In 1983, bands like Duran Duran and The Police were at the height of their popularity. Formed initially as a Police cover band, Canada's Platinum Blonde enjoyed gigantic success emulating both bands on their debut effort, "Standing In The Dark".
Songs like "Not In Love", "Standing in The Dark", "Doesn't Really Matter" and "Sad Sad Rain" were hits in Canada and the band was enjoying success that rivaled Beatlemania.
The trio of Mark Holmes (bass/vocals), Sergio Galli (guitar), and Chris Steffler (drums) certainly had the looks and the hooks to warrant success beyond the Great White North, but, even at the height of their success, they remained virtual unknowns in the US and beyond.
If only they'd been British.
"Standing In The Dark" remains my favorite Platinum Blonde album, as they quickly succumbed to pressure to attain success outside Canada and, thus, added a fourth member, Kenny Maclean. While I am a huge fan of Maclean's work with yet another completely unheralded Canadian band, The Deserters, I never felt that his presence did much at all to improve upon the sound the trio attained on their debut.
Sadly, while many of their best tracks have been recently re-issued in Canada, either as part of 1999's "Seven-Year Itch" greatest hits collection or 2006's largely-unnecessary "Collections" compilation, the band's stellar debut album remains out-of-print, resulting in demand that sees used copies fetch upwards of $100 on eBay.
If you've never heard the band, but are into early Police, or Duran Duran, I urge you to check out the tracks below. If you're a fan of the band, but are unwilling to shell out a C-Note to acquire this album on CD, these tracks - ripped staright from scratchy vinyl for your listening pleasure - should hold you over until someone at Sony/BMG Canada wakes up and re-issues this lost gem of an album.
Doesn't Really Matter
Standing In The Dark
Sad Sad Rain
Take it From Me
Cast A Shadow
Leaders In Danger
Not In Love
Video Disease
All Fall Down
Cinderella Story
4 comments:
Nice post! Go here to download a rare Platinum Blonde single they released themselves back in 1980. It's as close to punk rock as they ever got!
Wow. I don't really know how to thank you. I stupidly bought this on tape instead of record when it first came out, and it wore out years ago.
I saw them during their Police cover time in a small bar in Halifax. They did a good job on the covers. I wasn't too hot on their own stuff - mostly a genre problem. I believe that the keyboard player went on to join another fairly successful Canadian band called The Spoons. The bass player in that band was hot. Check them out.
Hey, I just stumbled across this website, and have also being waiting for this to be released on CD...I have their other stuff, and being from Canada, love these guys, any chance that those files above are still available?..I tried clicking on them, but they don't seem to work, thanks again...my email addy is gregholmes@eastlink.ca....if anyone has any more info!!
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