Paul MacAusland (lead vocals)
Marvin Birt (guitars, backup vocals)
David Rashed (keyboards, backup vocals)
Ronnie Switzer (bass guitar)
Ron LeBlanc (drums)
Sean Kilbride (drums - replaced LeBlanc, 1985)
Haywire was formed in 1982 in their hometown of Charlottetown, PEI. Touring constantly on the east coast helped them hone their craft and acquire drummer Kilbride (Broken Toys) in late 1985.
In 1984 they won the Q104 Homegrown contest; the first prize was the chance to record a single, but they took the opportunity to invest their own money and record a 5-song EP, which eventually sold over 5000 copies in the Maritimes. In 1985 they won the Labatt's Battle of the Bands, and used the $10,000 first prize to record more material. The band shopped the material and signed with Attic records in early 1986. The first album, 'Bad Boys', was produced by Brian Allen (Toronto) and eventually went platinum, spawning three Canadian Top-40 hits. They were voted Best Group of 1986 by the readers of Music Express magazine and did a cross-country tour with Kim Mitchell.
In May of 1986 they returned to the studio and recorded the second album, 'Don't Just Stand There', with Brian Allen producing again. The album was certified gold in four months and they scored their first Top 20 hit with "Dance Desire". In October 1987 the band represented Canada in the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan; they performed Dance Desire and won the Golden Award for best song. Tours with Honeymoon Suite and Helix established them as a popular live act, but they still couldn't get a US distribution deal.
They took some time off to regroup and start writing again; they did an 8-song demo that sounded remarkably like 'Don't Just Stand There' and weren't happy with the results. Attic asked for material that was a little truer to their nature, and then went to Norway to record with Bjorn Nessjoe (Stage Dolls). This resulted in 'Nuthouse' in 1990, a much harder, more focussed album that eventually went gold, but disillusioned a lot of fans. They no longer sold out in previously strong markets and the US deal still did not come through.
Realizing that it might be to their benefit if they once again wrote one or two Top 40 hits, but also attempting to remain true to themselves, they went back to Toronto and went into the studio with producer Mark S. Berry and released 'Get Off' in 1992. The musically diverse album produced three singles but it seemed as though the public had a hard time getting a handle on the many different musical elements on the album, and it failed to sell as well as previous releases.
Disillusioned themselves, the band took some time off and struggles with Attic ensued. In 1993 the label released a greatest hits package, 'Wired', to close out their contractual obligation. The band continued looking for another deal for awhile longer but eventually called it quits in the mid '90's.
Singles
1986 "Bad Bad Boy"/"When You Fall Out Of Love" (Attic)
1986 "Standin' In Line"/"Crazy" (Attic)
1986 "Shot In The Dark"/ (Attic)
1987 "Dance Desire"/ (Attic)
1987 "Black & Blue"/"3 Wishes" (Attic)
1988 "Fire"/ (Attic)
1988 "Thinkin' About The Years"/ (Attic)
1989 "Operator Central"/ (Attic)
1990 "Short End Of A Wishbone"/"Push And Shove (That's The Way)" (Attic)
1991 "Taken The Pain"/ (Attic)
1992 "Get Back"/ (Attic)
1992 "Buzz"/ (Attic)
1992 "Wanna Be The One/" (Attic)
Albums
1985 Haywire [5-track EP] (Independent)
1986 Bad Bad Boy (Attic)
1987 Don't Just Stand There (Attic)
1990 Nuthouse (Attic)
1992 Get Off (Attic)
1993 Wired - Best Of (Attic)
Video
1986 Bad Bad Boy
1986 Standin' In Line
1987 Dance Desire
1987 Black and Blue
1987 Fire
1989 Operator Central
1990 Short End of A Wishbone
1992 Get Back
1992 Buzz
1992 Wanna Be The One
Compilation Tracks
1984 "Jealousy", "Come Back" on 'Q104 Homegrown Project Volume 1'
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