In 1984 the band experienced the departure of bassist Ron Verlin, who had become disenchanted with the music industry. Bassist Norm Dahlor was recruited to take over for Ron. That same year the band was asked to record two songs for the movie soundtrack Up the Creek. The songs were "Get Ready Boy" and "Take It." Virgin Records then picked up Geffen Records as their distributor and the group began to record their fifth album, Silent Scream, with producer Ron Nevison. It was released in April 1985 and produced the radio hit "Summer Sun." The band's accompanying music video was popular on MTV and other video channels. Van, Norm, and Steve were also the backing band on Ian Hunter's single "Great Expectations." The band then toured with Heart, Bryan Adams, and ZZ Top. Separate ways In 1986, after almost a decade of touring and five albums, Shooting Star decided to go on hiatus. A farewell show was played on December 27, 1986, at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas and after a few more concerts, Shooting Star went their separate ways in late spring of 1987. Gary West, with Van McLain's help, began work on demos that were more in a pop/rhythm and blues direction. CBS Records signed West but then lost interest. Guitarist McLain, in a 2013 interview with Goldmine Magazine, explained why the group disbanded: "We signed with Geffen, and we put out Silent Scream. Geffen got into a fight with all the radio promo guys, and they fired them the week our album came out. We had 200 ads on the radio, out of 300 reporting stations, in the first week. 'Summer Sun' was being added everywhere, and it looked like the album would be a smash. After the fight with the promo guys, it dropped to 40 stations. What do you do? We really worked hard on that record, and it was the one. It just crushed Gary when it all fell apart over something that ridiculous; It literally drove him out of the music business. You put your heart and soul into this stuff, and you expect these business guys to come through for you. We got hosed four or five times. Over the next several years fans from around the world were frustrated by not being able to find Shooting Star records, which all went out of print, while the band continued to receive