Information Society was formed, in Minneapolis, by Paul Robb in 1982.  Despite a small but devoted fan base, the band initially struggled to achieve mainstream success, which led to several lineup changes during the group’s early years.  It wouldn’t be until 1985 that Information Society would have their first minor hit and then it would be another three years before they released their two best known songs, What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) and Walking Away.

According to Paul Robb, Walking Away was written while he was thinking about all of the people who had recently left the band.  In Robb’s own words, “So if you listen to the lyrics of ‘Walking Away,‘ it’s basically just someone complaining about people who left. That’s because that’s exactly what it is.”  Though Walking Away was not as big a hit as What’s On Your Mind, it still charted at #9 and there’s a good chance of hearing it played at any 80s night.

Just as Pure Energy sampled Leonard Nimoy, Walking Away opens with William Shatner saying, “It is useless to resist us.”  Leonard’s son, Adam Nimoy, was a huge fan of the band and was instrumental in winning the band permission to use the audio samples in their songs.

Mark Pellington also directed the video for the band’s first hit, What’s On Your Mind.

Enjoy!