Men Without Hats
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Men Without Hats were a Canadian pop group from Montreal, Quebec who were popular in the early 1980s. They were characterized by the deep, expressive vocals of their lead singer Ivan and their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing. Their most-remembered single was entitled "Safety Dance".
Many have suspected that the band was originally supposed to be named "Men Without Hate", but that the name got mangled somewhere along the way (the title of their 1989 album further supports this notion). It may all have been a lighthearted gag, though, which would be in keeping with the spirit of the band's music.
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History
Men Without Hats were always, at the core, Ivan Doroschuk and his brother Stefan, with various other members, including a third brother, Colin Doroschuk, as well as Jeremy Arrobas, Tracy Howe, Roman Martyn, and Allan McCarthy. They emerged in the early 1980s with an EP called Folk of the 80s, whose tunes were perhaps folky in their lyrics but were unabashed synth pop in their music.
The band erupted onto the international scene a couple of years later with their hit single "The Safety Dance" (from Rhythm of Youth), one of the seminal pop songs of the decade. Alas, it was mostly downhill from there, though they had some success with their third album, Pop Goes the World, a sort-of concept album with some heavier themes than much pop music of the era with the title track being a domestic hit.
By 1991, the band had largely lost their following, though their album Sideways made a last stab at breaking through by turning to an electric guitar approach processed through electronics. The songwriting was as strong as ever, but the album wasn't even released in the U.S. at the time, and the band broke up.
Following the break-up, Ivan released a solo album, The Spell. The band reformed in 2003 and released their first new album in over a decade.
Discography
Studio Albums
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Folk of the 80s (1980) (EP)
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Rhythm of Youth (1982) - Missing image
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Folk of the 80s (Part III) (1984) - Missing image
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Freeways (1985) (EP) - Missing image
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Pop Goes the World (1987) - Missing image
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The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century (1989) -
Sideways (1991)
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No Hats Beyond This Point (2003)
Compilations
Ivan Solo Albums
Trivia
Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson played flute on the song "On Tuesday" on Pop Goes the World.
...In the 21st Century featured a cover of Abba's "S.O.S.", while Sideways featured a cover of The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" (subtitled "'No You're Not', Said Little Nicola").
The song Safety Dance was the band's reaction to the ban that many clubs placed on pogoing in mosh pits - very popular in the punk culture of the day. Hence the lyrics "you can dance if you want to" i.e. they were not allowed to dance how they wanted to...
See also
External links
- Men Without Hats official site (http://www.menwithouthats.com/)
- Lazlo's Discography Machine: Men Without Hats (http://www.swcp.com/lazlo-bin/discogs?hats)
- Men Without Hats discussion list (http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/men-without-hats)
- Men Without Hats at UBL.com (http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,467241,00.html?artist=Men+Without+Hats)de:Men Without Hats