ROBERT ELLIS ORRALL and his band from the 1980s will be playing The Cut in Gloucester, on Thursday, Oct. 17. (Courtesy Photo)

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — Songwriter and record producer Robert Ellis Orrall is back playing music with his friends and old bandmates that helped launch his successful music career in the 1980s.

Orrall is a Lynnfield High School Class of 1973 graduate who embarked on a successful music career in the late 1970s that has continued to this day. He was a member of the New Wave Boston music scene along with The Stompers, Jon Butcher Axis, Til Tuesday and The Neighborhoods, and played at popular venues such as The Rat, The Paradise and the Orpheum Theater.

After Orrall released his first record “Sweet Nothing” in 1977, he landed a record deal with RCA Records in 1980. He released his second record, “Fixation,” in 1981. The “Fixation” lineup included Orrall on vocals and keyboards, Driftwood Lane resident/LHS Class of 1972 graduate Kook Lawry on guitar, LHS Class of 1972 graduate Don Walden on bass and Somerville native David Stefanelli on drums. Orrall also played shows with two touring keyboard players.

Forty-four years later, Orrall has resumed playing music with his three close friends. The band will be playing a show at The Cut in Gloucester on Thursday, Oct. 17, beginning at 7 p.m.

“We are four guys who spent five years in a van together traveling around the country playing either clubs or opening for U2 or The Kinks,” said Orrall. “We are back all these years later playing those old songs as well as new ones. We are having a ball. It is really great.”

Orrall recalled that he had been working as a professional songwriter and record producer in Nashville, Tennessee for over 30 years when he and his wife decided to relocate to the North Shore in 2020. The couple purchased a home in Manchester-by-the-Sea.

“I had been living in Nashville for about 30 years,” said Orrall. “I had been writing songs and producing records for other people. I would make a record of my own every once in awhile. I was working on a record, and I decided to send the tracks to Kook, Don and David to play on.”

Lawry recalled how Orrall got the old band back together.

“We started talking and before Robert moved back, he decided that he wanted to do a record with the old band instead of the studio musicians he had been working with,” said Lawry.

Orrall released the record, “467 Surf and Gun Club,” in 2021. Orrall sang and played keyboards on the record while Lawry played guitar, Walden played bass and Stefanelli played drums.

“It was influenced by The Beach Boys, The Beatles and Todd Rundgren,” said Orrall. “It was a lot of fun to make. Steve Marcantonio, who was the engineer of our album ‘Fixation’ that was released in 1981, mixed the record. Everything came full circle.”

Lawry said he had a blast playing on “467 Surf and Gun Club.”

“It was something I never thought would happen again,” said Lawry. “As we were getting older, we saw the importance of what we meant to each other. Robert, Don, David and I are thrilled to be doing this again.”

After the COVID-19 pandemic delayed Orrall from playing shows, they finally played their first gig together in over 35 years at the Cold River Radio Show in New Hampshire last year. Orrall also played at The Wild Cat Inn in Jackson, New Hampshire this past August.

“They went great,” said Lawry. “It was just so emotional because it had been years since we had been on stage together. We were thrilled to be back on stage together. The music was secondary to the moment.”

Orrall said playing both shows was “so much fun.”

“We decided to keep doing this,” said Orrall. “We have been rehearsing at Kook’s place in Lynnfield.”

Orrall has three records in the works. He said the band is looking to finally release “The War Between Us,” which was originally recorded in 1986.

“We signed with RCA and we made three records between 1980 to 1984,” said Orrall. “The deal went away and we recorded an album in 1986 in order to get a new deal. We are finally going to put that record out.”

Orrall is looking to release a live album and a new record as well.

“We have three records backed up,” said Orrall. “In order to not release everything all at once, we are looking to release them on a six-month schedule.”

Orrall, Lawry, Walden and Stefanelli are currently recording the new album.

“We are going to spend a week at my house on the Florida Panhandle in January to put on the finishing touches,” said Orrall. “We are looking forward to releasing the album that we are working on.”

Lawry is hoping that the new record will be released in the spring.

Orrall had a Top 40 hit with the song “I Couldn’t Say No” on their third record, “Special Pain,” which was released in 1983. The song features Orrall singing a duet with Johnny Cash’s daughter, Carlene Carter.

Lawry said Orrall is going to be playing the song with Berklee College of Music assistant professor Karen Carr, who has previously served as a judge for “Lynnfield Idol,” during Thursday’s show at The Cut.

“Karen is going to be singing several songs with us,” said Lawry. “She is wonderful and fantastic. We love having her play with us.”

Orrall echoed Lawry’s sentiment.

“Karen is wonderful,” Orrall said.

Lawry recalled that he first met Orrall in high school.

“I was the local guitar guy,” said Lawry. “I heard him and Douglas Millett playing songs in the auditorium that I didn’t recognize, and I found out Robert wrote them. He was a brilliant songwriter even in high school. He is extremely gifted at bringing every day life situations into songs, and singing them in a very matter-of-fact way.”

After Orrall previously worked with a different guitar player on his first record, Lawry said the singer and keyboardist asked that he play guitar on “Fixation.”

“Robert literally walked up to my house, rang my doorbell and asked if I wanted to play on the record,” said Lawry. “I said sure. And the next thing I know, we were in a band.”

After previously playing rock music in the 1980s, Orrall developed an interest in country. He decided to relocate Nashville, where he has written and recorded songs with Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Michael McDonald and Lindsay Lohan. He has also produced records for Swift, Be Your Own Pet and Love and Theft. He also worked on “The Bourne Identity,” “Hannah Montana” and “Freaky Friday” movie soundtracks.

“The Cut suggested that we play some songs I had written for other people and tell some stories because people love that,” said Orrall. “I have a little more than 350 songs recorded by other artists and some of them did very well. We are sprinkling some of those in the set, including a couple of Taylor Swift songs that I wrote with her that she just played on ‘The Eras Tour.’ We are doing very different versions of those songs.”

If residents want to purchase tickets to see Orrall play at The Cut, they should visit  https://thecutlive.showare.com/orderticketsvenue.asp?p=147. The doors open at 7 p.m.

“We walk on stage at 7:30 p.m.,” said Orrall. “It’s a beautiful facility. We are really excited to be there.”

Lawry said The Cut is a “beautiful place to play.”

“It has a great stage, great lights, great sound and great food,” said Lawry. “Everything about it is fantastic.”

Lawry said the future is bright for Orrall.

“We are going to be doing a lot of shows next year,” said Lawry.