Knee Deep in the Hoopla

Knee Deep in the Hoopla is the debut album by American rock band Starship, the succeeding musical project to Jefferson Starship. It was released on September 12, 1985, by RCA and Grunt.

The album spawned four singles which all charted in the Billboard Hot 100 chart: the No. 1 hits "We Built This City" and "Sara", "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (No. 26) and "Before I Go" (No. 68).

In May 1984, Jefferson Starship released Nuclear Furniture. Paul Kantner, one of the band's founding members, left shortly after, criticizing the group's tilt toward commercial rock. In October, he sought to dissolve the band and sued his former bandmates over the ownership of its name. The lawsuit was settled in March 1985 with the agreement that the "Jefferson Starship" name would be retired by the group in favor of "Starship", a name now owned by singer Grace Slick and manager Bill Thompson.

Shortly after the new group's creation, David Freiberg (another Jefferson Starship founding member) departed as well. For the band's debut album, the lineup was reduced to a quintet consisting of singer Grace Slick, co-lead singer Mickey Thomas, guitarist Craig Chaquico, bassist Pete Sears, and drummer Donny Baldwin.

Peter Wolf, who had worked on Nuclear Furniture, was hired to produce Knee Deep in the Hoopla. As the band sought a new, radio relevant sound, Wolf brought novel recording techniques. Among these was the use of the Synclavier, which guitarist Craig Chaquico later described as "cutting edge," adding that despite the changes, the group did not feel like they were "selling out," but rather felt like "they were trying to land a man on the moon." However, short-term member David Freiberg recalled in a 1997 interview that one of the reasons for his departure was that in the studio "nobody in the band was playing anything" as it was all about "producing" and "hot stuff keyboard players."

For the album, Wolf also sourced material from a wide variety of outside songwriters, which was said to have made the group more "unified and focused". This was an important change from the old lineup's previous albums, as the songs were primarily written by its members. "We Built This City" was the first product from these new recording efforts and the album's lead single. Originally written by Bernie Taupin (lyricist known for his work with Elton John) and Martin Page, the track was further developed by Wolf and co-producers Dennis Lambert and Jeremy Smith. The album's title was taken from one of the song's lyrics: "Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight". The second single, "Sara", was a ballad written by Wolf and his wife, Ina Wolf, and named after Mickey Thomas' then-wife. Both of these songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The track "Desperate Heart", written by Michael Bolton and Randy Goodrum, also appeared on Bolton's album Everybody's Crazy, released earlier that year in March. "Rock Myself to Sleep" was written by Katrina and the Waves members Kimberley Rew and Vince de la Cruz and featured additional vocals by Quiet Riot's Kevin DuBrow. The album's closing track, "Love Rusts", also written by Page and Taupin, featured additional background vocals by artists like Peter Beckett (from Player), Simon Climie (later of Climie Fisher fame), and Siedah Garrett. The only song on the record written by any of the band's members was "Private Room", penned by vocalist Mickey Thomas and guitarist Craig Chaquico. The music video for the album's third single, "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" was directed by Francis Delia (director of the videos for "Sara" and "We Built This City") and shot in a converted warehouse located in downtown Los Angeles. The set was designed by Waldemar Kalinoswky.

Two songs sung by Grace Slick were recorded for but left off the album: Slick's own "Do You Remember Me?" (released on The Best of Grace Slick) and the Peter Wolf–Jeremy Smith composition "Casualty" (included as a bonus track on the remastered 1999 CD edition of the album). Pete Sears and his wife, Jeannette, wrote a song for the album titled "One More Innocent", which was rejected due to its political lyrics.