Mike Reno (lead vocals)
Matthew Frenette (drums)
Scott Smith (bass)
Paul Dean (guitars, vocals)
Doug Johnson (keys)
After an apparently unexplained boot from Streetheart, Vancouver guitarist Dean gigged around western Canada with friends and seriously considered being the lead singer for his own band. He woke up one morning and realized it wasn't really what he wanted and called an agent friend to supply the name of a singer looking for work. This turned up the name Mike Rynoski (later changed his name to Reno), who was back in Vancouver after a two-year stint in Toronto with Moxy. Rynoski actually auditioned to be drummer, but Dean preferred his singing talents, felt comfortable co-writing with him, and recruited him. Classically-trained keyboardist Johnson came on board, former Streetheart drummer Frenette jumped in, and DalBello bassist Smith came into the fold. Loverboy was born, introduced to manager Bruce Allen by mutual friend Lou Blair, and shortly thereafter got the opening gig for Kiss at the Vancouver Coliseum.
Thus began the career in 1979 of one of Canada's most internationally successful bands to date. Selling more than 10 million copies of their first three albums by 1984 and gigging around North America with the likes of Kiss, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick, Prism, Kansas, Point Blank, Z.Z. Top, and Journey, their brand of slickly-packaged, meticulously produced pop-rock appealed to a young, predominantly female audience. In 1983 they made attempts to crack the otherwise uncaring overseas market with an appearance on Germany's enormously popular "Rockpalast" TV program, viewed by 20 million viewers, and guesting with Tom Petty, Chicago, A Flock Of Seagulls, and Gary Moore. A tour of Japan but the two trips failed to make the dent they'd been hoping for.
After 1983's 'Keep It Up', the band took a short break from the constant life on the road and came back with 'Lovin' Every Minute Of It'. This was the first of their two harder-edged, tougher sounding albums that weren't as popular with the fans as their first three. Sales of these two records failed to live up to previous figures and in 1989 the band decided to part company, just in time for Columbia to release the first of two best-of compilations, called 'Big Ones'.
Dean and Reno recorded and released solo efforts; Smith became a dee-jay at CFOX in Vancouver and was a booking agent for the Sam Feldman Agency; Johnson took to writing TV and radio soundtracks; Frenette joined forces with Tom Cochrane and also helped reform Streetheart in 1996.
In 1995 Loverboy reformed to begin recording new material and touring again. Loverboy released their sixth album titled, simply 'VI' (six), independently - their first studio release of all new songs in 11 years.
'VI' spawned four singles including "Big Picture", "Waiting For the Night" and the current ballad "Secrets". The band would tour relentlessly throughout 1998 and 1999.
Tragedy struck the revived band in late November 2000 when bassist Scott Smith was swept overboard by an eight-metre wave and presumed drowned during an outting on his boat along the California coast. Despite intense searches by the US Coast Guard, his body has never been found.
Loverboy has continued on with Streetheart bassist Spider Sinneave touring to promote their 2001 release 'Live Loud And Loose (1982-1986)'.
Singles
1980 The Kid Is Hot Tonight (CBS)
1980 Turn Me Loose (CBS)
1981 Lady Of The 80's (CBS)
1982 Working For The Weekend (CBS)
1983 Hot Girls In Love (CBS)
1983 Queen Of The Broken Hearts (CBS)
1984 Gangs In The Street (CBS)
1985 Lovin' Every Minute Of It (CBS)
1985 Dangerous (CBS)
1986 This Could Be The Night (CBS)
1986 Heaven In Your Eyes (CBS)
1987 Notorious (CBS)
1989 Too Hot (CBS)
1997 Big Picture
1997 Waiting For the Night
1998 Secrets
Albums
1980 Loverboy (Columbia)
1981 Get Lucky (Columbia)
1983 Keep It Up (Columbia)
1985 Lovin' Every Minute Of It (Columbia)
1987 Wildside (Columbia)
1989 Big Ones (Columbia)
1994 Temperature's Rising (Sony)
1994 Loverboy Classics (Sony)
1997 VI (Six) (Lou Blair Mgmnt.)
1997 Loverboy: Super Hits (Sony)
2001 Live Loud And Loose (1982-1986) (Lou Blair Mgmnt.)
Video
1980 The Kid Is Hot Tonight
1980 Turn Me Loose
1982 Working For The Weekend
1983 Hot Girls In Love
1983 Queen Of The Broken Hearts
1985 Lovin' Every Minute Of It
1985 Dangerous
1986 This Could Be The Night
1986 Heaven In Your Eyes
1987 Notorious
Compilation Tracks
1984 "Almost Paradise" on 'Footloose (O.S.T.) (CBS) [Mike Reno duets with Ann Wilson (Heart) on movie soundtrack]
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