Back To The Future: The True Story Behind Huey Lewis' Cameo
Singer Huey Lewis made a quick cameo in Back to the Future that was fitting given his impact on the franchise. Huey Lewis, the lead singer of the classic ‘80s rock band Huey Lewis and the News, has maintained significance not just in musical pop culture, but also in film history. Lewis notably wrote the 1985 song “The Power of Love” specifically for Back to the Future’s soundtrack, which went on to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being played several times in the film. In addition to performing Back to the Future’s timeless theme song, the true story of Lewis’ cameo makes his impact on the movie all the more powerful.
Shortly after “The Power of Love” plays as Marty McFly skateboards to school, Huey Lewis appears as the horn-rimmed glasses-wearing administrator who watches Marty and his band The Pinheads play a hard rock version of the same song. In a fitting meta-joke about the singer’s own song, Lewis’ unnamed character then stands up with a megaphone and says, “Thank you, fellas. I’m afraid you’re too darn loud.” Huey Lewis isn’t seen again in the film after rejecting Back to the Future's 1985-timeline Marty for Battle of the Bands, but his voice is still heard when the band’s original song “Back in Time” plays.
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After Huey Lewis finished writing Back to the Future’s theme song, director Robert Zemeckis approached the singer about appearing on-screen. Lewis recalled Zemeckis commenting that if they “had any guts,” they would include the popular artist for a cool cameo, which lead to the idea that Huey Lewis and the News would be Marty McFly’s favorite band in the movie. This would explain Marty being inclined to cover “The Power of Love” for Battle
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