Paul Dean - guitar, vocals; Matthew Frenette - drums; Doug Johnson - keyboards; Mike Reno - vocals; Scott Smith - bass, vocals
Loverboy was literally an overnight sensation. Within weeks of being heard at a number of high profile rock clubs in its native Toronto, the band, with huge hair and spandex pants, had a number of labels chasing them. Signed immediately to Columbia Records and to producer Bruce Fairbain, the group released its debut album and quickly scored huge radio hits with "Turn Me Loose" and "The Kid Is Hot Tonight."
This show was recorded in 1982 as the band worked as a stadium rock opener, just two years after they formed. Singer Mike Reno was perfect for the times and very adequately filled the role as lead singer for Loverboy.
Although some forgettable tracks like "Lady Of The 80's," "Teenage Overdose," and "Gangs In The Street" fill out the set, most of these tracks rock pretty hard and seem to have withstood the changing musical tides, even if their hair and clothes didn't.
"Jump," "Lucky Ones," and "Take Me To The Top," along with the super hits, "Working For The Weekend," "Turn Me Loose," "The Kid Is Hot Tonight," and "When It's Over" make this show almost a greatest hits package. They close with an 11-minute version of "Emotional."
Loverboy was probably the biggest band in Canada, and one of the most popular bands in the rest of the world, when these tracks were cut. The band is credited as a later example of the AOR (album-oriented rock) FM format, as most of the radio cuts have since become staples in the classic rock genre. The band continued working with Bruce Fairbain, who had a knack for getting hit songs out of them, through the following year. When Fairbain took on Aerosmith, the group moved on to producer Tom Allom (Judas Priest), but they failed to produce any hits with him.
The group continued recording studio albums until 1987 when they decided to take a long break so singer Mike Reno and guitarist Paul Dean could pursue solo careers. The hiatus would last until they reformed to release Six in 1997. The original line-up of the band, sadly, would never play together again after the fall of 2000, when bassist Scott Smith was declared "lost at sea" after a freak wave knocked him from a sailing boat off the coast of San Francisco.