Bob Buckley (keyboards, saxophone, clarinet)
David Sinclair (guitar, lead vocals)
Daryl Burgess (drums, percussion, marimba)
Peter Clarke (bass, vocals)
Peter Padden (drums, percussion, vocals)
Geoff Eyre (drums; replaced Padden)
As seasoned studio musicians, Buckley and Sinclair originally gained popularity as Dogstar and attracted the attention of CBS Records in Toronto. The label loved the act (and the songs) but not the name so it was effectively changed to Straight Lines.
After a succession of songwriting episodes with Chilliwack's Howie Vickers, the band went into the studio with producers Martin Shaer (Sweeney Todd) and Jack Richardson (Guess Who) and engineer Bob Rock to lay down tracks for their self-titled debut which featured two singles - "Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Roanne" (which made the RPM Top-100).
Bruce Allen management team sent them on the road in 1981 with another Bruce Allen act, Prism, and Klaatu across the prairies in the fall of that year.
Their second album, 1981's 'Run For Cover', faired a little better with the hit single "Letting Go" - making it all the way to the Top-10 in Canada. A second single, "There Are No Secrets", would scrape the RPM Top-40, but it was enough to land them a 'Composers Of The Year' Juno Award nomination. But management was unable to generate sufficient international interest and CBS dropped them resulting in Straight Lines disbanding.
The duo of Buckley and Sinclair carried on and managed to draft ex-Ironhorse/Union/Trooper keyboardist Frank Ludwig and drummer Ross Friesen. They landed a deal with Attic Records under the new name Body Electric; Daryl Burgess would have a brief solo career with MCA Records.
Singles
1980 Roanne/She's A Rounder (Epic/CBS) E4-4247
1980 Heads Are Gonna Roll/Hope I'm Feeling Better (Epic/CBS) E4-4258
1980 The Things You Didn't Do (3:20)/The Things You Didn't Do (4:40) (Epic/CBS) DJE4-4268
1981 Letting Go/I've Heard It All Before (Epic/CBS) E4-4290
1981 There Are No Secrets/Te Laisser Faire (Epic/CBS) E4-4298
1982 Illusions/I'm Talking To You (Epic/CBS) E4-4311
Albums
1980 Straight Lines (Epic/CBS) JE-36504
1981 Run For Cover (Epic/CBS) FE-37560
Video
Compilation Tracks
COMING IN OCTOBER 2011: The book version of the Encyclopedia.
Click on the image and pre-order now!
Submit corrections, additions and feedback
