concert. Inspired by Jonathan's message, Kilroy plots his escape. Late one night he makes a daring attempt to free himself by overpowering a Roboto guard. Disguised as a Roboto, Kilroy moves freely throughout the city leaving graffiti coded messages for Jonathan. Jonathan discovers the rock code which leads him to the old Paradise Theater, now the site of Dr. Righteous Museum of Rock Pathology. There he sees the last Kilroy concert mechanically depicted by Kilroy look alike robots as the violent end of Rock N Roll... and there he and Kilroy meet for the first time."

Three of the four videos for the album - "Mr. Roboto", "Don't Let It End", and "Heavy Metal Poisoning" - were filmed at the same time. A fourth video, "Haven't We Been Here Before", was filmed a few months after the album was released.

1. "Mr. Roboto" (DeYoung) – 5:28
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung
2. "Cold War" (Shaw) – 4:27
   • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
3. "Don't Let It End" (DeYoung) – 4:56
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
4. "High Time" (DeYoung) – 4:33
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young
5. "Heavy Metal Poisoning" (Young) – 4:57
   • Lead vocals and guitar synthesizer solo: James Young, guitar solo: Tommy Shaw
6. "Just Get Through This Night" (Shaw) – 6:06
   • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
7. "Double Life" (Young) – 3:46
   • Lead vocals and synthesizer guitar solo: James Young
8. "Haven't We Been Here Before?" (Shaw) – 4:06
   • Lead vocals: Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw and James Young
9. "Don't Let It End (Reprise)" (Shaw/DeYoung) – 2:22
   • Lead vocals: Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young

Styx

• Dennis DeYoung - keyboards, vocals
• Chuck Panozzo - bass, vocals
• John Panozzo - drums, vocals
• Tommy Shaw - guitar, vocals
• James Young - guitar, vocals

Additional personnel

• Dan Barber - horn
• Steve Eisen - saxophone
• Mike Halpin - horn
• Michael Mossman - horn
• Mark Ohlson - horn

• Producer: Styx
• Arranger: Styx
• Engineers: Gary Loizzo, Will Rascati, Rob Kingsland
• Apprentice engineer: Jim Popko

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1983	Pop Albums	3

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	"Don't Let It End"	Adult Contemporary	13
1983	"Don't Let It End"	Pop Singles	6
1983	"High Time"	Pop Singles	48
1983	"Mr. Roboto"	Pop Singles	3
1983	"Mr. Roboto"	Mainstream Rock	3

• Official Website

• Kilroy Was Here Fansite

v • d • e Styx
Tommy Shaw • James "J.Y." Young • Todd Sucherman • Lawrence Gowan • Ricky Phillips • Chuck Panozzo Dennis DeYoung • John Panozzo • John Curulewski • Glen Burtnik
Studio albums	Styx • Styx II • The Serpent Is Rising • Man of Miracles • Equinox • Crystal Ball • The Grand Illusion • Pieces of Eight • Cornerstone • Paradise Theatre • Kilroy Was Here • Edge of the Century • Brave New World • Cyclorama • Big Bang Theory
Live albums	Caught in the Act• Return to Paradise • Arch Allies: Live at Riverport• Styx World: Live 2001 • At the River's Edge: Live in St. Louis • 21st Century Live • One with Everything: Styx and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Compilations	Best of Styx • Lady • Styx Classics Volume 15 • Styx Greatest Hits • Styx Greatest Hits Part 2 • The Best of Times - The Best of Styx • Best of Styx 1973-1974 • Extended Versions • Singles Collection • Styx Yesterday & Today • 20th Century Masters - The Millenium Collection • Rockers • Come Sail Away - The Styx Anthology • The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings
Singles	"Best Thing" • "Lady" • "You Need Love" • "Lorelei" • "Mademoiselle" • "Crystal Ball" • "Come Sail Away" • "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" • "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" • "Sing for the Day" • "Renegade • "Babe" • "Why Me" • "Borrowed Time" • "The Best of Times" • "Too Much Time on My Hands" • "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" • "A.D. 1928/Rockin' the Paradise • "Mr. Roboto" • "Don't Let It End" • "High Time" • "Music Time" • "Love Is the Ritual" • "Show Me the Way" • "Love At First Sight" • "Paradise" • "Everything Is Cool" • "Waiting for Our Time" • "I Am the Walrus"
Related articles	Discography