Platinum Blonde In Concert
The U.K. had Duran Duran. Australia had INXS. And Canada had Platinum Blonde — the band that best personified the sleek sound and flashy fashion of post-New Wave '80s rock. But while they sported lipstick and eyeliner from day one, Platinum Blonde were a much grittier proposition in their early days. Their 1980 debut single "No Regrets" was more Damned than glam, with bassist Joey Ciotti taking the lead on a snarling, buzzsawed rave-up that betrayed the group's roots in the Toronto punk scene. After Ciotti left the group, fellow founding member Mark Holmes seized the reins, putting his flamboyant voice front and center of a new lineup featuring guitarist Sergio Galli and drummer Chris Steffler. The trio's 1983 full-length debut, ‘Standing in the Dark,' was an instant sensation in Canada, with songs like "It Doesn't Really Matter," "Not in Love," and the title track melting down the prickly sounds of post-punk and polishing them into pop. (And certainly, the band's considerable coiffures and striking white-leather attire made them shoo-ins for heavy rotation when Canada's first music-video channel, MuchMusic, launched in 1984.) The 1985 follow-up ‘Alien Shores' featured an expanded lineup (with the addition of keyboardist Kenny MacLean and guest shredding from Rush's Alex Lifeson) and more expansive synth-gilded sound, with the plush soft-rock ballad "Somebody Somewhere" crossing over to the American Billboard charts. And while 1987's funkier ‘Contact' put the capper on Platinum Blonde's ‘80s-airwaves dominance (portending their 1990 breakup), Holmes remained active in the Toronto scene as a DJ and co-owner of the popular concert venue The Mod Club, occasionally performing with a retooled version of Platinum Blonde throughout the ‘00s. After MacLean died of a heart attack in 2008, Holmes reunited with Galli for 2012's ‘Now & Never,' the first Platinum Blonde record in 25 years. Its release was perfectly timed to ride a wave of renewed interest spurred by Toronto electro-punk duo Crystal Castles' hit cover of "Not in Love" featuring a lead vocal from The Cure's Robert Smith. With their 40th anniversary approaching, Platinum Blonde continue to play select dates, proving that this quintessentially ‘80s band is truly timeless.