so we did this guitar-oriented record but Polygram were horrified. According to Ivan, "We had a contractual obligation for one more album with Polygram so I said to them, we'll take half of the allotted budget if they would allow us to do the record I wanted. The 1991 album Sideways, dominated by electric guitars instead of keyboards, revealed a dramatically different sound for the band, based in part on Ivan's exposure to Nirvana. The musicians on the album were essentially the touring band from Pop Goes the World, which included Bruce Murphy on keyboards and guitar, Marika Tjelios on bass, Richard Sampson on drums, and Heidi Garcia on vocals and keyboards. The group's 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 song was later featured in the 1987 film Date with an Angel, and became the fifteenth biggest selling single in South Africa for 1988. The song " Pop Goes the World" reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, and was No. 1 in Austria. Reshuffling the line-up again, the band released the album Pop Goes the World in 1987 with Ivan, Stefan, and Lenny Pinkas. To support the EP, the group undertook a related tour, footage from which would later (in 2006) be released on DVD as Live Hats. In 1985, the band released the EP Freeways, consisting of multiple (and multi-lingual) remixes of one of their earliest efforts, Ivan and Arrobas's 1980 song "Freeways" (which had previously been released as a B-side in 1982). 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. 1 in South Africa, where it was the 11th highest-selling single of 1983.Īdding Colin (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. The song also reached the top ten in various other European countries, and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a major hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. The song soon charted in the United States, spending four weeks at No. The trio subsequently enjoyed a hit in Canada with " The Safety Dance", which peaked at No.
Men without hats the safety dance cd 1997 full#
Ivan and Stefan (now promoted to full membership status) subsequently recruited Allan McCarthy (percussion, electronics) to join the group, and recorded their 1982 full-length debut album Rhythm of Youth. Arrobas and Gabriel left the group just before the recording of the next album. Howe was replaced by keyboardist Mike Gabriel. Pisapia was replaced briefly by Tracy Howe, who also left in short order, co-founding Rational Youth shortly after his departure. Shortly after the release of the debut EP, Martyn left and was replaced by Jean-Marc Pisapia, who stayed only a short time before leaving, and later founded The Box.
At this point, the band had changed styles from punk to new wave and officially consisted of Ivan (vocals, bass) and Arrobas (keyboards) also appearing on the EP were auxiliary members Stefan Doroschuk (bass), Roman Martyn (guitars), and Lynne Thibodeau (backing vocals).
Their first recording to be released was the 1980 EP Folk of the 80's. Frontman and songwriter Ivan Doroschuk was the only constant member, while Stefan and Colin Doroschuk as well as Arrobas remained as relatively steady members through the early 1980s. In addition to the Doroschuks, the group has also included numerous additional members and guest or touring performers, many of whom quickly came and left during the first five years. The group's name came about because the brothers, following a self-described principle of "style before comfort", refused to wear hats during Montreal's cold winters, calling themselves "the men without hats". They moved to Montreal as young children when their parents returned to Canada. The Doroschuk brothers, all three of whom are classically trained musicians, were born in Champaign, Illinois while their father, a Canadian, was earning a doctoral degree. Many years later, Stefan would reuse the Wave 21 name for a country-pop band founded in the late 2010s with his daughters Mary-Lynn and Emmy-Lou. Years earlier, while in high school, Arrobas and the Doroschuk brothers had played together in a short-lived band called Wave 21, along with drummer Igor Krichevsky. In 1980, Doroschuk restarted Men Without Hats, giving the name to a new synthesizer-based electronic group that he formed with Jérémie Arrobas (vocals, keyboards) and his brothers Stefan Doroschuk (bass) and Colin Doroschuk (guitar). Men Without Hats was founded in Montreal in 1977, initially as a punk rock band featuring Ivan Doroschuk (vocals), Pete Seabrooke (guitar), Dave Hill (bass), and John Gurrin (drums).