Men Without Hats

Formed in Montreal, Canada, in 1980, this act was the brainchild of Ivan Doroschuk (vocals). An independent EP, Folk Of The 80s, created overseas cult interest to the extent that it was reissued on Britain's Stiff Records, along with an edit of its "Antarctica" track as a single. Composer Doroschuk fronted the most permanent line-up of the band with his brothers Stefan (guitar, violin) and Colin Doroschuk (keyboards), plus Allan McCarthy (d. 1995; drum programming). Produced by manager Marc Durand, Rhythm Of Youth reached number 13 in the US in the wake of "Safety Dance', 1983"s global hit single (US number 3, UK number 6) born of a truce between electro-pop and medieval jollity that carried an anti-nuclear message over into an arresting video. A sure sign of its impact was a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic. No more hits came the band's way, but their recordings still received a fair critical consideration. Ivan and Colin Doroschuk later set up their own Uforia label.

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