Throughout the 1980s, Loverboy accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records. Except for a brief breakup from 1988 to 1991, the band has continued to perform live shows regularly. They are currently based in Vancouver.
History
1979–1983
According to Reno, their name was chosen due to a dream by Paul Dean. He had come up with the name after spending the previous night with some of the bandmates, including Reno and their girlfriends, before going to the movies. The girlfriends were browsing through fashion magazines, where the guys in the band saw a Cover Girl advertisement. Cover Girl became Cover Boy, and then became Loverboy in Dean's dream later that night. After being told by Dean about the dream the next morning, Reno agreed to try it out and it stuck.[2]
Dean's manager, Lou Blair, then brought in the biggest rock manager in Canada at that time, Bruce Allen, who took on the band and arranged for them to make their live debut opening for Kiss at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, B.C., on November 19, 1979.[3]
Originally rejected by all the major record labels in the United States, the band signed with Columbia Records of Canada, and on March 20, 1980, Loverboy went into the studio with producer Bruce Fairbairn and engineer Bob Rock to record what would be its self-titled debut album.[4]
Over that summer, the record became a huge hit with eventually over one million records sold in Canada alone. The album made its American debut in November 1980, and went on to sell over two million copies in the US. The band went on a touring spree that year putting on over 200 shows with bands such as Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, Kansas and Def Leppard. Their debut single, "Turn Me Loose", went on to hit No. 7 on the Canadian charts and No. 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1981. "The Kid Is Hot Tonite" was also a single.
The band's follow-up album, Get Lucky, released in October 1981 when it was opening for Journey, included the hit tracks "Working for the Weekend", "When It's Over" and "Lucky Ones".[4] It became the group’s best selling album in the U.S., reaching No.7 on the Billboard album charts[5] and selling over four million copies.[6] In the same year Loverboy received six Juno Awards (Canada's highest award for music) in one year, a record that still stands today.[7]
Loverboy released its third album, Keep It Up, in June 1983.[4] Its first single "Hot Girls in Love" became their most successful to that date, reaching No. 11 on the US BillboardHot 100. The video for the song as well as for the follow-up single "Queen of the Broken Hearts" were hugely popular on MTV.
1984–1989
In 1984 Loverboy recorded the United States Teamtheme for the 1984 Summer Olympics, "Nothing's Gonna Stop You Now". The song originally appeared on The Official Music of the 1984 Games but not on any of its albums or compilations to date. The band would often play it on tour mixing it in during the performance of "Queen of the Broken Hearts".
Also in 1984, Loverboy recorded a song called "Destruction" which appeared on the 1984 soundtrack of a re-edited version of the film Metropolis (1927).[8]
In 1986 the band recorded "Heaven in Your Eyes", a song featured in the movie Top Gun, which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard charts. Keyboardist Doug Johnson refused to appear in the video as he felt that the film glorified war, which he opposed.[9]
The release of Wildside, the band's fifth album, followed in September 1987. While it scored a minor hit with "Notorious", co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, the album sold relatively poorly and the band broke up in 1988 due to tensions between Dean and Reno.[4]
Dean released a solo album, Hardcore, in May 1989 and a Loverboy greatest-hits album, Big Ones, was released later that same year, in October, to fulfill Loverboy's obligation to Columbia Records. The group briefly reunited in late 1989 to tour (with Geraldo Valentino Dominelli on keyboards filling in for Johnson) to promote it, but broke up again at the tour's conclusion.
1991–1999
On October 6, 1991, the band reunited again to join fellow rockers Bryan Adams, Colin James, Chrissy Steele and Bill Henderson of Chilliwack at a benefit show at Vancouver's 86 Street Music Hall to raise over $50,000 for Henderson's former bandmate, Brian MacLeod, who was fighting cancer and undergoing treatment at a Houston medical clinic. The band members reportedly recalled that the concert was the most fun that they had had in years and decided that they wanted to do it again. They went on another live touring spree in Canada the following year before launching a 64-concert tour in the United States in 1993.[10]
The band's record label released its second and third compilation albums, Loverboy Classics and Temperature's Rising, in 1994. Loverboy Classics went Gold by 1998, coinciding with another American tour. This was followed by the releases of Six and Super Hits in 1997.
Keyboardist Richard Sera came on to fill in for Johnson in December 1996 through 1997.[11]
2000–2009: Death of Scott Smith
Loverboy in 2003
The band continued touring until November 30, 2000, when bassist Scott Smith was presumed dead after being washed overboard by a large wave while sailing in San Francisco Bay. He was 45 years old.[12]
The band went on to release a live album, Live, Loud and Loose, in 2001, which consisted of refurbished early live concert recordings from the band's intense touring years from 1982 to 1986. The year 2001 also brought another round of touring, this time dedicated to Scott Smith. Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve, a former member of The Guess Who, Red Rider and Dean and Frenette's pre-Loverboy band Streetheart, joined the band on bass prior to the tour.
Loverboy celebrated 25 years together in 2005 and began to perform in selected cities to commemorate this milestone. That tour continued with live concerts scheduled well into August 2006. Also in 2005, Loverboy was one of the featured bands on the American version of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time. It performed "Working for the Weekend" and a cover version of "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias on the show.
In 2006, twenty-five years after its initial release, Get Lucky was remastered and re-released with several previously unreleased songs, including the original demo of "Working for the Weekend".[13]
In a video interview from March 2007, Mike Reno confirmed that the band finished recording a new studio album released in 2007.[14] Titled Just Getting Started, it was released in October, with a clip of the first single "The One That Got Away" available on the band's MySpace page. The band continues to tour throughout Canada and the United States.
In 2013 Loverboy toured on and off for at least a few dates during every month, except for the month of March.
While continuing to tour in 2014, it was announced on the official Loverboy home page on June 19, 2014, that the band's newest album of all-original material, Unfinished Business, was expected to be released on July 15, 2014.[16] The first single was already available for purchase on iTunes and the title of this song was "Countin' the Nights".[17] The band toured during that summer, including at least two free shows.[18]
In 2016 the band released two new singles, "Hurtin'" and "Some Like It Hot", the latter is described by Paul Dean as "the first and only shuffle Loverboy has ever done", comes from the same late '70s period as several of the songs found on their previous album, 2014's Unfinished Business. "Giving it all away/Living for today," sings Mike Reno on the track – which originated as a demo, but was later rearranged and augmented by Dean, describing this latest as a "gift" from the band to its fans.
Dean went through more than 230 individual two-inch analog tapes he had transferred to digital, including this "gem" from the band's storied history. It follows the release of "Hurtin'" earlier this year. "The beauty of the Internet is the ability to make a song available right away, without waiting until you have the rest of the album done," says Dean. "It's a real boon to creativity. It's total grass roots, DIY. Like the lyrics to 'Some Like It Hot', we're not living for tomorrow or next year."
The single, artwork and accompanying music video – with a montage of a Loverboy program from the band's 1983 Keep It Up tour – prominently features the late bassist Scott Smith. "It was one of the first tunes we ever recorded," he said. "He's playing his ass off on it. I thought it was lost and gone forever. And, I think it would be a really good addition to our set list!"
In 2016 a commercial and digital short for National Car Rental started airing that features the band and major fan Patrick Warburton, best known for his role as David Puddy in Seinfeld. After Warburton touts that four out of five National rentals result in a free upgrade, the group piles into the rental car with Warburton and drives home the commercial's message with the title of one of their many hits, "Lovin' Every Minute of It". There is also a digital short, specifically made available on National Car Rental's YouTube channel, with Warburton having the group autograph their Get Lucky album, and pledging his devotion.[19][20]
In 2017 the band released a new single, "Stop the Rain"[21] and appeared at the Rockingham Festival 2017, held at Nottingham Trent University, UK, between October 20–22, 2017.[22] The band headlined on Sunday, October 22, 2017.[22]
2022–present
In 2022 the band released a new single, "Release" and toured with REO Speedwagon and Styx.[23]
Personnel
Current members
Paul Dean – guitar, backing vocals (1979–1988, 1989, 1991–present)
Matt Frenette – drums, percussion (1979–1988, 1989, 1991–present)
Kenneth "Spider" Sinnaeve is a Canadian musician. He was a founding member of the popular Canadian band Streetheart, and since 2001 has been a member of Loverboy, replacing late bassist Scott Smith. Sinnaeve has also contributed to many albums and played live performances with George McCrae, Helix, Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, Kim Mitchell, The Partland Brothers, Lee Aaron, and The Guess Who. He is known for his extended solos, which often last 15–20 minutes.
Mike Reno is a Canadian musician, singer and the lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He fronted other bands, including Moxy, before helping form Loverboy. Reno also sang for the Canadian band Hammersmith in 1976.
Donald Scott Smith was a Canadian musician and the bassist for Canadian rock band Loverboy. The band are best known for their hit singles "Working for the Weekend" and "Turn Me Loose", although their U.S. Top Ten hits were "Lovin' Every Minute of It" in 1985 and "This Could Be the Night" in 1986. The band won six Juno Awards in 1982 and has sold over 23 million records.
Loverboy is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Loverboy. It was released in August 1980.
Get Lucky is the second studio album by Canadian hard rock band Loverboy. It was released on October 7, 1981, by Columbia Records. The album reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart, remaining on the chart for over two years, and has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. It featured the singles "Working for the Weekend", "When It's Over", "Lucky Ones", and "Take Me to the Top.”
Keep it Up is the third studio album released by the Canadian rock band Loverboy in late June 1983. With new hit tracks like "Hot Girls in Love", the album became an instant hit, and reached #7 on the US Billboard 200 charts, as did the previous album released by the band.
Lovin' Every Minute of It is the fourth studio album, released in 1985 by the rock band Loverboy. The album became a hit thanks to the title track which reached #9 at US Hot 100, while "This Could Be The Night" was #10, "Dangerous" #65 and "Lead A Double Life" #68. The album went double platinum, being the last of the band's to do so.
"Turn Me Loose" is a hit song recorded by the Canadian rock band Loverboy. It was released on their eponymous debut album in 1980, and as a single in 1981. With a strong rock synthesizer start to the song, followed by a steady build on the guitars, it peaked at #7 on the RPM singles chart in 1981 and #6 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart in the US.
"Working for the Weekend" is a song by Canadian rock band Loverboy from their second studio album, Get Lucky (1982). It was written by guitarist Paul Dean, vocalist Mike Reno, and drummer Matt Frenette and produced by Bruce Fairbairn and Dean. The song was released as the lead single from the album in 1981 and reached number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as number two on Billboard's Rock Top Tracks chart in February 1982. "Working for the Weekend" was ranked at number 100 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s".
Wildside is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Loverboy, released in September 1987. It was the band's first to not turn platinum, signalling a decline in their popularity.
Paul Warren Dean is a Canadian musician and the lead guitarist of the Canadian rock band Loverboy which reached huge fame in the early 1980s.
"Lovin' Every Minute of It" is a song released in 1985 on the Canadian rock band Loverboy's album of the same title. The song reached #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 becoming their first US Top 10 hit, when released as a single later that year. It was written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. In Canada, the song peaked at #11.
Big Ones is a compilation album released in 1989 by the Canadian rock band Loverboy. The album was the band's first compilation, including hit tracks such as "Working for the Weekend" and "Lovin' Every Minute of it". The compilation includes 3 new studio tracks: "For You", "Ain't Looking for Love" and "Too Hot". It was also released in the same year that the band decided to break up a second time, and another compilation would not be released until five years later.
"When It's Over" is a song by the Canadian rock band Loverboy from their album Get Lucky released in 1981. Written by band members Paul Dean and Mike Reno, it features Nancy Nash on background vocals. Relying heavily on synthesizers, the song became a Top 40 hit for the band when released as a single the following year, peaking at number 17 on Canada's RPM Top Singles in May and number 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in June 1982.
"This Could Be the Night" is a song written by Paul Dean, Mike Reno, Bill Wray and Jonathan Cain, and recorded by the Canadian rock band Loverboy from their hit album, Lovin' Every Minute of It, released in 1985. The song contained much more of a style that represented 1980s power pop ballads than the rocking style for which the band had been known. Released as a single in 1986 with an accompanying black-and-white music video, it reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Live, Loud and Loose (1982–1986) is an album released by the rock band Loverboy in 2001. After the death of their original bassist Scott Smith, the band decided to release a live album. This album contains refurbished recorded live tracks from the band's intense touring from 1982 to 1986. It became quite popular with fans, but failed to break into the mainstream.
"Heaven in Your Eyes" is a song recorded by Canadian rock band Loverboy for the soundtrack to the film Top Gun. It later appeared on Loverboy's 1989 hits compilation Big Ones. The power ballad reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.
Streetheart is a Canadian rock band, originally from Regina, Saskatchewan and later based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their best known songs include "Here Comes the Night", "What Kind of Love is This", and their cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb".
"Almost Paradise... Love Theme from Footloose" is the title of a duet sung by Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart. It is one of several major hits written by singer Eric Carmen with lyricist Dean Pitchford, another being "Make Me Lose Control".
Rock 'n' Roll Revival is the eighth studio album by the Canadian rock band Loverboy. The album features nine classic Loverboy songs re-recorded for the album by the current lineup, as well as three new songs. The three new songs were recorded with Bob Rock at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, BC.
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