The arrival of Loverboy in 1980 made very little sense to those of us who were captivated by what you might term traditional hard rock. The appearance of five dorky Canadians dressed in sharp chinos, deck shoes and Miami Vice T-shirts made for something of a conundrum.
But for anyone who cared to look beyond the incongruous image, they had the pedigree. The band included two former members of killer Canuck combo Streetheart and, as a bonus, the singer from Moxy – names that were definitely on any hard rock connoisseur’s radar. Their self-titled debut album was produced by rising hotshot Bruce Fairbairn, who had been making a name for himself via his work with a smattering of cult AOR acts, including Prism.
