Rob Lowe Says He 'Took Having Fun Very Seriously' in the '80s — So Much So That He Almost Made a Song with Toto

Mar. 15, 2025

Rob Lowe in 1983 and Toto.Photo:Vinnie Zuffante/Getty;Jim Shea/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Vinnie Zuffante/Getty;Jim Shea/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

If Brat Pack-eraRob Lowehadn’t turned out the way he did, we might have ended up with a yacht rock version of the star instead.On an episode ofLiterally! With Rob Lowe, the 60-year-old star ofThe Outsidersspoke with Bill Simmons, creator of the pop culture websiteThe Ringer,taking a deep dive into music during their podcast conversation.During the episode, the star revealed that in the mid-’80s, he nearly recorded a demo with the iconic rock band Toto. At the time, the band was likely still riding the wave of success from their hit song “Africa,” now one of the best-selling songs of all time.

Rob Lowe on his podcast.Literally with Rob Lowe/Youtube

Literally with Rob Lowe/Youtube

Lowe explained to Simmons that around that time, when the actor was coming off some of his best-known movies likeThe OutsidersandSt. Elmo’s Fire,he was stuck on his next career move.

“This is one of the reasons you’re the world’s most interesting man,” Simmons told Lowe. “You were partying with the Showtime Lakers as they were winning titles during the Magic Johnson era. Who weren’t you involved with in L. A. in the ’80s?““Probably nobody, because I also took having fun very seriously,” Lowe joked.Lowe had just burst onto the Hollywood scene in the ’80s, navigating a new,superstar life and some frenzied fandom.

‘The Outsiders’ movie.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

“It was crazy stuff,” Lowe, 60,told PEOPLE recentlywhile reminiscing about thosetransformative moments. “It’s the kind of stuff you look back on and go, did that really happen?”

It was also around that time that Lowe cemented his position in the group that later came to be known asthe Brat Pack, which consisted of young actors includingEmilio Estevez,Anthony Michael Hall,Andrew McCarthy,Demi Moore,Judd Nelson,Molly Ringwald,andAlly Sheedy, who were all starring in teen-centric movies together at the time.

“I remember them having to bring me on and off the set ofSt. Elmo’s Firein a police car, and that wasn’t the first or only time,” he said. “The stories I have are mental, they’re nuts.”

“I’m super grateful that I can say that I had that in my life, because very few people get to be that person,” he added. “Every decade there’s a new crop and society demands it. It’s fun to watch that unfold having been there.”

source: people.com