Platinum Blonde

History

Mark Holmes emigrated from Mansfield, England to Canada in 1977. He attended commercial art college, apprenticed in hairdressing and played in bands on the side. Platinum Blonde was initially formed in Toronto in 1979 as a punk and new wave band that consisted of Mark Holmes on vocals and guitar, Joey Ciotti on vocals and bass guitar, and Ray Bailie on drums. They played songs by such artists as Marc Bolan, Gary Glitter, and The Police. In 1980, they released a seven-inch single with the songs "Hey Hey You" and "No Regrets", but eventually disbanded.

In 1982, Holmes placed a want ad in a Toronto newspaper looking for new musicians to join the band. Drummer Chris Steffler and guitarist Sergio Galli answered the ad to meet the 19 year old Holmes. Steffler (b. 1957) had known Holmes from the music circles in the Toronto club scene while recording and playing with future bassist Kenny McLean in 1979. 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. Tickle also produced their debut, full-length album Standing in the Dark, which expanded upon the tracks from their EP and was released later that same year. 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 held a free concert at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square in 1983 that attracted a crowd of 25,000 screaming fans and resulted in 40 people being sent to hospital. By 1984, they were one of the top-selling Canadian bands in Canada, second only to Rush. The band toured across Canada on Bryan Adams' 1983 tour and on Billy Idol's Rebel Yell tour in 1984. They also played New York City's The Ritz with Dead or Alive in 1984.

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. Their highly financed videos and fashion conscious look, along with Holmes's British accent-inflected vocals, drew comparisons to Duran Duran. Their early covers of songs by The Police, along with their spiky blonde hairstyles and fashion choices, caused comparisons with that band as well.

In 1984, Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail said that the group sounded a lot like Loverboy trying to make a new wave credibility move. 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."

Throughout the 1980s, the entire band had long blond hair, often spiky, teased or tousled. The band commonly wore suit jackets and some band members wore make up. In their early videos they were portrayed with an aloof demeanor. The band's look and attitude was described by the press as "pretty", "glamorous", "cocky", and "androgynous".

In 1985, Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail described the band's look as "sort of Duran Duran meets Rod Stewart" and Alan Niester, also of The Globe and Mail, said that same year, "the band managed to create its own fashion revolution, manufacturing a flashy, sophisticated Platinum Blonde 'look' that was copied by its fans across the country." Mike Devlin of the Times Colonist wrote in 1999: "The band's blonde, tousled manes inspired a legion of hairdo followers. Their Dayglo suits started a fashion revolution. Their arty videos helped shape the early image of MuchMusic."

Their esthetic was very popular with teenage girls, somewhat to the band's dismay. Holmes told the Ottawa Citizen in 1985, "We are often judged by the first three rows of screaming girls. They don't look beyond that to where the college students and our older fans are sitting. Being judged by our appearance and by people fainting often shatters what we are doing musically. It is painful for us sometimes." In a 1990 interview with the Calgary Herald, MacLean said "We were the New Kids on the Block of that period," and added "I still like the music, so I would never be embarrassed about being a teen idol."

Band members

Current

Mark Holmes – vocals (1979–1990, 2010–present), guitar (1979–1982) bass (1982–1984, 2014–present), keyboards (1982–1984)

Sergio Galli – guitar (1982–1990, 2010–present)

Justin Kadis – drums (2020–present)

Former

Joey Ciotti – vocals, bass (1979–1981)

Ray Bailie – drums (1979–1981)

Chris Steffler – drums (1982–1987, 2010–2012)

Kenny MacLean – bass, keyboards (1985–1990; died 2008)

Sascha Tukatsch – drums (1987–1990)

Rob Laidlaw – bass (2010–2013)

Daniel Todd – drums (2012–2019)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Standing in the Dark (1984)

Alien Shores (1985)

Contact (1987)

Yeah Yeah Yeah (1990) (as The Blondes)

Now & Never (2012)

Live albums

Best of Live (1993)

Compilation albums

Seven Year Itch: 1982–1989 (1999)

Collections (2006)

Extended plays

Platinum Blonde (1983)