s, Loverboy certainly did live those lyrics. If any Canadian rock band stole the show during that era, it was this Vancouver quintet."In the '80s, they were it," said Linda Ashford, 27, who remembers seeing them when she was 13. "They were hotter than hot with their tight, red-leather pants."

The way things are today, you'd never know they even existed. However, last night at the Stampede's Coca-Cola Theatre, the group proved they still do as they took thousands through a nostaligic tour of their hits like Turn Me Loose, Working for the Weekend and The Kid is Hot Tonight. For that period they were on stage, time stood still.

If last night's concert had've been 15 years ago, it would have been the talk of the town -- close to what the U2 concert in Edmonton was earlier this summer.

"Loverboy used to be one of my favorite bands," said Rick Schuster. "I don't think there was any discrimination with them -- both boys and girls seemed to like them."

"I remember in an air band contest in high school how all the guys were pretending they were Loverboy," added his wife Lisa.

But times change.

For example, while the members of Loverboy are now in their 40s and 50s, Lisa and Rick have a family of their own and had to find a babysitter so they could come out to the show. That's life and that's progress.

In yesterday's Sun there was a great piece about the band written by Blair S. Watson, in which singer Mike Reno talked of how "humbling" it was that the band couldn't get a record contract and has to sell its new CD through a toll-free number.

Perhaps you remember the lyrics "the kid is hot tonight, oh so hot tonight, but where will he be tomorrow ..." I'll bet when Loverboy wrote the song, they never dreamed they'd be treated like this. The whole thing is outrageous.

Personally, it bothers me because if anybody is owed some respect from the record business, it's Loverboy.

A few fancy cars for record company executives were paid for by the success of these guys. Where's the loyalty? And I don't buy the `it's just business' excuse. Just look at the size of the crowd last night -- there is still a following to sell to.

It's upsetting how this band, and many other Canadian bands of that era like Harlequin, Streetheart or Chilliwack, are not given the same kind of respect American bands like Aerosmith get. I first got an inkling of this recently when I played Working for the Weekend for my teenage cousins Karen, 17, and Lori, 14.

"Loverboy? Who's that?" said Lori.

"I've never heard of them," added Karen.

It's not their fault. But it's somebody's. Yes, there are new groups coming out every day and every band has its day.

However, we as a country should be proud of Loverboy and pass along their successes to the younger generations.

If these guys were given a chance, the kids of today might see their success had little to do with luck and more to do with the fact that they were hot.