Loverboy performs at Rock Ambleside Friday, Aug. 17. Show: 8:30 p.m. ()
You can鈥檛 turn Paul Dean or the rest of Loverboy loose.
It鈥檚 been almost 40 years since the band鈥檚 power ballads first hit the airwaves, sending young hearts in Camaros racing.
So when lasting fans of Loverboy roll up in their SUVs at Ambleside Park this Friday evening, Dean promises to have them feeling like they鈥檙e 16 again.
鈥淚 always joke that we鈥檙e the ultimate Loverboy tribute band,鈥� says Dean, on the line from his home somewhere in the mountains in North Van.
Can you blame him or any artist worth their weight in platinum for wanting some solitude?
Still, the septuagenarian rocker is showing no signs of slowing down.
Dean feeds off the energy of the fans as he checks off dates on Loverboy鈥檚 robust touring schedule. The secret to a successful revival is simple 鈥� give the fans what they came for.
鈥淭hey want to hear the hits,鈥� declares Dean, who is equal parts lyricist and axe player for Loverboy.
鈥淲orking for the Weekend,鈥� is arguably the song that gets fans amped up the most. Dean conceived the essence of the anthem while walking around Kits Beach one day and noticing the place was strangely empty.
鈥淎nd I went, 鈥極h yeah, I bet everybody is just waiting for the weekend.鈥� A little light comes on 鈥� there鈥檚 a pretty cool title,鈥� recalls Dean.
He presented the tune to Loverboy lead singer Mike Reno who offered, 鈥淲ell, what about Working for the Weekend?鈥�
The rest is music history. In recent years, 鈥淲orking for the Weekend鈥� has been the soundtrack for ad campaigns capitalizing on nostalgia, namely a RadioShack Super Bowl spot and a Diet Pepsi commercial featuring a middle-aged man driving a shaggin鈥� wagon.
Dean takes all the attention Loverboy has earned in stride. The rocker鈥檚 humble attitude can be put down to his upbringing in Invermere, B.C.
There were fewer than five other musicians nestled in the region known as the Rocky Mountain Trench.
Naturally, they gravitated towards each other and Dean fell in with the group at 16.听
鈥淭hat kind of kept me sane,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a real boonies kind of guy.鈥�
Dean鈥檚 trusty acoustic taught him how to miss the school bus and be late for school.
鈥淎ll kinds of good stuff like that,鈥� he says.
Twice a year, if Dean was lucky, he would find his way to Calgary and a make a beeline for the record shop. The teen would return home to Invermere with an armful of LPs and learn the music of instrumental rock groups such as The Fireballs and The Shadows.
Music was the driving force that sprung Dean from the remote town and eventually toward stardom.
He cut his chops with some Canadian bands in the 鈥�70s, including Streetheart. Dean co-wrote songs, played guitar and sang backup on the band鈥檚 debut album, Meanwhile Back in Paris.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I really started writing songs,鈥� he says.
In 1978, Dean left Streetheart and made his way to Calgary where he met Mike Reno. Their first jam session went down in a warehouse tucked in the nightclub district. That night the foundation for Loverboy was formed.
The band鈥檚 chemistry was crafted from a fusion of music styles when the rest of the members joined together in 麻豆传媒映画in 1979.
For Loverboy鈥檚 enduring charm with audiences Dean credits Reno, who he says has 鈥渙ne of the most amazing voices in rock 鈥� still to this day.鈥� Then you add drummer Matt Frenette鈥檚 military-style beats, Doug Johnson鈥檚 jazz skills, 鈥済roove meister鈥� Scott Smith, and of course, Dean鈥檚 musical talents.
The group made its live debut opening for KISS at the Pacific Coliseum on Nov. 19, 1979.
Dean rattles off some stories from that evening with an energy that makes it seem as if it was last night. He recalls being pummelled by toilet paper rolls.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it was a sign of affection or 鈥楪et off the stage, you bums, we want to hear KISS,鈥欌�� says Dean with a chuckle.
Perhaps a little shell-shocked, Dean remembers walking off stage and seeing a mirage: the members of KISS coming towards them in full makeup.
鈥淭hat was like, 鈥楾here they are.鈥欌�澨�
After the Coliseum show, Loverboy started playing the clubs around town the following week. With a name like Loverboy and playing all original tunes, there were bound to be some growing pains.
Combs, ice cubes, quarters 鈥� every kind of projectile 鈥� flew from every which direction at the band, to the chants of: 鈥淲e want Aerosmith and AC/DC.鈥�
Actually, it was Dean who came up with the name Loverboy. Originally, they were going to call themselves the Dean Reno Band or Reno Dean Band. Dean tested it out on his wife鈥檚 younger brother and registered a neutral reaction.
He figured the band would need some edge if they were to stand tall amongst the REO Speedwagons and Rick Springfields and Foreigners of the early 鈥�80s.
Dean鈥檚 eye caught an ad for CoverGirl makeup on the back of his wife鈥檚 magazine, and he started riffing on that.
鈥淐overBoy 鈥� that鈥檚 kind of a cool name for a band, I like that,鈥� Dean recalls thinking. 鈥淎nd then it goes without saying where it went to next,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e just went with it, (Loverboy), for better or for worse.鈥�
Dean knew Loverboy鈥檚 star was rising after Bryan Adams told him as much. Both rockers found themselves looking to rent the same North Van house at a parallel point in their careers.
听Loverboy had just launched their eponymous debut album and Dean didn鈥檛 know what was happening.
Adams, who Dean says has a business sense that matches his musicality, told Dean: 鈥淵ou realize what鈥檚 going on with you and your band, right? You guys are killing it out there.鈥�
Over that summer, Loverboy鈥檚 debut record sold one-million copies in Canada and doubled those numbers when it reached the U.S.
Many musical achievements followed over the years. Dean won a Juno Award, along with Reno, for writing 鈥淭urn Me Loose.鈥�
At the 1982 Junos, Loverboy walked away with an unprecedented six awards in one evening 鈥� a record that still holds today.
Loverboy has since produced a number of worldwide hit singles.
Their songs are famously featured on the soundtrack of iconic 鈥�80s movies, including Footloose and Top Gun.
Asked if Loverboy has been tapped for the Top Gun sequel, Dean says it could happen.
鈥淚 know Mike is interested in doing that,鈥� says Dean.
He remembers going to see Top Gun in the theatre with one expectation in mind. When the famous juke box scene comes up at the end, Dean was certain the song Loverboy lent to the soundtrack was going to play .
Of course, that moment belonged to The Righteous Brothers.
鈥淚 go, 鈥榃ait a minute, what?鈥� recalls Dean. There was a consolation though: Cruise and his co-stars appeared in the 鈥淗eaven in Your Eyes鈥� video.
Some songs write themselves, says Dean.听
"Emotional" was inspired by a true story 鈥� the time Dean was caught in a storm with his wife on Windermere Lake.
鈥淢y wife was freaking out," he recounts. "I was laughing and she was just losing her mind because of the waves.鈥�
Dean drummed out the tune in five minutes on the side of a table.
Conversely, 鈥淭his Could Be the Night鈥� took years and years to write, says Dean, 鈥渢o finally find discourse that really hit home and was honest and that Mike could really sing it, which he did 鈥� he nailed it.鈥�
Dean looked to his wife, Denise, for help. It turns out the song needed a woman鈥檚 touch.
鈥淎sk any girl what she wants and what鈥檚 she going to say?鈥� Dean inquired of his wife.
She responded: 鈥淢ake it last forever.鈥�
And with that, Dean had the foundation for a hit love song.
"Ask any girl, in this lonely world
Ask any girl, she'll say make it last forever"
Loverboy has only had a brief hiatus in the last four decades. The band stopped touring after the hair metal bands yielded to the grunge groups.
But a charity benefit brought back waves of nostalgia that Loverboy couldn鈥檛 shake.
A small tour was set up in 1992, 鈥渏ust to take the temperature,鈥� says Dean. The devout fans were loving every minute of it, dancing and singing along to the hits.
Expect that same energy at Ambleside, promises Dean. The kid will be hot tonite.
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