The Payolas
Encyclopedia
The Payolas were part of Vancouver's new wave
of bands and active in the Canadian music
scene for a decade from the late 1970s, recording several albums and singles that were Canadian chart hits. They disbanded in 1988, but reformed again from 2003 to 2008, issuing a new EP in 2007.
The band's name is a reference to the payola
scandal in the United States in the early 1960s. The group was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and recorded mostly at Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound Studios
. Through several lineup changes and name changes (the band also played as The Payola$, Paul Hyde and the Payolas and Rock and Hyde), the Payolas core members remained Paul Hyde
and Bob Rock
, who together wrote virtually all of the band's songs. As well, Rock engineered and mixed virtually every Payolas recording.
Although in the 1980s the Payolas always seemed poised for a big international breakthrough, the band never quite broke out despite their artistic growth and popular success in Canada. They were, however, one of the most prominent and successful platinum-selling Canadian bands of the early 1980s.
Shortly after they joined with drummer Taylor Nelson Little and sax/bass player Gary Middleclass (né Gary Bourgeois) to form a pop-punk band. As the band got started, Bob Rock simultaneously started his career as a recording engineer at Little Mountain Sound Studios
in Vancouver, B.C., allowing the Payola$ the time to record their first single, "China Boys" (1979). This single was sold at their gigs and in local music stores. Spotted by A&M Records
, the band was given the budget to record four songs, which were issued as Introducing Payola$
in 1980. The major-label EP included a new version of their signature song “China Boys”, early versions of “Jukebox” and “Rose”, and the profanity-laden working class anthem “T.N.T.”
The EP garnered enough attention to warrant a full-length follow up album. Middleclass left(who then left to become a sales man at anex and then became a teacher at the Vancover film school sound design program.), and was replaced by Lawrence Wilkins on bass. As well, Lee Kelsey (keyboards) was added. This quintet recorded 1981's In a Place Like This
(produced by Rock), which was a critical success, but a commercial flop. It included a remake of “Jukebox” — and yet another remake of “China Boys” — as well as more proletarian laments like the title track and “Whiskey Boy”.
added to the band lineup, replacing Taylor Little. Kelsey left the band and was not replaced. This line-up recorded the Mick Ronson
-produced album No Stranger To Danger
. Incorporating elements of reggae, pop, punk, and new wave, the LP included a bona fide hit (#4) in “Eyes of a Stranger”, which later earned the Juno
for best single of the year. Junos were also given to Rock and Hyde for their songwriting, and to the band as a whole for Most Promising Group
. Bob Rock’s recording work on the album also won him a Juno, and the LP also featured the moderately successful single “Romance”. Even the non-album B-side “Soldier” was a minor Canadian hit (#25). The song "Eyes of a Stranger" was featured on the soundtrack for Valley Girl
.
Arguably, the band's high-water mark was reached in 1983. Wilkins left the band, and Barry Muir (later of Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts
) was added to play bass for a North American tour, opening for headliners including The Go Go's. Muir never became a member of the group, but played as a sessioneer during some recording sessions. That year, the Payolas released Hammer on a Drum
(also produced by Ronson, with the Payolas) to great commercial and popular acclaim. The band now consisted of Rock (often doubling on guitar and bass), Hyde, Taylor and new keyboardist Christopher Livingston. The album they created was a little heavier on keyboard-based pop than before, and seamlessly mixed anthems of social conscience (such as the child abuse chronicle “Where Is This Love” and nuclear nightmare “No Prisoners”) with socialite navel gazing, exemplified by “I’ll Find Another” and “Wild West”.
Four notable singles were pulled from the LP: "Where Is This Love?" and "I'll Find Another"; a tongue-in-cheek duet with Carole Pope
of Rough Trade
called "Never Said I Loved You"; and the downcast "Christmas Is Coming", which has since been anthologized on Christmas releases. For touring purposes, Alex "A-Train" Boynton was added to the line-up as the group's official new bassist. Boynton is pictured as a member of Payolas on the 12" single release "Christmas Is Coming", although he did not play on the track.
(and its ongoing practices). Therefore, under a certain amount of record company pressure — but also because they legitimately wanted to crack the lucrative U.S. market — the band softened their formerly hard-edged tunes, and in 1985 altered their name to Paul Hyde and the Payolas. In this way, radio DJs could play Payolas music, but simply announce the artist as "Paul Hyde" if they wanted to avoid uttering the dreaded "p" word on-air.
Around this same time, the record label recruited top industry pop-music wiz, David Foster
, to produce and also assist in writing the band's next recoding. The label clearly wanted the next release to break the band into the US mainstream and a more pop-orientated direction was chosen. By this point, the band consisted of Hyde, Rock, drummer Chris Taylor, and bassist Alex "A-Train" Boynton. Keyboardist Livingston was no longer an official band member, but was hired to play keys during the album sessions (as was Foster). In spite of (or perhaps because of) the band's compromises, the resulting album, Here's the World for Ya
, was an artistic and commercial dud.
Regardless, during the sessions, Foster received a phone call from Quincy Jones
asking him to produce and contribute a Canadian all-star recording to the USA for Africa
famine relief project. Using a song title supplied by Rock and Hyde, Foster helped assemble an all-star band called Northern Lights to record the #1 Canadian hit "Tears Are Not Enough
". Rock and Hyde received co-writer credits on the song (along with Bryan Adams
, Foster, Rachel Paiement
and Jim Vallance
). As well, Hyde is heard as one of 44 vocalists on the song, and Rock was one of the engineers.
LP was released, its singles included “You're the Only Love”, “It Must Be Love”, “Stuck in the Rain,” and “Here’s the World”. All these singles did moderately well in Canada, and “You're the Only Love”, actually also charted in the US, scraping into the Hot 100—the first Payolas single to do so.
However, critical and consumer reaction to Here's the World for Ya
went the opposite way. The album was not the hit the record company was hoping for, especially considering Foster's previous track record of producing massive international hits for artists such as Chicago
, John Parr
and Barbra Streisand
. Many found Foster's richly ornamented production style conflicted with the Payolas previous highly creative, eclectic works. Furthermore, the band lost many loyal fans who felt the Payolas had turned their backs on them with the commericial compromises. As a consequence of all these factors, within weeks of Here's the World for Ya
s release (and relative commercial failure), the band was dropped by A&M.
, who "did the decent thing and let us be ourselves (we can all look in the mirror in the morning now)."
Under the Volcano was critically well-received, and Rock and Hyde had two hits in Canada with “Dirty Water” and “I Will”. “Dirty Water” also charted on the US Hot 100.
A&M tried to piggyback on the duo's EMI success by immediately offering forth a greatest hits package called Between a Rock & a Hyde Place
. This compilation included no Rock and Hyde recordings per se, only A&M-era recordings the band had released under the name Payolas (or Paul Hyde and the Payolas).
), Hyde was referring to the split simply as a hiatus. However, it took a long time for the hiatus to end; throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Rock busied himself producing heavy metal
bands like Mötley Crüe
and Metallica
. As well, along with ex-Payola Chris Taylor, he created the short-lived band, Rockhead
.
Paul Hyde, meanwhile, pursued an on-again/off-again solo recording career, which included Rock as producer, guitarist and occasional co-writer on 2000's Living off the Radar
. Ex-Payolas Chris Taylor and Alex 'A-Train' Boynton also guested on a few of this album's tracks.
Another Payolas compilation was released in 2002 in Universal Music's 20th Century Masters Series. This compilation also featured the Rock and Hyde track "Dirty Water".
.
The following year, Rock and Hyde announced they were at long last going into the studio to record a new Payolas release. The band was now a duo, with Hyde singing and Rock playing multiple instruments in the studio, occasionally augmented by session musicians. In 2006, a track called "Bomb" was available at their website, followed by "At the Angel's Feet".
On July 17, 2007, the Payolas released a seven-song EP, Langford (Part One)
. They then played several live dates, reuniting the late 1980s band line-up of Rock, Hyde, drummer Chris Taylor and bassist Alex "A-Train" Boynton — a line-up that, ironically, performed as "Paul Hyde and The Payolas" and as "Rock and Hyde", but prior to this reunion, had never performed as the Payolas.
It was announced that there would be a full length follow-up to the Langford (Part One) EP, to be released in 2008 and possibly incorporating some of the EP's tracks. However, this release never materialized.
The band stopped performing live as of 2008, and the official Payolas' website shut down in 2009. As with the band's first break-up, no formal announcement was made that the Payolas were ceasing operations; however, later in 2009 Paul Hyde resumed his solo career, releasing his fifth studio album.
was occurring, most of their songs are, as of yet, unavailable on CD. “Eyes of a Stranger” and “Christmas Is Coming” appear on various CD anthologies, usually with an ‘80s, punk
and/or holiday theme, such as The Edge of Christmas
, on which "Christmas is Coming" appears.
Most album covers
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
of bands and active in the Canadian music
Music of Canada
The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
scene for a decade from the late 1970s, recording several albums and singles that were Canadian chart hits. They disbanded in 1988, but reformed again from 2003 to 2008, issuing a new EP in 2007.
The band's name is a reference to the payola
Payola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
scandal in the United States in the early 1960s. The group was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and recorded mostly at Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound Studios
Little Mountain Sound Studios
Little Mountain Sound Studios was a music recording facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. In its day, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and was the home for many years to producers Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock...
. Through several lineup changes and name changes (the band also played as The Payola$, Paul Hyde and the Payolas and Rock and Hyde), the Payolas core members remained Paul Hyde
Paul Hyde
Paul Hyde is a British-born Canadian musician and record producer .Born in Yorkshire, Hyde came to Canada as a teenager.- Hyde in the Payola$, Phase One :...
and Bob Rock
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
, who together wrote virtually all of the band's songs. As well, Rock engineered and mixed virtually every Payolas recording.
Although in the 1980s the Payolas always seemed poised for a big international breakthrough, the band never quite broke out despite their artistic growth and popular success in Canada. They were, however, one of the most prominent and successful platinum-selling Canadian bands of the early 1980s.
Early years (1978–1981)
Vocalist Hyde, a British emigrant, met guitarist Rock (originally from Winnipeg) during high school in Langford, B.C.Langford, British Columbia
Langford is a city of 22,459 residents on southern Vancouver Island, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is considered one of Greater Victoria's Western Communities...
Shortly after they joined with drummer Taylor Nelson Little and sax/bass player Gary Middleclass (né Gary Bourgeois) to form a pop-punk band. As the band got started, Bob Rock simultaneously started his career as a recording engineer at Little Mountain Sound Studios
Little Mountain Sound Studios
Little Mountain Sound Studios was a music recording facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. In its day, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and was the home for many years to producers Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock...
in Vancouver, B.C., allowing the Payola$ the time to record their first single, "China Boys" (1979). This single was sold at their gigs and in local music stores. Spotted by A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, the band was given the budget to record four songs, which were issued as Introducing Payola$
Introducing Payola$
Introducing Payola$ is the four-song EP with which the Payolas made their major label debut on A&M Records. - Track listing :Side One# "China Boys" # "T.N.T." Side Two# "Rose" # "Jukebox" Introducing Payola$ is the four-song EP with which the Payolas made their major label debut on A&M Records. -...
in 1980. The major-label EP included a new version of their signature song “China Boys”, early versions of “Jukebox” and “Rose”, and the profanity-laden working class anthem “T.N.T.”
The EP garnered enough attention to warrant a full-length follow up album. Middleclass left(who then left to become a sales man at anex and then became a teacher at the Vancover film school sound design program.), and was replaced by Lawrence Wilkins on bass. As well, Lee Kelsey (keyboards) was added. This quintet recorded 1981's In a Place Like This
In a Place Like This
In a Place Like This is the first LP by the Payolas, released in 1981. The album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD.-Track listing:-Personnel:* Paul Hyde: vocals, rhythm guitar* Bob Rock: guitars, vocals...
(produced by Rock), which was a critical success, but a commercial flop. It included a remake of “Jukebox” — and yet another remake of “China Boys” — as well as more proletarian laments like the title track and “Whiskey Boy”.
Mick Ronson era (1982–1984)
1982 saw drummer Chris TaylorChris Taylor
Chris Taylor may refer to:*Chris Taylor , owner of TMKO Lawyers & Last Gang Records*Chris Taylor , comedian, best known from The Chaser's War on Everything, CNNNN and Triple J...
added to the band lineup, replacing Taylor Little. Kelsey left the band and was not replaced. This line-up recorded the Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
-produced album No Stranger To Danger
No Stranger to Danger (Payola$)
No Stranger to Danger is the second album by the Payolas, released in 1982. It contains the hit "Eyes of a Stranger".The album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD.-Track listing:...
. Incorporating elements of reggae, pop, punk, and new wave, the LP included a bona fide hit (#4) in “Eyes of a Stranger”, which later earned the Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for best single of the year. Junos were also given to Rock and Hyde for their songwriting, and to the band as a whole for Most Promising Group
Juno Award for New Group of the Year
The Juno Award for the New Group of the Year has been awarded since 1974, as recognition each year for the best new group or band in Canada. The award was originally known as Most Promising Group of the Year, and from 1994–2002 it was known as Best New Group.-Most Promising Group of the Year...
. Bob Rock’s recording work on the album also won him a Juno, and the LP also featured the moderately successful single “Romance”. Even the non-album B-side “Soldier” was a minor Canadian hit (#25). The song "Eyes of a Stranger" was featured on the soundtrack for Valley Girl
Valley Girl (film)
Valley Girl is a 1983 romantic comedy film, starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye, and Joyce Heiser. The film was the directorial debut of Martha Coolidge, and was the first film in which Nicolas Coppola was billed as Nicolas Cage.The American release of Valley Girl...
.
Arguably, the band's high-water mark was reached in 1983. Wilkins left the band, and Barry Muir (later of Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts
Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts
Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts are a Canadian rock band, based out of Vancouver that formed in 1980. The band's name was taken from the title of Lou Reed's 1983 album.-Biography:...
) was added to play bass for a North American tour, opening for headliners including The Go Go's. Muir never became a member of the group, but played as a sessioneer during some recording sessions. That year, the Payolas released Hammer on a Drum
Hammer on a Drum
Hammer on a Drum is the third album by the Payolas, released in 1983. The title comes from a line in the song "Where Is This Love." The album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD.-Track listing:...
(also produced by Ronson, with the Payolas) to great commercial and popular acclaim. The band now consisted of Rock (often doubling on guitar and bass), Hyde, Taylor and new keyboardist Christopher Livingston. The album they created was a little heavier on keyboard-based pop than before, and seamlessly mixed anthems of social conscience (such as the child abuse chronicle “Where Is This Love” and nuclear nightmare “No Prisoners”) with socialite navel gazing, exemplified by “I’ll Find Another” and “Wild West”.
Four notable singles were pulled from the LP: "Where Is This Love?" and "I'll Find Another"; a tongue-in-cheek duet with Carole Pope
Carole Pope
Carole Pope is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged New Wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian famous entertainers in the world...
of Rough Trade
Rough Trade (band)
Rough Trade was a Canadian new wave rock band in the 1970s and 1980s, centred on singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples. The band was noted for their provocative lyrics and stage antics; singer Pope often performed in bondage attire, and their 1981 hit "High School...
called "Never Said I Loved You"; and the downcast "Christmas Is Coming", which has since been anthologized on Christmas releases. For touring purposes, Alex "A-Train" Boynton was added to the line-up as the group's official new bassist. Boynton is pictured as a member of Payolas on the 12" single release "Christmas Is Coming", although he did not play on the track.
Compromises, David Foster and "Tears Are Not Enough" (1985)
For the first several years of their existence, the Payolas unsuccessfully tried to break into the U.S. market while dealing with strong radio resistance to their name. The Payolas lack of State-side exposure was attributed in some quarters to the possibility that American radio programmers were refusing to play any Payolas music simply because the band's name would remind the public of one of the radio industry's greatest scandalsPayola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
(and its ongoing practices). Therefore, under a certain amount of record company pressure — but also because they legitimately wanted to crack the lucrative U.S. market — the band softened their formerly hard-edged tunes, and in 1985 altered their name to Paul Hyde and the Payolas. In this way, radio DJs could play Payolas music, but simply announce the artist as "Paul Hyde" if they wanted to avoid uttering the dreaded "p" word on-air.
Around this same time, the record label recruited top industry pop-music wiz, David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, to produce and also assist in writing the band's next recoding. The label clearly wanted the next release to break the band into the US mainstream and a more pop-orientated direction was chosen. By this point, the band consisted of Hyde, Rock, drummer Chris Taylor, and bassist Alex "A-Train" Boynton. Keyboardist Livingston was no longer an official band member, but was hired to play keys during the album sessions (as was Foster). In spite of (or perhaps because of) the band's compromises, the resulting album, Here's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya is the fourth album by Paul Hyde and the Payolas, the band previously known as Payolas. Released in 1985, the album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD....
, was an artistic and commercial dud.
Regardless, during the sessions, Foster received a phone call from Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
asking him to produce and contribute a Canadian all-star recording to the USA for Africa
USA for Africa
USA for Africa was the name under which forty-seven predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year...
famine relief project. Using a song title supplied by Rock and Hyde, Foster helped assemble an all-star band called Northern Lights to record the #1 Canadian hit "Tears Are Not Enough
Tears Are Not Enough
"Tears Are Not Enough" is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of Canadian artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia...
". Rock and Hyde received co-writer credits on the song (along with Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Foster, Rachel Paiement
Rachel Paiement
Rachel Paiement is a Canadian musician and songwriter. She is best known as a former member, singer and songwriter for the franco-ontarian band CANO in the 1970s...
and Jim Vallance
Jim Vallance
James Douglas "Jim" Vallance, OC is a retired Canadian musician, songwriter, arranger and producer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the former songwriting partner of Canadian international recording artist Bryan Adams...
). As well, Hyde is heard as one of 44 vocalists on the song, and Rock was one of the engineers.
Paul Hyde and the Payolas (1985–1986)
Later in 1985, when Paul Hyde and the Payolas' Here's the World for YaHere's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya is the fourth album by Paul Hyde and the Payolas, the band previously known as Payolas. Released in 1985, the album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD....
LP was released, its singles included “You're the Only Love”, “It Must Be Love”, “Stuck in the Rain,” and “Here’s the World”. All these singles did moderately well in Canada, and “You're the Only Love”, actually also charted in the US, scraping into the Hot 100—the first Payolas single to do so.
However, critical and consumer reaction to Here's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya is the fourth album by Paul Hyde and the Payolas, the band previously known as Payolas. Released in 1985, the album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD....
went the opposite way. The album was not the hit the record company was hoping for, especially considering Foster's previous track record of producing massive international hits for artists such as Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
, John Parr
John Parr
John Parr is an English musician, best known for his 1985 US #1 hit single "St. Elmo's Fire". Parr has sold 10 million albums worldwide.-Biography:...
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
. Many found Foster's richly ornamented production style conflicted with the Payolas previous highly creative, eclectic works. Furthermore, the band lost many loyal fans who felt the Payolas had turned their backs on them with the commericial compromises. As a consequence of all these factors, within weeks of Here's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya
Here's the World for Ya is the fourth album by Paul Hyde and the Payolas, the band previously known as Payolas. Released in 1985, the album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD....
s release (and relative commercial failure), the band was dropped by A&M.
Rock and Hyde (1987–1988)
In 1987, the band rebranded themselves as Rock and Hyde (although the core duo was still in fact working with Payolas Taylor and Boynton) and released Under the Volcano on Capitol/EMI. This album's credits included a rather pointed dig at former producer Foster by offering a "very special thanks" to new producer Bruce FairbairnBruce Fairbairn
Bruce Earl Fairbairn was a Canadian musician and international record producer from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999 and is considered one of the best of his era...
, who "did the decent thing and let us be ourselves (we can all look in the mirror in the morning now)."
Under the Volcano was critically well-received, and Rock and Hyde had two hits in Canada with “Dirty Water” and “I Will”. “Dirty Water” also charted on the US Hot 100.
A&M tried to piggyback on the duo's EMI success by immediately offering forth a greatest hits package called Between a Rock & a Hyde Place
Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$
Between a Rock & a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$ is a greatest hits album by the Payola$, released in 1987 after A&M had dropped the Payola$ from the label and after the band had rebranded themselves as Rock and Hyde and released Under the Volcano through Capitol/EMI.-Track listing:All songs by...
. This compilation included no Rock and Hyde recordings per se, only A&M-era recordings the band had released under the name Payolas (or Paul Hyde and the Payolas).
Long hiatus (1989–2003)
The duo of Rock and Hyde ceased to be a performing unit at the end of the 1980s, although at the time of Hyde's first solo release (1989's Turtle IslandTurtle Island (Paul Hyde album)
Turtle Island is the first solo album by Paul Hyde of the Payola$, released in 1989 by Capitol/EMI on LP, cassette and Compact Disc.-Track listing:All songs written by Paul Hyde, except as noted.Side 1# "What Am I Supposed to Do?"...
), Hyde was referring to the split simply as a hiatus. However, it took a long time for the hiatus to end; throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Rock busied himself producing heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands like Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
. As well, along with ex-Payola Chris Taylor, he created the short-lived band, Rockhead
Rockhead
Rockhead was a Canadian rock band band formed in 1991 by Bob Rock.-History:Rockhead's namesake, producer/guitarist Bob Rock, formed the group in 1991 with his Payola$/Rock & Hyde bandmate, drummer Chris Taylor, as well as vocalist Steve Jack and bassist Jamey Kosh. Jack and Kosh, as well as...
.
Paul Hyde, meanwhile, pursued an on-again/off-again solo recording career, which included Rock as producer, guitarist and occasional co-writer on 2000's Living off the Radar
Living off the Radar
Living off the Radar is the third solo album by Paul Hyde of the Payola$, released in 2000 by EMI Music Canada. The album reunited Hyde with three of his Payola$ bandmates: Bob Rock, Chris Taylor and Alex Boynton.-Track listing:...
. Ex-Payolas Chris Taylor and Alex 'A-Train' Boynton also guested on a few of this album's tracks.
Another Payolas compilation was released in 2002 in Universal Music's 20th Century Masters Series. This compilation also featured the Rock and Hyde track "Dirty Water".
Reunion (2003–2008)
Finally, in 2003, Rock and Hyde reteamed for a Vancouver gig. An EP called "Missing Links" was released for a charitable foundation, consisting of previously-unreleased Payolas songs and demos, a couple of which had surfaced earlier, in slightly different productions, on Paul Hyde's solo album Living off the RadarLiving off the Radar
Living off the Radar is the third solo album by Paul Hyde of the Payola$, released in 2000 by EMI Music Canada. The album reunited Hyde with three of his Payola$ bandmates: Bob Rock, Chris Taylor and Alex Boynton.-Track listing:...
.
The following year, Rock and Hyde announced they were at long last going into the studio to record a new Payolas release. The band was now a duo, with Hyde singing and Rock playing multiple instruments in the studio, occasionally augmented by session musicians. In 2006, a track called "Bomb" was available at their website, followed by "At the Angel's Feet".
On July 17, 2007, the Payolas released a seven-song EP, Langford (Part One)
Langford (Part One)
Langford Part One is the seven-song CD EP released by the Payolas in 2007.The album cover features a picture of the Belmont Secondary School which is the Langford high school that Bob Rock and Paul Hyde attended together....
. They then played several live dates, reuniting the late 1980s band line-up of Rock, Hyde, drummer Chris Taylor and bassist Alex "A-Train" Boynton — a line-up that, ironically, performed as "Paul Hyde and The Payolas" and as "Rock and Hyde", but prior to this reunion, had never performed as the Payolas.
It was announced that there would be a full length follow-up to the Langford (Part One) EP, to be released in 2008 and possibly incorporating some of the EP's tracks. However, this release never materialized.
The band stopped performing live as of 2008, and the official Payolas' website shut down in 2009. As with the band's first break-up, no formal announcement was made that the Payolas were ceasing operations; however, later in 2009 Paul Hyde resumed his solo career, releasing his fifth studio album.
Discography
Since the band was most active in the mid-1980s as the change from LPs to CDsCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
was occurring, most of their songs are, as of yet, unavailable on CD. “Eyes of a Stranger” and “Christmas Is Coming” appear on various CD anthologies, usually with an ‘80s, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and/or holiday theme, such as The Edge of Christmas
The Edge of Christmas
The Edge Of Christmas was a Christmas compilation album with a new wave/rock theme, released on Oglio Records in 1995.-Track listing:# "Thank God It's Christmas" - Queen# "Please Come Home for Christmas" - Pat Benatar# "2000 Miles" - The Pretenders...
, on which "Christmas is Coming" appears.
Most album covers
Singles
| Release date | Artist Credit | Title | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM 100 | US Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Mainstream Rock | |||
| 1979 | Payolas | "China Boys" | |||
| 1981 | "Jukebox" | ||||
| "I'm Sorry (I Only Did It for the Money)" | |||||
| 1982 | "Eyes of a Stranger" | 4 | 22 | ||
| "Romance" | |||||
| "Soldier" | 25 | ||||
| 1983 | Payolas with Carole Pope Carole Pope Carole Pope is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged New Wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian famous entertainers in the world... |
"Never Said I Loved You" | 8 | ||
| Payolas | "Where Is This Love" | ||||
| "Christmas Is Coming"/"I'll Find Another (Who Can Do It Right)" | |||||
| 1984 | "Wild West" | ||||
| 1985 | Paul Hyde and the Payolas | "You're the Only Love" | 26 | 84 | 37 |
| "Stuck in the Rain" | 77 | ||||
| "Here's the World for Ya" | 91 | ||||
| "It Must Be Love" | 94 | ||||
| 1987 | Rock and Hyde | "Dirty Water" | 20 | 61 | 6 |
| "I Will" | 40 | ||||
| "Talk to Me" | |||||
| 2006 | Payolas | "Bomb" | |||
| "At the Angel's Feet" | |||||
| 2008 | "Shark Attack" |
EPs and albums
- Introducing Payola$Introducing Payola$Introducing Payola$ is the four-song EP with which the Payolas made their major label debut on A&M Records. - Track listing :Side One# "China Boys" # "T.N.T." Side Two# "Rose" # "Jukebox" Introducing Payola$ is the four-song EP with which the Payolas made their major label debut on A&M Records. -...
, (four-song EP), Payolas, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1980 - In a Place Like ThisIn a Place Like ThisIn a Place Like This is the first LP by the Payolas, released in 1981. The album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD.-Track listing:-Personnel:* Paul Hyde: vocals, rhythm guitar* Bob Rock: guitars, vocals...
, Payolas, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1981 - No Stranger To DangerNo Stranger to Danger (Payola$)No Stranger to Danger is the second album by the Payolas, released in 1982. It contains the hit "Eyes of a Stranger".The album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD.-Track listing:...
, Payolas, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1982 - Hammer on a DrumHammer on a DrumHammer on a Drum is the third album by the Payolas, released in 1983. The title comes from a line in the song "Where Is This Love." The album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD.-Track listing:...
, Payolas, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1983 - Here's the World for YaHere's the World for YaHere's the World for Ya is the fourth album by Paul Hyde and the Payolas, the band previously known as Payolas. Released in 1985, the album is only available on vinyl and cassette; it has not been released on CD....
, Paul Hyde and the Payolas, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1985 - Under the Volcano, Rock and Hyde, CapitolCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
/EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, 1987 - Langford Part OneLangford (Part One)Langford Part One is the seven-song CD EP released by the Payolas in 2007.The album cover features a picture of the Belmont Secondary School which is the Langford high school that Bob Rock and Paul Hyde attended together....
, (seven-song EP), Payolas, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, July 17, 2007
Compilations
- Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$Between a Rock & a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$ is a greatest hits album by the Payola$, released in 1987 after A&M had dropped the Payola$ from the label and after the band had rebranded themselves as Rock and Hyde and released Under the Volcano through Capitol/EMI.-Track listing:All songs by...
, Payolas (greatest hits), A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1987 - The Best of the Payola$, 20th Century Masters, The Millennium Collection, Payolas (+ one Rock and Hyde track) (greatest hits), Universal Music, 2002
- Missing Links, Payolas (rarities, demos and unreleased tracks), (2003)