Payola$
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| Payola$ | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Vancouver, BC, Canada Image:Flag of Canada.svg |
| Genre(s) | New Wave, Rock |
| Years active | 1978 – 1988, 2003-present |
| Label(s) | A&M Records, EMI |
| Associated acts | Rock & Hyde |
| Website | http://www.thepayolas.com |
| Members | |
| Paul Hyde Bob Rock Alex 'A-Train' Boynton Chris Taylor | |
| Former members | |
| Larry Wilkins Christopher Livingston | |
The Payola$, part of Vancouver's new wave of bands, were active in the Canadian music scene for a decade from the late 1970s. In 2007, they became active again, releasing a CD EP of all new material (Langford Part One) and touring.
The band's name is a reference to the payola scandal in the United States in the early 1960s. The group was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and recorded mostly at Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound. Through several lineup changes and name changes (the band also played as The Payola$, Paul Hyde and the Payolas and Rock and Hyde), the Payola$ core members remained Paul Hyde and Bob Rock, who together wrote virtually all of the band's songs. As well, Rock engineered and mixed virtually every Payola$ recording.
Although in the 1980s the Payola$ always seemed poised for a big international (that is, U.S.) breakthrough, the band never quite broke out despite their artistic growth and popular success in Canada. They were, however, one of the most prominent and successful platinum-selling Canadian bands of the early 1980s.
Contents |
[edit] Band History
[edit] The Early Years (1978-1981)
Vocalist Hyde, a British emigrant, met guitarist Rock (originally from Winnipeg) during high school in Langford, B.C. They joined with drummer Taylor Nelson Little and sax/bass player Gary Middleclass to form a pop-punk band. Bob Rock started his career as a recording engineer at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, B.C. At their gigs and in local music stores they sold their singles "Money for Hype" and "China Boys." Spotted by A&M Records, four songs were issued as Introducing Payola$ in 1980. The major-label EP included a new version of their signature song “China Boys,” early versions of “Jukebox” and “Rose”, and the profanity-laden working class anthem “T.N.T.”
The EP garnered enough attention to warrant a full-length follow up album. With Laurence Wilkins replacing Middleclass on bass, 1981's In a Place Like This (produced by Rock) was a critical success. It included a remake of “Jukebox” -- and yet another remake of “China Boys” -- as well as more proletarian laments like the title track and “Whiskey Boy.”
[edit] The Mick Ronson Era (1982-1984)
1982 saw drummer Chris Taylor added to the band lineup, replacing Little, and the successful release of the Mick Ronson-produced album No Stranger To Danger. Incorporating elements of reggae, pop, punk, and new wave, the LP included a bona fide hit in “Eyes of a Stranger,” which later earned the Juno for best single of the year. Bob Rock’s recording work on the album also won him a Juno, and the LP also featured the moderately successful single “Romance.” Even the non-album B-side “Soldier” was a minor Canadian hit.
Arguably, the band's high-water mark was reached in 1983. That year, the Payola$ released Hammer on a Drum (also produced by Ronson, with the Payola$) to great commercial and popular acclaim. The band now consisted of Rock (often doubling on guitar and bass), Hyde, Taylor and new keyboardist Christopher Livingston. The album they created was a little heavier on keyboard-based pop than before, and seamlessly mixed anthems of social conscience (such as the child abuse chronicle “Where Is This Love” and nuclear nightmare “No Prisoners”) with socialite navel gazing, exemplified by “I’ll Find Another” and “Wild West.”
Four notable singles were pulled from the LP: "Where Is This Love?" and "I'll Find Another"; a tongue-in-cheek duet with Carole Pope of Rough Trade called "Never Said I Loved You"; and the downcast "Christmas Is Coming," which has since been anthologized on anti-Christmas releases.
[edit] Compromises, David Foster and "Tears Are Not Enough" (1985)
For the first several years of their existence, the Payola$ unsuccessfully tried to break into the U.S. market whilst dealing with strong radio resistance to their name. The Payola$ lack of State-side exposure was attributed in some quarters to the possibility that American radio programmers were refusing to play any Payola$ music simply because the band's name would remind the public of one of the radio industry's greatest scandals (and ongoing practices). Therefore, under a certain amount of record company pressure -- but also because they legitimately wanted to crack the lucrative U.S. market -- the band softened their formerly hard-edged tunes, and in 1985 altered their name to Paul Hyde and the Payolas. In this way, radio DJ's could play Payolas music, but simply announce the artist as "Paul Hyde" if they wanted to avoid uttering the dreaded "p" word on-air.
Around this same time, the band hired proven pop hit-maker David Foster as their producer (and occasional co-writer) to help lend polish to their next record. By this point, the band consisted of Hyde, Rock, drummer Chris Taylor and new bassist Alex "A-Train" Boynton. Keyboardist Livingston was no longer an official band member, but was hired to play keys during the album sessions (as was Foster). In spite of (or perhaps because of) the band's compromises, the resulting album, Here's the World for Ya, was an artistic and commercial dud.
Regardless, during the sessions, Foster received a phone call from Quincy Jones asking him to produce and contribute a Canadian all-star recording to the USA for Africa famine relief project. Using a song title supplied by Rock and Hyde, Foster helped assemble an all-star band called Northern Lights to record the #1 Canadian hit "Tears Are Not Enough". Rock and Hyde received co-writer credits on the song (along with Bryan Adams, Foster, Rachel Paiement and Jim Vallance). As well, Hyde is heard as one of 44 vocalists on the song, and Rock was one of the engineers.
[edit] Metamorphosis I: Paul Hyde and the Payolas (1985-1986)
Later in 1985, when Paul Hyde and the Payolas' Here's the World for Ya LP was released, its singles included “You're The Only Love”, “It Must Be Love”, “Stuck in the Rain,” and “Here’s the World.” All these singles did moderately well in Canada, and “You're The Only Love”, actually also charted in the US, scraping into the Hot 100 -- the first Payola$ single to do so.
However, critical reaction to the Here's the World for Ya album was less than enthusiastic, with many feeling that Foster's richly ornamented production style was not a good fit with the Payola$ previously punkish energy. As well, the album was not the hit the record company was hoping for, especially considering Foster's previous track record of producing massive international hits for artists such as Chicago, John Parr and Barbra Streisand. Furthermore, the band lost many loyal fans who felt the Payolas had turned their backs on their previously hardcore playing and socially relevant writing. As a consequence of all these factors, within weeks of Here's the World for Ya's release (and relative commercial failure), the band was dropped by A&M.
[edit] Metamorphosis II: Rock and Hyde (1987-1988)
In 1987, the band rebranded themselves as Rock and Hyde (although the core duo was still in fact working with Payola$ Taylor and Boynton) and released Under the Volcano on Capitol/EMI. This album's credits included a rather pointed dig at former producer Foster by offering a "very special thanks" to new producer Bruce Fairbairn who "did the decent thing and let us be ourselves (we can all look in the mirror in the morning now)."
Under the Volcano was critically well-received, and Rock and Hyde had two hits in Canada with “Dirty Water” and “I Will”. “Dirty Water” also charted on the US Hot 100.
A&M tried to piggyback on the duo's EMI success by immediately offering forth a greatest hits package called Between A Rock & A Hyde Place. This compilation included no Rock and Hyde recordings per se, only A&M-era recordings the band had released under the name Payola$ (or Paul Hyde & The Payolas).
[edit] The Long Hiatus (1989-2003)
The duo of Rock and Hyde ceased to be a performing unit at the end of the 80s, although at the time of Hyde's first solo release (1989's Turtle Island), Hyde was referring to the split simply as a hiatus. However, it took a long time for the hiatus to end; throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Rock busied himself producing heavy metal bands like Mötley Crüe and Metallica. As well, along with ex-Payola Chris Taylor, he created the shortlived band Rockhead.
Paul Hyde, meanwhile, pursued an on-again/off-again solo recording career, which included Rock as producer and occasional co-writer, guitarist, bassist and drummer on 2000's Living off the Radar.
Another Payola$ compilation was released in 2002 in Universal Music's 20th Century Master Series. This compilation also featured the Rock and Hyde track "Dirty Water".
[edit] Reunion 2003-present
Finally, in 2003, Rock and Hyde reteamed for a Vancouver gig. The following year, they announced they were at long last going into the studio to record a new Payola$ release. In 2006, a track called "Bomb" was available at their website; on July 17, 2007, the Payola$ released a seven-song CD EP titled Langford Part One. The current Payola$ line-up reunites the late 1980s band of Rock, Hyde, drummer Chris Taylor and bassist Alex 'A-Train' Boynton -- a line-up that, ironically, performed as "Paul Hyde & The Payolas" and as "Rock and Hyde", but prior to this reunion, had never performed as the Payola$.
[edit] Discography
Since the band was most active in the mid-1980s as the change from LPs to CDs was occurring, most of their songs are, as of yet, unavailable on CD. “Eyes of a Stranger” and “Christmas Is Coming” appear on various CD anthologies, usually with an ‘80s, punk and/or holiday theme.
[edit] Singles
| Release date | Artist Credit | Title | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM 100 | US Hot 100 | US Mainstream Rock | |||
| 1978 | Payola$ | "Money For Hype" | |||
| 1979 | Payola$ | "China Boys" | |||
| 1982 | Payola$ | "Eyes of a Stranger" | #4 | #22 | |
| 1982 | Payola$ | "Romance" | |||
| 1982 | Payola$ | "Soldier" | #25 | ||
| 1983 | Payola$ with Carole Pope | "Never Said I Loved You" | #8 | ||
| 1983 | Payola$ | "Where Is This Love" | |||
| 1983 | Payola$ | "Christmas Is Coming"/"I'll Find Another (Who Can Do It Right)" | |||
| 1985 | Paul Hyde and the Payolas | "You're The Only Love" | #26 | #84 | #37 |
| 1985 | Paul Hyde and the Payolas | "Stuck In The Rain" | #77 | ||
| 1985 | Paul Hyde and the Payolas | "Here's the World For Ya" | #91 | ||
| 1985 | Paul Hyde and the Payolas | "It Must Be Love" | #94 | ||
| 1987 | Rock and Hyde | "Dirty Water" | #20 | #61 | #6 |
| 1987 | Rock and Hyde | "I Will" | #40 | ||
| 2006 | Payola$ | "Bomb" | |||
[edit] EPs and Albums
- Introducing Payola$, (four-song EP), Payola$, A&M , 1980
- In a Place Like This, Payola$, A&M, 1981
- No Stranger To Danger, Payola$, A&M, 1982
- Hammer on a Drum, Payola$, A&M, 1983
- Here's the World for Ya, Paul Hyde and the Payolas, A&M, 1985
- Under the Volcano, Rock and Hyde, Capitol/EMI, 1987
- Langford Part One, (seven-song EP), Payola$, EMI, July 17, 2007
[edit] Compilations
- Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$, Payola$ (greatest hits), A&M, 1987 (reissued 1993)
- The Best of the Payola$, 20th Century Masters, The Millennium Collection, Payola$ (+ one Rock and Hyde track) (greatest hits), Universal Music, 2002.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Payolas at The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Payola$ at Canadian Bands
- Payola$ at Jam! Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
- Bob Rock
