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Shoulder pads were never cool.

At least that's what John Smith of '80s dance band Nu Shooz thinks. Smith, along with wife Valerie Day, formed the R&B group with Latin jazz roots in Portland, Ore., in 1979. They found commercial success when their single "I Can't Wait" was morphed into a chart-topping dance hit by a Netherlands DJ in 1986. The band makes its way to Utah for the first time in its nearly 40-year career with the Lost '80s Live tour on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Sandy Amphitheater.

It's been 20 years since Smith and Day have toured as Nu Shooz, but Lost '80s Live puts them and the audience right back in the throes of the decade. The band plays its hits with other '80s hitmakers, including A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Naked Eyes and Animotion. The tour doesn't only attract Gen-Xers wanting to dance to the radio hits of their teenage years, though. Day says there's a new wave of people hearing and appreciating '80s music for the first time.

"We thought it was going to be people our age doing the nostalgia thing, but we were totally wrong," Day said. "People who've never heard it before are discovering it."

For Day and Smith, the tour isn't about hopping in the DeLorean and traveling through time, either.

"The '80s are better the second time around for us — we know how to have fun now," Day said.

That's because, she said, there's no pressure to break into the business. In their time off, Day and Smith saw a son graduate high school while they explored other genres of music (Smith is currently digging banjo jams from the early 1900s). The duo worked on creative projects that eventually spawned the idea for their new album, "Bagtown," which harks back to their roots in funk.

"We were very lucky in that we had music that actually crossed into different charts and spoke to different audiences," Day said. "Music is like medicine. There's a lot of variety out there, and you can find the thing that the soul needs."

While popular artists these days don't necessarily meet the needs of Smith's soul — at the risk of "sounding old," he said all contemporary music sounds the same — he and Day have embraced the way new technology has allowed Nu Shooz to engage its audience. "The thing for me that really stands out is the interaction with fans," Day said. "In the old days we tried to answer every letter, but now we can talk to people on Twitter and Facebook."

Whether the audience is full of baby boomers or millennials, though, Day had the same advice for everyone.

"Wear comfortable shoes — you'll be dancing all night."

You can leave the shoulder pads at home. —

Lost '80s Live

A night of hits from the 1980s with A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Nu Shooz, Farrington and Mann - Original When In Rome UK, Naked Eyes, Cutting Crew and Animotion.

When • Saturday, Aug. 27, 7 p.m.

Where • Sandy Amphitheater, 9400 S. 1300 East

Tickets • $30-$49; Smith's Tix