Meet The Toms River Woman Who Changed '80s Music Scene

The Smiths. Psychedelic Furs. Simple Minds. Echo and the Bunnymen. Spandau Ballet. The Eurythmics. If you were growing up in the 1980s, there's a good chance you were a fan of at least one of these bands if not many of them.

What many fans may not realize, however, is all of those bands — and a host of others — have one thing in common: they got their break in New York thanks to a petite, dark-haired talent booker by the name of Ruth Polsky.

According to a report in the New York Post, which calls her the "forgotten New Yorker who changed the music scene," Polsky took chances on bands that were then unknown, long before others who booked talent at some of Manhattan's biggest nightclubs would dare.

Polsky, who was born and raised in Toms River, booked talent at the Hurrah on West 62nd Street (1979 to 1982) and Danceteria on West 21st Street (1982 to 1986) and brought in a number of British bands who soon gained a following in the United States.

"With disco and rock still dominant in the charts, Polsky had a rare ear for fresh sounds, and took chances in bringing them to the United States before most other club bookers would dare," the Post report said.

The profile of Polsky sprang from an interview with Peter Hook, the former bassist for New Order, one of the bands Polsky booked and Polsky's on-again, off-again boyfriend. Hook recently released a memoir, “Substance: Inside New Order,” and spoke with the Post at length.

Polsky died at the age of 31, killed when a livery car ran off the road and hit a cab that then hit Polsky outside the Limelight in Chelsea, according to the report. Her funeral in Toms River drew busloads of musicians from New York and dozens of flower arrangements, the Post said.

You can read more of the Post's profile of Polsky here.

Simple Minds in concert at the Starland Ballroom in 2013, 30 years after Ruth Polsky gave them their break in the U.S. Photo by Vladimir, via Flickr under Creative Commons license