Payola$: Канадская новая волна 80-х

Canadian new wave band
the band

Payolas (stylized as Payola$) was a Canadian rock band that was most prominent in the 1980s. Evolving from a new wave sound toward mainstream pop rock, they were best known for the single "Eyes of a Stranger", from their 1982 album No Stranger to Danger, an album that won the band four Juno Awards. Based in Vancouver, the band had experienced several changes to both its name and lineup, having been known as The Payola$, Paul Hyde and the Payolas, and Rock and Hyde. Vocalist and lyricist Paul Hyde and multi instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Bob Rock were the band's core members throughout its history. The band broke up in 1988, but reformed again from 2003 to 2008.

The band's name is a reference to the United States payola scandal of the early 1960s, which was a pay for play scheme involving commercial radio stations. The name caused issues with A&M record executives who wanted to introduce the band to the American market and who were concerned about the term's negative connotations, which resulted in the band's name change to Paul Hyde and the Payola$ in 1985. Rock added that it was Hyde that came up with the name and that "I was the idiot who put the dollar sign at the end." Hyde met Bob Rock while the pair were attending Belmont High School in Langford, a Victoria suburb. Rock, who moved to Victoria from Winnipeg at age 12, described his first encounter with Hyde to the Times Colonist in 2007: "He had his hair all cut off, and later I found out it was because he wanted to look like a skinhead when he immigrated to Canada so he wouldn't get beat up. Being such a fan of English culture and bands, I saw this kid standing there in a long trenchcoat and shaved head and I went, 'That's a guy I wanna know.'" Rock and Hyde were joined by drummer Ian Tiles (of Pointed Sticks) and bass player Marty Higgs to form the pop punk band Payola$. At the time, Rock was producing mainly punk acts, such as the Young Canadians, The Dils and the Pointed Sticks. The song, whose lyrics reference the westernization of China, attracted the attention of A&M Records. Higgs and Tiles left shortly after the single was recorded and were replaced by drummer Taylor Nelson Little and sax/bass player Gary Middleclass (né Bourgeois). The four track EP Introducing Payola$ was released by A&M in 1980. Lee Kelsey was added on keyboards.

1982 saw drummer Chris Taylor added to the band lineup, replacing Taylor Little. Junos were also given to Rock and Hyde for their songwriting, Rock was awarded Recording Engineer of the Year, and the band as a whole won the Most Promising Group.

In 1985, producer and songwriter David Foster helped assemble the supergroup Northern Lights to record the song "Tears Are Not Enough". Hyde was one of over 40 vocalists featured on the song and Rock served as one of the engineers. That same year, A&M Records recruited Foster to produce the band's next recording, 1985's Here's the World for Ya, with the hopes of bringing the band to the American market. The band's name was also changed to Paul Hyde and the Payola$. Both Foster and Hyde's then wife, Myriam Nelson, contributed some of the songwriting. The single, "You're the Only Love" charted in the US, peaking at No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart—the first Payola$ single to do so. The album marked a change in the band's sound that alienated many of their longtime fans as a result. Under the Volcano reached No. 24 on the top 100 album chart in Canada. Under the Volcano was critically well received, and Rock and Hyde had two hits in Canada with "Dirty Water" (No. 20) and "I Will" (No. 40). "Dirty Water" also peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at No. 61. Later that same year A&M capitalized on the band's renewed popularity and released a greatest hits package of Payolas work called Between a Rock and a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$.

After the release of Under the Volcano, Rock returned his focus to sound engineering and producing music from Little Mountain studios and became a go to producer for hard rock and metal acts, producing albums for musical acts such as Loverboy, The Cult, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and David Lee Roth. Rock and Hyde then again went their separate ways. Paul Hyde pursued a solo recording career, releasing four albums between 1999 and 2002, including 2000's Living off the Radar featuring Rock as producer, guitarist and co writer. It was announced that there would be a full length follow up to the Langford (Part One) EP, possibly incorporating some of the EP's tracks, however this release never materialized. In a 2020 interview with the Vancouver Sun Hyde said that he hadn't performed live music in five years and had changed his focus towards visual art. However, in a 2023 podcast interview, Hyde revealed that he and Rock had been working on a covers album, for release at an indefinite future time. Whether this newly recorded material would be issued under the Payola$ name, or as Rock and Hyde, or perhaps using some other guise, was not revealed.

Year Artist credit Title Peak chart Positions CAN AUS US US Rock1979Payolas"China Boys"————1981"Jukebox"————"I'm Sorry (I Only Did It for the Money)"————1982"Eyes of a Stranger"481—22"Romance"————"Soldier"25———1983Payolas with Carole Pope"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"————1985Paul Hyde and the Payolas"You're The Only Love"26—8437"Stuck in the Rain"77———"Here's the World"91———"It Must Be Love"94———1987Rock and Hyde"Dirty Water"20—6161"I Will"40———"Talk to Me"————2006Payolas"Bomb"————"At the Angel's Feet"————2008"Shark Attack"———— "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.