If this past weekend’s shows with early 2000s bands Mariana’s Trench, Tokyo Police Club and Hollerado weren’t far enough back for you, then you’re in luck, as TD Place will be doused in even more nostalgia Tuesday night that might be more to your liking.
The 80s Club tour will bring a time machine to town, bringing concertgoers back to their glowing neon clothing and big hair days, while they enjoy four bands that helped define the decade. Canadian bands Spoons, Men Without Hats, and Honeymoon Suite will be joined by A Flock of Seagulls to form a stellar lineup that will showcase all these artists’ memorable hits.
If you were lucky enough to see Men Without Hats at the Bronson Centre on Valentine’s Day, you’ll know they haven’t lost a step and still put on a fantastic show. This time around, they’ll be condensing their set into a tight 30 minutes, but no worries, they’ll certainly include “Pop Goes The World,” and the Ottawa-inspired “Safety Dance” (yes, you read that correctly—read on!).
We caught up with bandleader Ivan Doroschuk on the return of Men Without Hats, touring, and the local inspiration for their biggest hit.
Apt613: What is touring like now with your contemporaries, compared to back in the day?
Doroschuk: It’s a lot different because back in the day, I would liken it to being on a hockey team or a sports team, where you’d travel, but there was a lot of competition. To put it bluntly, there are only so many places to play in every city, there are only so many positions on the charts, there are only so many reporters to talk to, and room in the local newspapers, so there was more competition back then. Everybody was pushing their singles, pushing their albums.
Now it’s different. The pressure is off. Our work has been done and we’re out there to have fun. It’s like a big happy new wave family travelling around and touching base with our old fans, getting to see our original fans that would more often than not bring their kids and sometimes even their grandkids. So it’s a lot more relaxed now, a lot more fun.
You mentioned a new wave, and there seems to be a renaissance of that sound, a new ‘new wave’. The influence seems to be so strong these days.
It’s the melodies, I think in all kinds of pop music nowadays you hear the influence of 80s music, there are the big drum sounds, synthesizers, robot voices, there’s all that. But one thing that the 80s had was a lot of melodies, there were a lot of good songs, a lot of memorable songs, and singalongs. So I think people are getting back to that.
It was the songs plus the dance. It had that disco effect to it. A lot of the 80s music was danceable and upbeat. So I think people are getting back to that.
With this tour, you’ll have to shorten your set list compared to the Bronson show. How tricky is that when you have so much material?
We’re used to it now. We want to play longer, but it’ll be like a ‘greatest hits’ set. You gotta put the songs that people want. And that’s one thing that’s good now, too. One thing that I’ve learned over the years is to give people the songs that they want. Whereas back in the eighties, you’d go out on tour and you want to promote your new record. You want to play your new stuff. You were already tired of playing the last record, you know? And so people were subjected to hearing a lot of music that they hadn’t heard before and missed out on a lot of songs that they came to hear. So now, even playing a shorter set, we’re sure that every song we play is one people will be able to relate to it. We’re not promoting a new record. We’re not pushing any obscure deep cuts on them. There’s something for everybody.
The “Safety Dance” was inspired by getting kicked out of a club for pogo-ing. But the rumour is it was a club in Ottawa. Is that true?
It was, yeah. People keep asking me, “What was the club’s name?” I don’t remember what club it was. It was a discotheque, but yeah, that was the first time it happened. It happened a few times, but the first time it happened was a club in Ottawa and that’s what set the ball rolling. I wish I could remember which club it was. We could get a plaque or something on the front of the building!
Men Without Hats will be joined by Honeymoon Suite, A Flock of Seagulls and Spoons for The 80s Club show at TD Place on Nov. 26. A few tickets remain, available here.
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