Payolas - WikiHQ

Payolas (stylized as Payola$) were a Canadian rock band that was most prominent in the 1980s. Evolving from a new wave sound toward mainstream pop rock, they were best known for the single "Eyes of a Stranger", from their 1982 album No Stranger to Danger, an album that won the band four Juno Awards.

Based in Vancouver, the band had experienced several changes to both its name and lineup, having been known as The Payola$, Paul Hyde and the Payolas, and Rock and Hyde. Vocalist and lyricist Paul Hyde and multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Bob Rock were the band's core members throughout its history. The band broke up in 1988, but reformed again from 2003 to 2008.

Band history

Name

The band's name is a reference to the United States payola scandal of the early 1960s, which was a pay-for-play scheme involving commercial radio stations. The name caused issues with A&M record executives who wanted to introduce the band to the American market and who were concerned about the term's negative connotations, which resulted in the band's name change to Paul Hyde and the Payola$ in 1985. Rock added that it was Hyde that came up with the name and that "I was the idiot who put the dollar sign at the end." Hyde met Bob Rock while the pair were attending Belmont High School in Langford, a Victoria suburb. Rock, who moved to Victoria from Winnipeg at age twelve, described his first encounter with Hyde to the Times Colonist in 2007: "He had his hair all cut off, and later I found out it was because he wanted to look like a skinhead when he immigrated to Canada so he wouldn't get beat up. Being such a fan of English culture and bands, I saw this kid standing there in a long trenchcoat and shaved head and I went, 'That's a guy I wanna know.'" Rock and Hyde were joined by drummer Ian Tiles (of Pointed Sticks) and bass player Marty Higgs to form the pop-punk band Payola$. At the time, Rock was producing mainly punk acts, such as the Young Canadians, The Dils, and the Pointed Sticks. The song, whose lyrics reference the westernization of China, attracted the attention of A&M Records. Higgs and Tiles left shortly after the single was recorded and were replaced by drummer Taylor Nelson Little and sax/bass player Gary Middleclass (né Bourgeois). The four track EP Introducing Payola$ was released by A&M in 1980. Lee Kelsey was added on keyboards.

Work with Mick Ronson (1982–1984)

In 1982, Chris Taylor was added to the band lineup; he replaced Taylor Little on drums. Junos were also given to Rock and Hyde for their songwriting, Rock was awarded Recording Engineer of the Year, and the band as a whole won the Most Promising Group.

Work with David Foster (1985–1986)

In 1985, producer and songwriter David Foster helped assemble the supergroup Northern Lights to record the song "Tears Are Not Enough". Hyde was one of over 50 musicians featured on the song and Rock served as one of the engineers.

That same year, A&M Records recruited Foster to produce the band's next recording, 1985's Here's the World for Ya, with the hopes of bringing the band to the American market. The band's name was also changed to Paul Hyde and the Payola$. Both Foster and Hyde's then-wife, Myriam Nelson, contributed some of the songwriting. The single, "You're the Only Love" charted in the US, peaking at No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart—the first Payola$ single to do so.

The album marked a change in the band's sound that alienated many of their longtime fans as a result. Under the Volcano reached No. 24 on the top 100 album chart in Canada.

Under the Volcano was critically well-received, and Rock and Hyde had two hits in Canada with "Dirty Water" (No. 20) and "I Will" (No. 40). "Dirty Water" also peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at No. 61.

Later that same year A&M capitalized on the band's renewed popularity and released a greatest hits package of Payolas work called Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$.

Hiatus (1988–2003)

After the release of Under the Volcano, Rock returned his focus to sound engineering and producing music from Little Mountain studios and became a go-to producer for hard rock and metal acts, producing albums for musical acts such as Loverboy, The Cult, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and David Lee Roth. Rock and Hyde then again went their separate ways. Paul Hyde pursued a solo recording career, releasing four albums between 1999 and 2002. These releases include 2000's Living off the Radar. Living off the Radar is a Payola$ album in all but name as it featured Rock as the album's producer, mixer, and guitarist; he was also the co-writer of several tracks. (Several other musicians appeared on various tracks, but none were former band members.) It was announced that there would be a full-length follow-up to the Langford (Part One) EP, possibly incorporating some of the EP's tracks, however this release never materialized. In a 2020 interview with the Vancouver Sun, Hyde said that he hadn't performed live music in five years and had changed his focus towards visual art. However, in a 2023 podcast interview, Hyde revealed that he and Rock had been working on a covers album, for release at an indefinite future time. Whether this newly recorded material would be issued under the Payola$ name, or as Rock and Hyde, or perhaps using some other guise, was not revealed.

Discography

Studio albums

In a Place Like This (1981)
No Stranger to Danger (1982) (#5 Canada )
Hammer on a Drum (1983) (#26 Canada for 5 weeks )
Here's the World for Ya (1985) (#26 Canada for 2 weeks )
Under the Volcano (1987) (as Rock and Hyde) (#24 Canada for 2 weeks )

Compilation albums

Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$ (1987)
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection – The Best of the Payola$ (2002) [https://www.discogs.com/Payola-The-Best-Of-The-Payola-20th-Century-Master-The-Millennium-Collection/master/1376557]
Missing Links (2003)

Extended plays

Introducing Payola$ (1980)
Langford Part One (2007)

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Artist credit

! rowspan="2"| Title

! colspan="4"| Peak chart Positions

! width="60"| CAN

! width="60"| AUS

! width="60"| US

! width="60"| US Rock

|1979

|rowspan="6"|Payolas

|"China Boys"

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="2"|1981

|"Jukebox"

|align="center"|—

|"I'm Sorry (I Only Did It for the Money)"

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="3"|1982

|"Eyes of a Stranger"

|align="center"|4

|align="center"|81

|align="center"|—

|align="center"|22

|"Romance"

|align="center"|—

|"Soldier"

|align="center"|25

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="3"|1983

|Payolas with Carole Pope

|"Never Said I Loved You"

|align="center"|8

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="3"|Payolas

|"Where Is This Love"

|align="center"|—

|"Christmas Is Coming"/"I'll Find Another (Who Can Do It Right)"

|align="center"|—

|1984

|"Wild West"

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="4"|1985

|rowspan="4"|Paul Hyde and the Payolas

|"You're The Only Love"

|align="center"|26

|align="center"|—

|align="center"|84

|align="center"|37

|"Stuck in the Rain"

|align="center"|77

|align="center"|—

|"Here's the World"

|align="center"|91

|align="center"|—

|"It Must Be Love"

|align="center"|94

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="3"|1987

|rowspan="3"|Rock and Hyde

|"Dirty Water"

|align="center"|20

|align="center"|—

|align="center"|61

|align="center"|6

|"I Will"

|align="center"|40

|align="center"|—

|"Talk to Me"

|align="center"|—

|rowspan="2"|2006

|rowspan="3"|Payolas

|"Bomb"

|align="center"|—

|"At the Angel's Feet"

|align="center"|—

|2008

|"Shark Attack"

|align="center"|—

| colspan="7" align="center" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

External links

Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
Entry at canadianbands.com