Memories of big hair, bigger hits as Canadian bands from the '70s and '80s inducted into Walk of Fame
CBC
Thirteen Canadian rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s rolled back the clock on Thursday as they were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame with a night chock full of good memories and even greater radio hits.
Glass Tiger, Loverboy and Trooper were among the bands toasted at Toronto's Massey Hall as part of a "mega-induction" ceremony dubbed "Rock of Fame," which celebrated a time when the country's rock pulse was pounding.
Between a packed lineup of live performances and acceptance speeches, the night was loaded with laughs about time passed, hair lost and the follies of aging.
"We're all here on the same ride tonight," Loverboy's Mike Reno proclaimed early in the ceremony.
His sentiment was shared by many of his fellow inductees on the pre-show red carpet, where they described the familiar faces they passed backstage.
"We're certainly among friends here," noted guitarist Al Harlow, who was honoured as part of Vancouver rockers Prism.
"So we're just saying, 'Well, hi! How are the grandkids?'"
Chilliwack's bassist Ab Bryant said that with the combination of summer music festivals and casino gigs, many of the honourees see each other quite often.
"But it's fantastic to have everyone come together and all be honoured in the same place," the inductee added.
Even with so many Canadian musicians of the era together in one place, there were still notable absences, Bryant added. In the Vancouver band's case, several former Chilliwack members died in recent years.
"You think about them when you get here," he said.
Onstage, the notion of mortality peeked through the festivities every so often.
Rocket Norton of Prism led the crowd in a defiant and expletive-charged chant against cancer, a fight he's been waging in recent years.
Rough Trade's Carole Pope addressed leaving a positive impact for the LGBTQ+ community after drag queen Brooke Lynn Hytes commended Pope's bravery during the Toronto band's induction.
