Gerry McGhee (vocals)
Mark Cavarzan (drums)
Stevie Skreebs (bass)
Greg Fraser (guitar)
Johnny Rogers (keyboards)
Martin Victor (keyboards; replaced Rogers 1989)
Greg Bioleau (additional touring guitarist; 1991)
Scottish born Gerry McGhee started his rock singing career fronting Niagara, Ontario regional band The Rockers playing the usual Southern Ontario bar circuit gigs as most acts attempting to break out. Kerrang! magazine writer Paul Suter convinced him to go to England to front an ill-fated project that died within four months of McGhee's arrival. He returned to Canada determined, more than ever, to make a go of things so he hooked up with musicians from all over the Golden Horseshoe as Heart Attack. They would come in third place behind The Vigilants and Eye Eye in the 1984 Q107 Homegrown contest with the song "(Breaking Down The) Barricade".
They were spotted by Honeymoon Suite manager Stephen Prendergast and under his guidance they changed their name to Brighton Rock (urban legend says the name came from a Queen song and/or from a character in a Graham Greene novel) and headed into the studio in September 1985 with producer Michael Wagener.
The result was an EP called 'Young, Wild And Free' which sold well in England, Ireland, France and Germany. This effort didn't go unnoticed by WEA Canada A & R rep Bob Roper who signed the band in Canada (and the label's affiliate Atco Records picked them up for the US).
In 1986 the follow-up, full-length album, also called 'Young, Wild And Free' produced two singles - "We Came To Rock" and "Can't Wait For The Night" (which webt Top10).
The band followed up the enthusiastic response with a sold-out four show tour including the infamous Marquee Club in England. They returned to Canada as opening act on a Triumph tour in January 1987. By mid-87 the band was being featured on MuchMusic and opening for Lee Aaron on tour. The album sold upwards of 200,000 copies worldwide.
1988's 'Take A Deep Breath' was produced by Jack Richardson (Guess Who). The lead off single/video was a ballad called "One More Try". The song's video featured Scarborough, Ontario super model Monica Schnarre. The second single, "Hangin' High'N'Dry" was overlooked by MuchMusic for objectionable content (though Video Hits did play it). The third single, "Can't Stop The Earth From Shaking", met with total indifference. And though the record failed to find a distribution outlet in the US, the album sold a respectable 70,000 copies in Canada.
The band went through a series of changes including ousting their manager, letting keyboardist, Johnny Rogers go and a change in musical direction for 1991's 'Love Machine' toward heavier, guitar driven rock. Production chores were handled by Toby Wright. A small dispute with WEA ensued at the end of the recording sessions after the label pulled the plug on one track called "Gang Bang" which was deemed 'too heavy' for Canadian audiences.
The single "Hollywood Shuffle" helped push the album to Gold status and Brighton Rock were nominated for a Juno Award in 1992. On tour Brighton Rock added former The Rockers guitarist Greg Bioleau. The band eventually fell out of favour in the prevailing Grunge movement during the early '90s. The band fell apart shortly thereafter.
In 2001 the classic line-up of the band reunited and played throughout Southern Ontario. A new live 'best of' was released in 2002.
Singles
1986 We Came To Rock
1986 Can't Wait For The Night/Jack Is Back (Flying Fist/Head Office)
1988 One More Try (Bigger Business/WEA)
1989 Hangin' High And Dry (Bigger Business/WEA)
1989 Can't Stop The Earth From Shaking (Bigger Business/WEA)
1991 Hollywood Shuffle (WEA)
Albums
1986 Young, Wild And Free [EP] (Flying Fist/Head Office)
1986 Young, Wild And Free (Atco/Atlantic/WEA)
1989 Take A Deep Breath (Bigger Business/WEA)
1991 Love Machine (WEA)
Video
1986 Can't Wait For The Night
1988 One More Try
1989 Hangin' High 'N Dry
Compilation Tracks
as HEART ATTACK
1984 "Breakin' Down The Barricade" on 'Q107 Homegrown Volume Six' (RCA) - compilation
Official Brighton Rock Website
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