Platinum Blonde, known briefly as The Blondes, is a Canadian rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1979. Vocalist Mark Holmes has been the only consistent member of the band since its inception.

In his 2016 book Is This Live?: Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic: The Nation's Music Station, Canadian songwriter and former MuchMusic VJ, Christopher Ward said of the band: "If ever there was a Canadian band that was tailor-made for the video era, it was Platinum Blonde."

The band was most prominent in the 1980s with singles such as "Standing in the Dark", "Not in Love", "Doesn't Really Matter", "Situation Critical", and "Crying Over You". In 1984, they were one of the top-selling Canadian bands in Canada, second only to Rush. At that time, the line-up consisted of Mark Holmes on lead vocals and bass, Sergio Galli on guitar, and Chris Steffler on drums. Scottish musician Kenny MacLean became the band's bassist and keyboardist in 1985.

thumbnail|alt=Canada's Walk Of Fame inductees Platinum Blonde Mark Holmes, Sergio Galli and Chris Steffler, Massey Hall Toronto, 2023.|Canada's Walk Of Fame inductees Platinum Blonde Mark Holmes, Sergio Galli and Chris Steffler, Massey Hall Toronto, 2023.

The band broke up in 1989. Inspired by MacLean's frequent suggestions of a reunion over the years, Holmes, Galli and Steffler brought the band back together in 2010 (MacLean had died in 2008.) The band was inducted into the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame in 2010. On September 28, 2023, Platinum Blonde was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. He attended commercial art college, apprenticed in hairdressing and played in bands on the side. They played songs by such artists as Marc Bolan, Gary Glitter, and The Police. Galli (b. 1959/1960) was enrolled in the architecture program at the University of Toronto when he answered Holmes' ad.

The band recorded a seven track demo tape on a four-track recorder and sent it to British music producer David Tickle who liked their sound and flew to Toronto to work with them. The band signed to Epic Records Canada and Tickle produced their self-titled EP, which was released in 1983. Standing in the Dark sold over 200,000 copies in Canada, which was certified double platinum at the time. The band's videos for the singles "Standing in the Dark" and "Doesn't Really Matter" were directed by Rob Quartly and were both nominated for video of the year at the 1984 Juno Awards. The Canadian music cable network MuchMusic (later known as Much) also launched in 1984, further exposing their music to a wider audience.

While the band's lyrics were not particularly romantic ("Not In Love", for example, was quite the opposite), the band's look in combination with their music's catchy pop hooks attracted a fanbase that consisted heavily of teenage girls. The band toured across Canada on Bryan Adams' 1983 tour and on Billy Idol's Rebel Yell tour in 1984. Produced by British producer Eddy Offord, the album was a departure from their first two releases and added elements of funk. Holmes said that the sound was greatly influenced by the Ohio Players. Singles from the album included "Situation Critical", "Crying Over You", "Somebody Somewhere", and "Hungry Eyes". "Crying Over You" marked the band's first #1 single and went gold. The video for "Crying Over You" won a Gemini Award for best music video and Alien Shores sold over 500,000 copies.

Steffler left the band in 1987 was replaced by drummer Alexander "Sascha" Tukatsch, who provided percussion for Platinum Blonde's 1988 album, Contact. Contact was a continuation of Platinum Blonde's evolving sound, which further incorporated elements of funk. The album also includes a remake of the Ohio Players hit single "Fire".

While Contact was positively received by critics, and the title track was a modest hit in Canada, the album sold 150,000 and did not become the breakthrough into the US market that the band had hoped for. The band parted ways in 1989 and the following year Yeah Yeah Yeah was released under the band name The Blondes. MacLean, who also released a solo album that same year, told the Calgary Herald that he was "not proud of" Yeah Yeah Yeah and that it was produced out of "contractual obligation". Having worked as a hairdresser prior to joining Platinum Blonde, MacLean returned to the profession from time to time to supplement his income. The band was not finding any labels to take them on, so Holmes began to organize once-monthly club events, called "Orange Alert" (based on the alert that sounded whenever penal colonists of the 1960s, British TV series, The Prisoner managed to make an escape.)

On November 21, 2008, MacLean held a CD release party at the Mod Club for his third solo album Completely. MacLean and Holmes also played some Platinum Blonde songs for the attendees. MacLean had been suggesting to Holmes for some time that the band get back together, but he died of a heart attack within hours of his performance at the Mod Club. Holmes' said during his acceptance speech: "We decided, because of Kenny, that we would get back together. It was great to play together the other night. We wish Kenny was there."

Musical and visual style

Platinum Blonde's early sound was a mix of new wave and pop rock, mixed with heavier, arena rock-style guitar. In 1987, Bruno Fracassa of Newsday said, "Lead singer, Mark Holmes, sounds like Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran. Overall, I think they would be happy just being a northern version of Bon Jovi." In his 2016 book, Is This Live?: Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic: The Nation's Music Station, songwriter and MuchMusic VJ Christopher Ward described their sound as "deftly mixing strains of Elvis Costello, The Police and Tears for Fears with big sing-along choruses." The band commonly wore suit jackets and some band members wore make up.

! width="35"| US<br />

|-

! scope="row"| "No Regrets"

| 1980

| align=center |&nbsp;—

| align=center | —

|

|-

! scope="row"| "Doesn't Really Matter"

| rowspan=2| 1983

| align=center | 31

| align=center | —

| rowspan=5| Standing in the Dark

|-

! scope="row"| "Standing in the Dark"

| align=center | 43

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Sad Sad Rain"

| rowspan=2| 1984

| align=center | 57

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Not in Love"

| align=center | 44

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Take It from Me"

| rowspan=3| 1985

| align=center | —

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Crying Over You"

| align=center | 1

| align=center | —

| rowspan=4| Alien Shores

|-

! scope="row"| "Situation Critical"

| align=center | 8

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Somebody Somewhere"

| rowspan=3| 1986

| align=center | 23

| align=center | 82

|-

! scope="row"| "Hungry Eyes"

| align=center | 57

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Father Christmas"

| align=center | —

| align=center | —

|

|-

! scope="row"| "Contact"

| rowspan=2| 1987

| align=center | 13

| align=center | —

| rowspan=4| Contact

|-

! scope="row"| "Connect Me"

| align=center | 45

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Fire"

| rowspan=2| 1988

| align=center | 49

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "If You Go This Time"

| align=center | 71

| align=center | —

|-

! scope="row"| "Yeah Yeah Yeah" <br />(as The Blondes)

| 1990

| align=center | 75

| align=center | —

| Yeah Yeah Yeah

|-

! scope="row"| "Beautiful"

| 2012

| align=center | —

| align=center | —

| Now & Never

|-

! scope="row"| "Hi 2 B Lo"

| 2020

| align=center | —

| align=center | —

| —

|-

| colspan="5" align="center" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

|}

See also

  • Canadian rock
  • Music of Canada

References

  • The band's original site (est.1999)
  • Article at canadianbands.com
  • Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
  • Platinum Blonde official VEVO channel