Wireless

Websites:  http://www.garylessard.com/wireless/
Origin: Sydney, Australia, - Toronto, Ontario, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Originally from Sydney, Australia, bassist Allan Marshall, guitarist Steve McMurray, and drummer Glenn Beatson were in a rock group called Autumn that by early ’75 had moved to England in an attempt to cash in on bigger audiences. They were on tour in Canada that year with Lighthouse, when after seeing a good portion of the country, decided to trade the koalas and fish & chips in for parkas. They made Toronto their new home and added a pair of local natives to the lineup, ex-Morning Drive singer Michael Lalonde and guitarist Mike Crawford – and Wireless was born.
They were signed to Atlantic Records and entered Toronto’s Soundstage Studios with producer Jack Richardson (The Guess Who, Alice Cooper, and Bob Seger, among a million others). Their self-titled debut album in 1976 was met with relatively good response, as were the singles – “Spend the Night With Me” and “Lovin’ In Return.”

But following a series of dates throughout Canada, by the spring of ’77 Atlantic dropped them from their roster. To make matters worse, Beatson was homesick, and once it was decided that Marshall and McMurray were going to stay, the following months saw an exhaustive auditioning process for a new drummer finish when ex-Goddo member Marty Morin came on board. During the process, Lalonde also left, and the band decided to keep it a foursome, with Marshall now handling the bulk of the lead vocals.

With new manager Ray Danniels, the next order of business was to find a new label, and Anthem, home for Rush and Max Webster, fit the bill. They came out of Phase One Studios in the summer of ’78 with producer Mike Tilka (ex-Max Webster bassist) with their new album, POSITIVELY HUMAN – RELATIVELY SANE. Along with the single “I Know You Know” the critics ate it up, with other noteable mentions including the b-side “No Way Out,” and “The Rut” and “What You Make It,” both featuring Morin on lead vocals.

Encouraged but not necessarily happy, Anthem execs wanted a ‘name’ producing their next album, so Rush’s Geddy Lee was brought in for the sessions at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec. The culmination was the NO STATIC album in 1980. Like its predecessors, the record saw Marshall and McMurray handling the bulk of the writing, and the first single “Pay To Ride” was released amongst much hype. Unfortunately though, hype doesn’t always equate to sales, and the single failed to make the top 30 at home and was all but invisible south of the border, a key in the label’s plans.

By the following spring, Morin returned to a reformed Goddo, then spent time in Bongo Fury, before rejoining Goddo again. Everyone else in Wireless went on to other projects, or got out of the business all together. In 2012, Anthem re-released POSITIVELY HUMAN and NO STATIC on a single disc.
-Gary Lessard and Glen Thomas

Michael Crawford: A summa cum loud graduate of the Toronto suburban basement school for lead guitar, Michael Crawford spends much of his spare time impersonating Goldie Hawn. Anything for artistic inspiration, right? Together with Steve, Michael endows Wireless with some of the finest dual guitar leads this side of cloning. Sings and writes well, too.

Allan Marshall: Bassist, singer, songwriter, master of myriad instruments and bizarre practices, Allan Marshall is the Moses of the band’s Australian contingent, having led the exodus from the land of Qantas to Canada via England. The most prolific writer in Wireless, Allan has left a trail of illegitimate songs and unwed record companies through three continents and two hemispheres. An articulate spokesman for the band when sober, more so when not.

Steve McMurray: The Australian half of the Wireless guitar equation, Steve McMurray is the silent philosopher of the band. A devout existentialist, Steve has an as yet unfulfilled desire to paddle out on a Camus trip in Algonquin Park. “Just like Champlain and Hiawatha,” he says. A certified star back home, a certified songwriter in Canada, a certified nice guy anywhere, but don’t call him “Fred.”

Glenn Beatson: Drummer and percussionist par excellence, Glenn Beatson may be number 5 in this particular program, but there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be number 1 in your hearts. A kangaroo, as noted elsewhere, Glenn is the popular type of guy who would probably be called “Ringnose” or something like that if he played in an English band. Like Allan and Steve, Glenn turned his back on stardom in Australia for the challenges of the international scene (and the delights of the North American tasty freeze).

Michael Lalonde: When Michael Lalonde joined Wireless early in 1976, the band made the quantum jump from being merely excellent to being something special. The lead vocalist and energy focus on stage, Michael served his apprenticeship for Wireless in Canadian bands, most notably Mornington Drive, where the reviews were invariably prefaced, “powerful lead singer.” A growing talent and a serious student of distaff anatomy.