Handsome Ned (Robin David Masyk)

Websites:  https://citizenfreak.com/artists/109893-sidewinders-1
Origin: Zweibrücken, West Germany → Stoney Creek → Toronto, Ontario, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Handsome Ned was the stage name of Robin David Masyk (June 4, 1957 – January 10, 1987), a Toronto-based country singer and songwriter whose influence on the early-1980s Queen Street West music community far exceeded his recorded output.

Born in Zweibrücken, West Germany, to a Canadian Air Force family, Masyk spent his early childhood on military bases in Europe before returning with his family to Stoney Creek, Ontario in 1970. During his teenage years he developed parallel interests in proto-punk and classic American country music — a combination that would later define his musical identity. Artists such as Iggy and the Stooges and the Velvet Underground existed in his listening habits alongside Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and the Sun Records catalogue. In his late teens he left school and hitchhiked extensively across Canada and the United States, absorbing the culture and mythology that would inform many of his original songs.

In 1978 he spent time in Austin, Texas, immersing himself in outlaw country and honky-tonk traditions before returning to Toronto in 1979. With his brother Jim Masyk he formed a band called The Velours, whose repertoire combined early Elvis Presley material, Velvet Underground songs and original compositions. In early 1981, with the addition of bassist Ronny Azzopardi and drummer Jimmy Weatherstone of The Demics, the group adopted the name The Sidewinders and moved toward a more focused rockabilly and country direction.

The Sidewinders performed regularly within Toronto’s punk circuit, opening for acts such as the Viletones and playing venues including Larry’s Hideaway. Their sound — original country-based songwriting delivered with punk-era intensity — attracted an audience that had not previously embraced traditional country forms. In 1983 they recorded at Marigold Studios with engineer Rich Dodson, issuing the single “Put the Blame on Me” b/w “Cryin’ Heartache Misery” on Handsome Records (H-101). “Put the Blame on Me” would become Masyk’s best-known composition and a defining song of the early Queen Street country movement.

On January 9, 1982, Masyk began a Saturday matinee residency at the Cameron House on Queen Street West. The weekly performances continued for nearly five years and became a focal point for Toronto’s downtown music community. Musicians, artists and writers gathered regularly, and the room became a proving ground for country-influenced bands emerging from a predominantly punk and new wave environment. The residency played a significant role in shaping the roots revival that would later include artists such as Blue Rodeo, Prairie Oyster, Skydiggers and Cowboy Junkies.

Throughout the early 1980s Masyk performed under several project names, including The Sidewinders, The Running Kind, Handsome Ned & The Hayseed Hellions, The Handsome Neds and later The New Neds. A key mid-period lineup of the Handsome Neds featured Steve Koch on guitar, Rene Fratura on upright bass and Jimmy Weatherstone on drums. During this period he also hosted the Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor Show on CKLN-FM, programming vintage country alongside contemporary roots-oriented artists and further expanding his influence within the scene.

In addition to club performances, Masyk organized annual outdoor gatherings known as the Handsome Ned Picnic on Toronto Island, which featured appearances by fellow Queen Street musicians and helped solidify a growing country-roots community in the city. In 1985 the Handsome Neds released the single “In Spite of the Danger” b/w “Ain’t No Room for Cheatin’,” which received airplay on CKLN, CBC and select country stations in Ontario.

By late 1986 discussions were underway regarding a full-length album, with Murray McLauchlan preparing to produce initial sessions. Demo recordings were scheduled for January 1987. On January 10, 1987, Masyk died in Toronto at the age of 29 from a heroin overdose, one day before the fifth anniversary of his Cameron House residency.

Following his death, archival recordings were compiled by Jim Masyk and issued by Virgin Records Canada in 1989 as The Ballad of Handsome Ned. The release led to a posthumous Juno Award nomination for Best Male Country Vocalist in 1990. In 2000, EMI Music Canada and Linkhorn Music released the two-CD anthology The Name Is Ned, a comprehensive collection of studio sessions, live performances and radio recordings that documented the full scope of his work.

Although Handsome Ned released only a small number of singles during his lifetime, his role in establishing country music within Toronto’s downtown music culture was significant. His Saturday matinees at the Cameron House and his original songwriting helped create the conditions for a broader Canadian roots revival in the late 1980s and 1990s. His legacy continues to be recognized through archival releases, documentaries and the ongoing influence of the community that formed around his performances.
-Robert Williston