Fans of vintage Canadian rock won’t want to miss out on Harlequin and the Headpins, making a City stop Feb. 25.
Having both originally formed back in the mid-1970s, the bands perform at Wild Bill’s in the Quality North Hill Inn.
Harlequin’s beginnings were relatively modest, having been discovered playing a small Toronto bar by representatives of Jack Douglas who had produced the likes of Aerosmith, Patti Smith and John Lennon. In a twist of fate, the reps had planned on seeing the band playing downstairs but couldn’t make it in because of that show was sold out.
They headed upstairs, caught Harlequin and that’s when things started cooking. A production deal was struck and the guys ultimately signed with CBS/Epic in 1979.
Their first record, Victim of a Song, shot to gold status with tunes like Sweet Things in Life, You are the Light and Survive introducing them to legions of new fans via radio.
Love Crimes followed in 1980, nabbed platinum status and was fueled further by the hit singles Innocence and Thinking of You. Solidifying the band’s soaring success even more was the release of One False Move in 1982. Hits like Heart Gone Cold, I Did it for Love and Superstitious Feeling buoyed the guys’ popularity.
Their final self-titled disc produced one single Take This heart and the band’s only music video filmed at the abandoned Don jail in Toronto.
And even though the records stopped, the touring continued. A greatest hits collection was eventually released as well.
Fast-forward to recent times, which saw the band record Waking the Jester in 2007. In 2009, the guys released On/Q which was recorded live and included material from their earliest days. The current line-up consists of George Belanger, Nik Rivers, Derrick Gottfried, Darren Moore and A.J. Chabidon.
Originally formed in Vancouver back in the 1970s as well, the Headpins quickly became regarded as one of the west coast’s hottest new bands. After winning a local radio contest, their debut Turn It Loud hit shelves in 1982.
Word of the band’s fired-up shows spread and by the time Turn It Loud turned platinum, the band had already toured most of the continent. The next couple of years saw them trekking across North America and Europe. Their follow-up project, Line of Fire, was released in 1983 followed by Head Over Heels a couple of years later.
The hits continued with Still the One, Death of Me, Be With You and The Danger Zone, helping vault the project to gold status.
With the re-release of their 1982 debut Turn It Loud in late 2000 and Line of Fire in 2002, things were once again heating up for the band which continues to rock the house nation-wide to this day.
For more information about the Red Deer show, call 403-343-8800.
-Weber
