Loverboy

Loverboy
Loverboy
Background information
Origin	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Years active	1980 – 2006
Members	Mike Reno; Paul Dean; Scott Smith; Doug Johnson; Matt Frenette

Loverboy is a Canadian rock and roll group which was very popular in the 1980s, accumulating numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States. They are based in Vancouver, British Columbia but Reno and Dean originally met in Calgary, Alberta. After being rejected by many U.S. record labels, they signed with Columbia Records Canada. They began recording their first album March 20, 1980 with Mike Reno on lead vocals, Paul Dean as the lead guitarist, Scott Smith as the bassist, Doug Johnson on Keyboards, and Matt Frenette on drums.

Band History

Beginnings

The orgin of the band began in Calgary, Alberta, Canada when Mike Reno was introduced to Paul Dean at the Refinery Night Club. Dean was rehearsing a new band in a warehouse with a friend of Reno's, and Mike had stopped by to jam. Over the next few weeks, Reno and Dean wrote songs together on guitar and drums. Meanwhile, Doug Johnson, who was working with another band at the time, joined the band, and Loverboy was born.

1980 to 1987

Originally rejected by all the major record labels in the United States, the band signed with Columbia Records of Canada. On March 20, 1980, Loverboy went into the studio with producer Bruce Fairbairn and engineer Bob Rock to record what would be their self-titled début album. Over that summer, the record became a huge hit, with over 700,000 records sold in Canada alone. At that point, Colombia Records of the United States saw the success of the album, and decided to sign the band for a release in the U.S. When the album hit shelves there in November 1980, it sold over 2 million albums, and went gold by April 1981. The band went on a touring spree that year, putting on over 200 shows with bands like Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, and Def Leppard. The band's follow-up album, Get Lucky, was released that year as well, containing hit tracks Working for the Weekend and It's Your Life. This led the band to receive an unprecedented six Juno Awards, Canada's highest award for music, a record that still stands today.

Loverboy was well known in Canada and the U.S. for rock hits such as "Turn Me Loose", "Working For The Weekend", "Hot Girls In Love" and, the group's highest charting U.S. single, "Lovin' Every Minute Of It". The latter, written by Robert "Mutt" Lange bears more than a passing resemblance to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me", co-written and produced by Lange.

Tragically, Scott Smith was declared dead after being lost at sea on November 30, 2000. The current line-up includes "Spider" Sinnaeve (formerly of Streetheart) on bass, replacing Smith.

In 2005, Loverboy were one of the featured bands on the American version of Hit Me Baby One More Time. They performed on that episode "Working For The Weekend" and a cover version of "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias.

Discography

Loverboy (1980) #13 US
Get Lucky (1981) #7 US
Keep It Up (1983) #7 US
Lovin' Every Minute Of It (1985) #13 US
Wildside (1987) #42 US
Big Ones (1989) #189 US
Loverboy Classics (1994)
Temperature's Rising (1994)
Six (1997)
Super Hits (1997)
Live, Loud and Loose (2001)

Singles

"Turn Me Loose" (1981) #35 US
"The Kid Is Hot Tonite" (1981) #55 US
"Working For The Weekend" (1981) #29 US
"When It's Over" (1982) #26 US
"Hot Girls In Love" (1983) #11 US
"Queen Of The Broken Hearts" (1983) #34 US
"Lovin' Every Minute Of It" (1985) #9 US
"Dangerous" (1985) #65 US
"This Could Be The Night" (1986) #10 US
"Lead A Double Life" (1986) #68 US
"Heaven In Your Eyes" (1986) #12 US
"Notorious" (1987) #38 US
"Too Hot" (1989) #84 US

Trivia

Loverboy was referenced in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force where the Mooninites obtained the Foreigner Belt, a magical belt which made literal the lyrics of Foreigner songs. When Err tried to use lyrics from a Loverboy song on Master Shake, it didn't work because "Loverboy has always sucked" according to Ignignot.

External links