Cover Boys

Cover Boys were a Vancouver trio active at the turn of the 1980s, part of the city's rapidly growing punk and new wave scene. The band featured Dick Jane on guitar and vocals, Ron Allen (also spelled Ron Allan) on bass, and Murray Wystrack on drums. Their only release was the 1980 single It’s a New World / She’s a Jerk on Quintessence Records.

Quintessence was closely tied to Vancouver's first wave of punk and new wave, issuing records by D.O.A., the Pointed Sticks, Young Canadians, Subhumans, Modernettes and UJ3RK5. The Cover Boys sat toward the more melodic end of that scene. ‘She’s a Jerk’ had a brisk power-pop edge, while ‘It’s a New World’ leaned more toward straight pop and new wave.

Dick Jane wrote ‘It’s a New World’ and co-wrote ‘She’s a Jerk’ with Vancouver singer-songwriter Barry Greenfield. Both songs were published by Fattyrab Music and Quintessence Records. The single was produced by Ted Thomas and engineered by Ron Obvious, with the lacquer cut at The Lacquer Channel Limited.

The Cover Boys were active around Vancouver during 1980. In April, Vancouver Magazine included them among its “Nine Bands for the Eighties,” alongside the Young Canadians, Bob Coulter and Bryan Adams. They also appeared with the Young Canadians at Robson Square Theatre as part of Perryscope’s Home Cookin’ Series.

Ron Allen later joined the Subhumans, playing bass in the lineup with Wimpy Roy, Mike Graham and Randy Bowman that recorded No Wishes, No Prayers for SST Records. He went on to play with Shanghai Dog, the Scramblers, Corsage and A Circus in Flames, as well as numerous other Vancouver musicians and groups.

Dick Jane and Murray Wystrack later played together again in Sexbeat, a trio formed with bassist Blair Petrie. Active from the spring of 1982, Sexbeat released the six-song Groove Maneuveres that year, with Jane on guitar and vocals, Wystrack on drums and Petrie on bass. Jane wrote all six songs. The group remained together until the spring of 1983, breaking up before a planned second EP could be recorded.

-Robert Williston

Lineup
Dick Jane: guitar, vocals
Ron Allen (Ron Allan): bass
Murray Wystrack: drums