In 1981, there was one rock band that took over the Tomorrowland stage and took over Disneyland at night. This Star Wars-inspired rock band took hold of many fan’s hearts and lived on for the last almost 40 years. While many fans remember Halyx fondly, you’ll find that even more Disneyland fans have never heard the name of this band come up, no matter how hard they looked. Defunctland and Matthew Serrano told the story that some fans have been waiting for and everyone has been captivated by.
Halyx was a band put together by Disney’s record label in the early 80’s. They were put at the Tomorrowland stage under Space Mountain simply to market the band to Disney executives. While Disney didn’t expect much for the band at Disneyland, fans took it upon themselves to create merchandise, nicknames for performers, and even a special hand sign for the band. This fan culture is something that has stuck around to this day for many different entertainment spots around Disneyland.
In the documentary, you get a chance to hear the story of Halyx from everyone from the execs that put the. band together to the fans who look for band merchandise on eBay today. The way they use interviews to tell the stores makes it an even more beautiful film, as you get to hear the stores straight from the people who lived it. While I won’t spoil the ending, the story of Lora Mumford, lead singer and “punk Snow White”, will have you wishing that Halyx had a different ending and a bigger entrance into pop culture.
Once the summer of 1981 ended and it was clear the band wasn’t returning to Disneyland, most members of the band had expected the summer to be just a memory. In the documentary, they credit multiple podcasts, such as Podcast: The Ride and Mousestalgia as bringing fan attention back to the band. One of my favorite moments is when the filmmakers interviewed fans at a live show for Podcast: The Ride and all the fans were. so excited to talk about Halyx.
While this piece of Disneyland history seems to have been forgotten, I think this documentary is the perfect step for any Disney fan to get introduced to it. Even if you remember seeing Halyx in their heyday, there is so much to this story that is waiting to be discovered. Be sure to watch the full documentary below and be sure to connect with us on Twitter and Facebook to let us know what you think.
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