Men Without Hats
Encyclopedia
Men Without Hats 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...

 New Wave group from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. Their music was characterized by the distinctive baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk
Ivan Doroschuk
Ivan Doroschuk, is an American-born Canadian musician of Ukrainian origin. He is the lead vocalist and founding member of Men Without Hats. Doroschuk was born on October 9, 1961 in the U.S. state of Illinois and at a young age he and his family moved to Canada, settling in the city of Montreal,...

 as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing. They achieved their greatest popularity in the early to mid 1980s with their most successful single, "The Safety Dance
The Safety Dance
"The Safety Dance" was the title of a song written and recorded by Canadian New Wave band Men Without Hats; and to date, it remains their biggest hit. It was released in March 1982 as the second single from the band's first full-length album, Rhythm of Youth...

", a Top 10 hit in both the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, as well as other countries including South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Their other big success was the 1987 hit, "Pop Goes the World
Pop Goes the World (song)
"Pop Goes the World" is the title of a song recorded by Canadian New Wave group Men Without Hats. It was released in 1987 as the lead single from the album of the same name.-Content:...

".

Early days

Men Without Hats initially consisted of Ivan Doroschuk
Ivan Doroschuk
Ivan Doroschuk, is an American-born Canadian musician of Ukrainian origin. He is the lead vocalist and founding member of Men Without Hats. Doroschuk was born on October 9, 1961 in the U.S. state of Illinois and at a young age he and his family moved to Canada, settling in the city of Montreal,...

 (vocals, keyboards) and Jeremie Arrobas (keyboards & electronics), as well as Ivan's brother Stefan (guitars), with various other members joining and leaving the group, including a third Doroschuk brother, Colin (electronics). The band was founded in 1977 in Montreal and would undergo numerous personnel changes through the rest of the decade with Stefan, Colin, and Arrobas as the only relative constants joining Ivan. The name came about because Ivan and his two brothers, following the self-described principle of "style before comfort", refused to wear hats during Montreal's cold winters, calling themselves "the men without hats." (A popular but apocryphal tale is that an announcer at an early gig misread it as "Men Without Pants.")

Their first release was the EP Folk of the 80's
Folk of the 80's
Folk of the 80's is an EP released by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats. Recorded in the summer of 1980 at Studio A in Montreal, Canada and released later that year, it was their first release....

, released in 1980. At this point, the band officially consisted of Ivan Doroschuk and Jeremie Arrobas; also appearing on the EP were auxiliary members Stefan Doroschuk (bass), Roman Martyn (guitars) and Lynne Thibodeau (backing vocals).

Shortly after the release of the EP, Martyn left and was replaced by Jean-Marc Pisapia, who would later found The Box
The Box (band)
The Box is a Canadian New Wave group from Montreal. Founded in 1981, they achieved commercial success in Canada, recording four charting albums and 10 charting singles between 1984 and 1990. The group broke up in 1992, but a new lineup of the band was founded in 2002...

. Pisapia stayed only a short time before leaving; he was replaced briefly by Tracy Howe, who also left in short order, co-founding Rational Youth
Rational Youth
Rational Youth is a Canadian New Wave band, originally formed in 1981 in Montreal, Quebec, by synthesizer wizards Tracy Howe, former singer and drummer for Montreal punk band "The Normals", and Bill Vorn, both of whom idolized the German synthpop pioneers Kraftwerk.Among the band's notable singles...

 shortly after his departure. Howe was around at just the right time to be credited on a reprint of Folk of the 80's, but didn't actually play on it.

Howe's interim replacement, Daniel Wheeler, spent a short time as the group's percussionist, before departing for a brief, but successful, career in United States state politics after being elected to the State of South Dakota School Board. Mike Gabriel also joined Men Without Hats around this time of constant membership turnover and by 1982 both Arrobas and Gabriel would leave to work with Pisapia in a new (pre-The Box) band, before eventually forming their own group, Isinglass.

International success

Ivan and Stefan Doroschuk (now promoted to full membership status) subsequently recruited Allan McCarthy (percussion, electronics) to join the group. Soon after, the trio erupted onto the international scene with their worldwide hit single "The Safety Dance
The Safety Dance
"The Safety Dance" was the title of a song written and recorded by Canadian New Wave band Men Without Hats; and to date, it remains their biggest hit. It was released in March 1982 as the second single from the band's first full-length album, Rhythm of Youth...

" from their 1982 debut album Rhythm of Youth
Rhythm of Youth
Rhythm of Youth is the debut album of Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1982. The album propelled them to fame with its second single, "The Safety Dance".The U.S...

. The song spent four weeks at number three on the Billboard 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...

, was also a major hit in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, peaking at #6, and reached the top ten in various European countries. The song also charted, although less successfully, in their home country of 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...

, reaching #4 on the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....

. It was rated the eleventh biggest selling single of the year in South Africa in 1983.

Adding Colin Doroschuk (who had guested on Rhythm Of Youth) as an official fourth member, Men Without Hats released the album Folk of the 80's (Part III) in 1984. While lead single "Where Do The Boys Go?" was a top 40 hit in Canada, the album failed to match the international success of Rhythm of Youth.

In 1985, the band released the EP Freeways
Freeways (EP)
Freeways is the second EP released by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats.Released in 1985, it contains songs originally released on the group's 1980 EP Folk of the 80's, plus several versions of the song "Freeways"....

, consisting of multiple (and multi-lingual) remixes of one of their earliest efforts, Ivan Doroschuk and Jeremie Arrobas's 1980 "Freeways". To support the EP, the group undertook a related tour, footage from which would later (in 2006) be released on DVD as Live Hats
Live Hats
Live Hats is the first and only live concert released on DVD by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats. It was recorded in Montreal on August 8, 1985 and released in 2006.-Track list:# Intro# Heaven# I Know Their Name# Antartica# Modern Dancing...

.

Reshuffling the line-up again, the band released the album Pop Goes the World
Pop Goes the World
Pop Goes the World is the third studio album by Canadian New Wave group Men Without Hats, released in 1987. It contained the single "Pop Goes the World", which reached the top twenty in Canada and the United States....

in 1987 with Ivan, Stefan and Lenny Pinkas. The album's title track
Pop Goes the World (song)
"Pop Goes the World" is the title of a song recorded by Canadian New Wave group Men Without Hats. It was released in 1987 as the lead single from the album of the same name.-Content:...

 reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Canadian Singles Chart, and was #1 in Austria. The song was also featured in the 1987 film Date with an Angel
Date with an Angel
Date with an Angel is an American film which was released in 1987, starring Emmanuelle Béart, Phoebe Cates and Michael E. Knight. The romantic fantasy/comedy was an updated reworking of the 1942 film I Married an Angel and released by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. The film was written and...

and became the fifteenth biggest selling single in South Africa for 1988. The touring band added Bruce Murphy on keyboards and guitar, Marika Tjelios on bass, Richard Sampson on drums, and Heidi Garcia on vocals and keyboards.

Their next album, The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century is the fourth studio album by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1989.-Track listing: # "In the 21st Century"-6:16# "Hey Men"-5:04# "You & Me"-5:44...

, released in 1989, featured a cover of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

's song "SOS
SOS (ABBA song)
Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....

". The musicians on the album were essentially the touring band from Pop Goes the World. Their 1991 album Sideways, dominated by processed electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

s instead of keyboards, revealed a dramatically different sound for the band due to synthpop falling out of style. The album failed to attract an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 label, despite the group's efforts to convince their own record label. Soon after this career setback, the band officially disbanded, although Ivan Doroschuk and keyboardist Bruce Murphy would record several demos in 1993, for a concept album tentatively titled 'UFO's are Real', which was never released.

Break-up and reformation

In 1995, one-time band member Allan McCarthy died due to complications of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

. Lead singer Ivan Doroschuk released a solo album, The Spell, in 1997. Stefan and Mack MacKenzie (of 3 O'Clock Train) released Ride of Glory, a post-modern Western-themed CD. Stefan and Ivan Doroschuk later regrouped in 2003 to release the group's most recent album, No Hats Beyond This Point
No Hats Beyond This Point
No Hats Beyond this Point is the sixth and most recent studio album by Canadian synthpop group Men Without Hats. Released in 2003, it was their first album in twelve years.After the release of the album, the group broke up.-Style and availability:...

.

On September 24, 2010, Ivan reformed Men Without Hats, with three hired backup musicians, and appeared at the Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria, British Columbia, performing ten songs from the Men Without Hats back catalogue. The Ivan-fronted band (described by the Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....

as "simply singer Ivan Doroschuk and some hired guns" and by Stefan as a "tribute band") began the "Dance If You Want Tour 2011" with a well attended and positively received performance at Austin's South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 event in March, 2011. At the North by Northeast
North by Northeast
North by Northeast is an annual five-day live music and film festival and music conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held each June....

 festival in Toronto on June 18, Ivan announced that Men Without Hats would be releasing a new studio album, and that it would be entitled "Folk of the 80s: Part IV". On June 19, 2011 he played at the Festival "Sound of Music" in Burlington, ON, Canada. Stefan has announced his intention to continue working separately, also under the Men Without Hats name.

Studio albums

  • Rhythm of Youth
    Rhythm of Youth
    Rhythm of Youth is the debut album of Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1982. The album propelled them to fame with its second single, "The Safety Dance".The U.S...

    (1982)
  • Folk of the 80's (Part III) (1984)
  • Pop Goes the World
    Pop Goes the World
    Pop Goes the World is the third studio album by Canadian New Wave group Men Without Hats, released in 1987. It contained the single "Pop Goes the World", which reached the top twenty in Canada and the United States....

    (1987)
  • The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
    The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
    The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century is the fourth studio album by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1989.-Track listing: # "In the 21st Century"-6:16# "Hey Men"-5:04# "You & Me"-5:44...

    (1989)
  • Sideways (1991)
  • No Hats Beyond This Point
    No Hats Beyond This Point
    No Hats Beyond this Point is the sixth and most recent studio album by Canadian synthpop group Men Without Hats. Released in 2003, it was their first album in twelve years.After the release of the album, the group broke up.-Style and availability:...

    (2003)
  • Folk of the 80's Part IV (2011)

Compilation albums

  • Collection (1996)
  • Greatest Hats (1997)
  • The Very Best of Men Without Hats
    The Very Best of Men Without Hats
    The Very Best of Men Without Hats is a compilation album released by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1998.-Track listing:# "The Safety Dance"# "Living in China"# "I Got the Message"# "Where Do the Boys Go?"# "Antarctica"...

     (1998)
  • My Hats Collection
    My Hats Collection
    My Hats Collection is a compilation album by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 2006.-Track listing:# The Safety Dance# Living in China# Antarctica# I Got the Message# I Like# Where Do the Boys Go?# Freeways...

    (2006)
  • The Silver Collection (plus bonus DVD) (2008)

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...


(sales threshold)
Album
CAN
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....


AUT
NZ
UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...


US
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 Dance
US Main
1983 "I Like" 84 Rhythm of Youth
"The Safety Dance
The Safety Dance
"The Safety Dance" was the title of a song written and recorded by Canadian New Wave band Men Without Hats; and to date, it remains their biggest hit. It was released in March 1982 as the second single from the band's first full-length album, Rhythm of Youth...

"
11 7 2 6 3 1 20
  • CAN
    Music Canada
    Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:...

    : Gold
  • UK
    British Phonographic Industry
    The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

    : Silver
"I Got the Message" 99
"Living in China"
1984 "Where Do the Boys Go?" 30 Folk of the 80's (Part III)
1987 "Pop Goes the World
Pop Goes the World (song)
"Pop Goes the World" is the title of a song recorded by Canadian New Wave group Men Without Hats. It was released in 1987 as the lead single from the album of the same name.-Content:...

"
2 1 15 20 27
  • CAN: Gold
  • Pop Goes the World
    "Moonbeam" 23 46
    1989 "Hey Men" 8 The Adventures of Woman & Men
    Without Hate in the 21st Century
    "In the 21st Century" 35
    1991 "Sideways" 50 Sideways
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Music videos

    • "Nationale 7"
    • "Security"
    • "Antarctica"
    • "The Safety Dance"
    • "I Like"
    • "Where Do the Boys Go?"
    • "Pop Goes the World"
    • "Moonbeam"
    • "Hey Men"
    • "In the 21st Century"
    • "Sideways"

    Covers

    • The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
      The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century
      The Adventures of Women & Men Without Hate in the 21st Century is the fourth studio album by Canadian synth-pop group Men Without Hats, released in 1989.-Track listing: # "In the 21st Century"-6:16# "Hey Men"-5:04# "You & Me"-5:44...

      featured a cover
      Cover version
      In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

       of ABBA
      ABBA
      ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

      's "SOS
      SOS (ABBA song)
      Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....

      "
    • Sideways featured a cover of The Beatles
      The Beatles
      The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

      ' "I Am the Walrus
      I Am the Walrus
      "I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...

      " (subtitled "'No You're Not', Said Little Nicola").
    • The Collection and Greatest Hats compilations featured a cover of Roxy Music
      Roxy Music
      Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...

      's "Editions of You"
    • The Montreal-based punk band, The Nils
      The Nils
      The Nils was a Canadian power pop and punk rock band originating in Montreal, Quebec which produced several releases between 1978 and 1994.The band was founded in 1978 by then 12-year old Alex Soria with his brother Carlos Soria. The band never achieved widespread fame despite critical success and...

      , performed a cover of "Pop Goes The World" on their compilation release, Green Fields in Daylight.

    See also

    • List of Quebec musicians
    • Music of Quebec
      Music of Quebec
      Being a modern cosmopolitan society, today, all types of music can be found in the Canadian province of Quebec. What is specific to Quebec though are traditional songs, a unique variety of Celtic music, legions of excellent jazz musicians, a culture of classical music, and a love of foreign rhythms...

    • Culture of Quebec
      Culture of Quebec
      The Culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western World; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada...

    • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
    • List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

    External links

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
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