Haywire
Encyclopedia
Haywire is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...

/hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band originally from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

History

Haywire formed in Charlottetown in 1982 by Dave Rashed, Paul MacAusland, Marvin Birt, Scott Roberts and Ronnie Switzer. In 1984 they won the Q107 Homegrown contest; the first prize was the chance to record a single, but they took the opportunity to invest their own money and record a 5-song EP, which eventually sold over 5000 copies in the Maritimes. In 1985 they won the Labatt's Battle of the Bands, and used the $10,000 first prize to record more material. While most of the members of the band had been unaltered from the start, drummer Sean Kilbride was the fourth drummer in the group's short history. Ron "Bumble" LeBlanc had replaced the original Haywire drummer Scott Roberts in 1984. He remained with the band through their demo stages, EP, and can be heard playing on two cuts of the bands first record with Attic. LeBlanc was replaced by Mac Cole when he decided to move on from the group and pursue a formal education. Cole only played two months with the band, when Haywire's long-time friend Kilbride became available for the job. In the summer of 1986 the group signed up Kilbride and successfully pursued a record contract with Attic.
Their first full-length album, Bad Boys, went platinum in Canada, while the title track became a Top 40 hit. The following year, they released Don't Just Stand There
Don't Just Stand There
Don't Just Stand There is the second full-length album from the Canadian band Haywire.- Track listing :# "Dance Desire" – 4:04# "One Heart Affair" – 4:29...

, which also went platinum and contained their highest charting hit, the hard-driving "Dance Desire". A promised third video was not forthcoming from the label, so Haywire financed the video for "Fire" themselves. Although this showed great initiative and conviction by the group, this inexplicably did not please Attic. Throughout the late 1980s, Haywire toured with other popular Canadian rockers such as Helix
Helix (band)
Helix are a Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band. They formed in 1974, and are best known for their 1984 single "Rock You". The original lineup was formed by drummer Bruce Arnold, and consisted of lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, keyboardist Don...

, Honeymoon Suite
Honeymoon Suite (band)
Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital.-Band history:...

 and Kim Mitchell
Kim Mitchell
Joseph Kim Mitchell is a Canadian guitarist. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to lead a solo career. He is currently a radio show host for CILQ-FM in Toronto....

. They also represented Canada in the World Popular Song Festival in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, where "Dance Desire" won the award for best song. Despite their success in Canada, and interest Stateside from Doc McGee (Management for Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

, 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 Skid Row); Q-Prime; and Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...

, they were unable to secure a US recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

 due to unrealistic demands from their record company.

The follow-up album, Nuthouse
Nuthouse (album)
Nuthouse is the third and final full-length album from the Canadian band Haywire.- Track listing :All songs written by Birt, Rashed, MacAusland, except where listed.# "Operator Central" – 4:14# "Short End of a Wishbone" – 3:49...

, was recorded in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 with Bjorn Nessjo at the production helm; one of Europe's most sought-after producers at the time. Unsatisfied with the final mix of the album, Haywire flew back to Canada and remixed it themselves. The final result was guitar-driven, had a much harder edge and was the direction the band had always wanted to pursue, rather than the soft-rock/pop-rock pap their record label thought was necessary. The videos for the first two singles, "Short End of a Wishbone" & "Operator Central" were the most expensive Canadian videos produced that year. Although it hit platinum sales it was a major change in musical direction and as a result, alienated some of the younger fans they attracted with their first two offerings...while it did garner major AOR radioplay and was well-received, the record company wasn't willing to nurture & develop the new direction and following, and as a result Attic shelved the album without a third video as promised - again.
They produced one more album, 1992's Get Off
Get Off (album)
Get Off is the second album by Miami, Florida Latin Dance/disco group Foxy. Album contains Top Ten Hit Get Off.-Track listing:#Tena's Song - 4:53#Ready For Love - 3:59...

, which was critically well-received, but still did not fuel the support from the record company (financial and otherwise) that they needed. Haywire compromised, and had the first two videos made for the price of one with the label promising a third for the single "Buzz". Once again, Attic did not deliver. This was quite short-sighted as the single reached #13 without video support (their highest charter, second only to Dance Desire). After contractual struggles, the group refused to re-sign with their label Attic.
To fulfill their contractual obligations with Haywire, Attic released a greatest hits CD in 1993 entitled Wired: Best of without input from Haywire themselves - short-sighted again, as the band would have added live recordings, unreleased material and many other things that are usually attributed with such a release.

The band has had their albums re-issued on CD through Unidisc Music Inc.
Unidisc Music Inc.
Unidisc Music Inc, is one of Canada’s largest independent record labels. The company has been expanding in growth and productivity since the late 1970s...

. In November 2006, Haywire were awarded the Music Prince Edward Island Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2011, it is rumoured that Haywire will be awarded the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' from the East Coast Music Association
East Coast Music Association
The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada...

 (ECMA)

Original members

  • Paul MacAusland - Vocals
  • Dave Rashed - Keyboards, backing vocals
  • Marvin Birt - Guitars, backing vocals
  • Ronnie Switzer - Bass
  • Sean Kilbride - Drums

Albums

  • Bad Boys - 1986
  • Don't Just Stand There
    Don't Just Stand There
    Don't Just Stand There is the second full-length album from the Canadian band Haywire.- Track listing :# "Dance Desire" – 4:04# "One Heart Affair" – 4:29...

    - 1987
  • Nuthouse
    Nuthouse (album)
    Nuthouse is the third and final full-length album from the Canadian band Haywire.- Track listing :All songs written by Birt, Rashed, MacAusland, except where listed.# "Operator Central" – 4:14# "Short End of a Wishbone" – 3:49...

    - 1990

Singles

  • "Bad Bad Boy" (1986) #21 CAN
  • "Standin' in Line" (1986) #71 CAN
  • "Shot in the Dark" (1986 - no video) #96 CAN
  • "Dance Desire" (1987) #10 CAN
  • "Black and Blue" (1987) #37 CAN
  • "Thinkin' About the Years" (1988 - no video) #35 CAN
  • "Fire" (1988)
  • "Operator Central" (1989)
  • "Short End of a Wishbone" (1990) #56 CAN
  • "Taken the Pain" (1991 - no video)
  • "Get Back" (1992) #46 CAN
  • "Wanna Be the One" (1992)
  • "Buzz" (1992 - no video) #13 CAN

External links

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