- "The Tornadoes" redirects here.
Bobby Bailey is a minor character in the Jem animated series. He is an elderly musician who was the leader of a '50s rock and roll band called The Tornadoes, but now struggles to prevent the building he lives in from being demolished.
History[]
During one of their concerts, Jem and The Holograms perform a "new" song titled "Rock and Roll is Forever", receiving a standing ovation by everyone but one person, who starts booing them from among the audience. Later, at the dressing room, the girls are talking about this man when suddenly he makes his way past the security guards and starts reprimanding them that the song shouldn't be played with all those modern electronic instruments. When questioned what makes him such an authority to say how they should play the song, he presents himself as Bobby Bailey from the '50s rock and roll band, The Tornadoes, and the person who wrote that song.
The next day, Bobby invites the girls to visit the old record studio where many bands, included his, recorded lots of hits many years ago, and which is also the place where he lives now. However, the building is in very bad condition and even has a "condemned" sign posted on it. Bobby disregards it, telling the girls that those are only posted by the owner of the building to pressure the people living there to leave so it can be demolished. Unfortunately, the owner happens to be none other than Eric Raymond, who wants to build a new record factory in that location.
A threatening attempt by Eric and The Misfits using a wrecking ball to scare the building's occupants goes out of hand and the edifice suffers some damage. The girls stay with Bobby to fix it, but keep being harassed by The Misfits. As usual, Eric hires some goons to do the dirty work and Bobby almost gets seriously injured by their doings if not for Kimber, who saves him.
The building is eventually saved, especially by intervention of Kimber, being declared a historical landmark.
Having learned a little about each other, Bobby and The Holograms collaborate on a new song and even film a music video.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Bobby Bailey and The Tornadoes are based on real life 1950s rock and roll band Bill Haley & His Comets, which had some major hits such as "Rock Around the Clock" and "See You Later, Alligator".
- Bobby wrote the song "Rock and Roll is Forever", which Jem and The Holograms covered and updated with modern instruments.