Loverboy

Loverboy

Loverboy. Vancouver rock band, active 1979-89. It was formed in Calgary by Paul Dean (guitarist, b Vancouver 19 Feb 1946; previously with Streetheart, Scrubbaloe Caine, etc) and Mike Reno (singer, b New Westminster, BC, 8 Jan 1955; previously with Moxy as Mike Rynoski) with others. Using Vancouver as its base, the band made its debut in November 1979 opening for the US group Kiss at the Pacific Coliseum. By early 1980, when they recorded their first album, Loverboy (Col JC-36762), and finalized their personnel with Dean, Reno, Doug Johnson (keyboard player, b New Westminster 19 Dec 1957), Scott Smith (bass guitarist, b Winnipeg 13 Feb 1955, d near San Francisco 30 Nov 2000), and Matt Frenette (drummer, b Calgary 7 Mar 1954).

Loverboy had international hits of varying success with 'The Kid Is Hot Tonight' and 'Turn Me Loose' (1980 and 1981 respectively, from Loverboy), 'Working for the Weekend' and 'When It's Over' (1982, from Get Lucky, Col FC-37638), 'Hot Girls in Love' and 'Queen of the Broken Hearts' (1983, from Keep It Up, Col QC-38703), 'Lovin' Every Minute of It' and 'This Could Be the Night' (1985 and 1986 respectively, from Lovin' Every Minute of It, Col FC-39953), 'Heaven in Your Eyes (1986, from the US film, Top Gun), and 'Notorious' (1987, from Wildside, Col OC-40893). Reno's recording of 'Almost Paradise' with Ann Wilson (of the Seattle band Heart) for the US film Footloose was an international hit in 1984.

International sales of Loverboy's first five albums exceeded 14 million; Loverboy with more than 500,000 copies sold domestically, Get Lucky 300,000, and Keep It Up 200,000, made them the most popular Canadian band of the day.

Loverboy made its US debut in Seattle 31 Dec 1980 and toured extensively in North America (eg, more than 200 concerts in 1981), both as an opening act (for ZZ Top, Journey, Foreigner, etc) and as a headliner and the band also appeared in Japan and Europe. As its popularity declined after mid-decade, it remained intermittently active in Canada at the nightclub level. Shortly after they released Temperature's Rising (1984), the band members parted ways to work on solo music projects. A Loverboy tour in Canada coincided with the 1989 release of the greatest hits compilation Big Ones (Col OC-45411).

1989 - Present
Loverboy reunited for a 1989 tour in Canada that coincided with the 1989 release of the greatest hits compilation Big Ones (Col OC-45411); and again for a concert tour in the US in 1994. That year the band released another greatest hits album, Loverboy Classics. In 1997 it released the albums VI and Loverboy: Superhits. After Scott Smith's death, Spider Sinneave, former member of Streetheart, joined Loverboy and in 2001 the group released Live Loud and Loose: 1982-1986. In 2006 Get Lucky was remastered and released with new content, followed by Just Getting Started in 2007.

Awards; Film and Television
Several of the band's singles have been used in television and movies including the singles 'Heaven In Your Eyes' in the movie Top Gun; 'Working for the Weekend,' heard on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live and in the movie Zoolander; and 'Turn me Loose' in the movie Crank (2006).

Over their career Loverboy has received several Juno Awards including album of the year for Loverboy (1982) and Get Lucky (1983); single of the year for 'Turn Me Loose' (1982); and group of the year (1982-4). Dean and Reno were awarded a Juno as composer of the year for 'Turn Me Loose' (1982); and Dean and Bruce Fairbairn won as producers for Get Lucky. Loverboy received PRO Canada's William Harold Moon Award for international achievement in 1983. In 2005 Loverboy was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

Saidman, Sorelle. 'The selling of Loverboy,' Vancouver Free Press - Georgia Straight, 21-28 May 1982

Harrison, Tom. 'Loverboy: return from the big black hole,' Canadian Musician, vol 8, Feb 1986

- 'Wildside,' Canadian Musician, vol 9, Dec 1987

Selected Discography

Loverboy. 1980.

Get Lucky. 1981, 2006.

Keep It Up. 1983.

Lovin' Every Minute of It. 1985.

Wildside. 1987.

Big Ones. 1989.

Temperature's Rising. 1994.

Loverboy Classics. 1994.

VI. 1997.

Loverboy: Superhits. 1997.

Live Loud and Loose. 1982-1986. 2001.

Just Getting Started. 2007.