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Men Without Hats

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Men Without Hats

Men Without Hats was a Canadian New Wave group from Montreal, Quebec characterized by the baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk and their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing. They achieved their greatest popularity in the early to mid 1980s with their most successful single, "The Safety Dance", a Top 10 hit in both the US and the UK,[1] as well as other countries including South Africa. Their other big success was the 1987 hit, "Pop Goes the World".

History

Early days

At the core, Men Without Hats consisted of Ivan Doroschuk (vocals, keyboards) and Jeremie Arrobas (electronics), as well as Ivan's brother Stefan (guitars), with various other members joining and leaving the group, including a third Doroschuk brother, Colin (electronics). The band was founded in 1977 in Montreal and would undergo numerous personnel changes through the rest of the decade with Stefan, Colin, and Arrobas as the only relative constants joining Ivan. The name came about because Ivan and his two brothers, following the self-described principle of "style before comfort", refused to wear hats during Montreal's cold winters, calling themselves "the men without hats." (A popular but apocryphal tale is that an announcer at an early gig misread it as "Men Without Pants.")[2]

Their first release was the EP Folk of the 80's, released in 1980. By this time, the band consisted of Ivan and Stefan Doroschuk, Arrobas, and guitarist Roman Martyn. Shortly after the release of the EP, Martyn left and was replaced by Jean-Marc Pisapia. Pisapia stayed only a short time before leaving; he was replaced briefly by Tracy Howe, who also left in short order — although he was around long enough to be credited on a reprint of Folk of the 80's, despite not appearing on it. Howe's interim replacement, Daniel Wheeler, spent a short time as the group's percussionist, before departing for a brief, but successful, career in American local politics after being elected to the State of South Dakota School Board.

Both Howe and Pisapia achieved some success outside of Men Without Hats; Howe with his band Rational Youth and Pisapia after forming The Box. Mike Gabriel also joined Men Without Hats around this time of constant membership turnover and by 1982 both Arrobas and Gabriel would leave to work with Pisapia in a new (pre-The Box) band, before eventually forming their own group, Isinglass.

International success

Ivan and Stefan Doroschuk subsequently recruited Allan McCarthy (percussion, electronics) to join the group. Soon after, the trio erupted onto the international scene with their worldwide hit single "The Safety Dance" from their 1982 debut album Rhythm of Youth. The song spent four weeks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, was also a major hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #6,[1] and reached the top ten in various European countries. The song also charted, although less successfully, in their home country of Canada, reaching #12 on the Canadian Singles Chart. It was rated the eleventh biggest selling single of the year in South Africa in 1983.

Adding Colin Doroschuk (who had guested on Rhythm Of Youth) as an official fourth member, Men Without Hats released the album Folk of the 80's (Part III) in 1984. While lead single "Where Do The Boys Go?" was a top 40 hit in Canada, the album failed to match the international success of Rhythm of Youth.

Reshuffling the line-up again, the band released the album Pop Goes the World in 1987 with Ivan, Stefan and Lenny Pinkas. The album's title track reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, and was #1 in Austria. The song was also featured in the 1987 film Date with an Angel and became the fifteenth biggest selling single in South Africa for 1988. The touring band added Bruce Murphy on keyboards and guitar, Marika Tjelios on bass, Richard Sampson on drums, and Heidi Garcia on vocals and keyboards.

Their next album, The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century, released in 1989, featured a cover of ABBA's song "SOS". The musicians on the album were essentially the touring band from Pop Goes the World. Their 1991 album Sideways, dominated by processed electric guitars instead of keyboards, revealed a dramatically different sound for the band due to synthpop falling out of style.[citation needed] The album failed to attract an American label, despite the group's efforts to convince their own record label. Soon after this career setback, the band officially disbanded, although Ivan Doroschuk and keyboardist Bruce Murphy would record several demos in 1993, for a concept album tentatively titled 'UFO's are Real', which was never released.

Break-up and reformation

In 1995, one-time band member Allan McCarthy died due to complications of AIDS. Lead singer Ivan Doroschuk released a solo album, The Spell, in 1997. Stefan and Mack MacKenzie (of 3 O'Clock Train) released Ride of Glory, a post-modern Western-themed CD. Stefan and Ivan Doroschuk later regrouped in 2003 to release the group's final album, No Hats Beyond This Point.

In September 2010, Ivan reformed Men Without Hats, with three hired backup musicians, and appeared at the Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria, British Columbia, performing ten songs from the Men Without Hats back catalogue. The Ivan-fronted band (described by the Austin American-Statesman as "simply singer Ivan Doroschuk and some hired guns")[3] began a "Dance If You Want Tour 2011" with a well attended and positively received performance at Austin's South by Southwest event in March, 2011.[4]

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Compilation albums

Singles

Year Song UK[1] CAN U.S. Album
1983 "I Like" - - 84 Rhythm of Youth
"The Safety Dance" 6 11 3
"I Got the Message" - - -
"Living in China" - - -
1984 "Where Do the Boys Go?" - 30 - Folk of the 80's (Part III)
1987 "Pop Goes the World" - 2 20 Pop Goes the World
"Moonbeam" - 23 -
1989 "Hey Men" - 8 - The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
"In the 21st Century" - 35 -
1991 "Sideways" - 50 - Sideways

Music videos

  • "Nationale 7"
  • "Security"
  • "Antarctica"
  • "The Safety Dance"
  • "I Like"
  • "Where Do the Boys Go?"
  • "Pop Goes the World"
  • "Moonbeam"
  • "Hey Men"
  • "In the 21st Century"
  • "Sideways"

DVDs

Covers

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 360. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ http://menwithouthats.com/info.html
  3. ^ Joe Gross, "At SXSW, 1990s bands feel different from 1980s band", Austin American-Statesman, March 18, 2011.
  4. ^ Lynn Saxberg, "Sexsmith, Men Without Hats score as festival wraps up", The Vancouver Sun, March 22, 2011.
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