Hello Again

Hello Again is the song for the Cars video filmed at the Be-Bop Cafe on 8th Street on March 29, 1984. In Andy Warhol’s account, the title marks a day of work rather than a discussion of the song itself: the diary records the shoot’s setting, cast, and his difficulty performing his part, but gives no lyrics or musical description.

The Video Shoot

Rain and snow fell as the production occupied the day. Benjamin Liu came to collect Warhol for the shoot and was also set to appear in it. Warhol’s account places the video in the Be-Bop Cafe, turning the song into the occasion for an elaborate staged gathering rather than simply a recording session.

A Factory-Like Crowd

The assembled extras reminded Warhol of the old Factory days. Among them were Benjamin Liu in drag, a bald mime dressed as Pierrot, and John Sex with his snake. Dianne Brill also stood out in Warhol’s description. The mix of performers and striking appearances made the video set recall an earlier social world around The Factory.

Warhol’s Part

Warhol was assigned to play a bartender in a tuxedo. When his turn finally came at 8:00, he had to sing but could not remember the words; at the same time, he was expected to mix a drink. Wearing contact lenses, he could not see the Coke button on the soda dispenser. The practical demands of the scene—the song, the drink, and the small control he could not make out—reduced the performance to a moment of visible uncertainty.

Warhol finished at 9:15 and found it difficult to speak with the Cars while facing them. One of the young people on the set gave him a ride home. The diary preserves Hello Again through this contrast between the video’s assembled spectacle and the performer’s uneasy, task-by-task experience of making it.