Hey You

In 1979, Andrew St. George, Richard Rudolph, Tony Blaise and Mark Valdez formed a band in St. George's Toronto basement. Through an ad in the Toronto Star, they added Simon Slinger as the lead vocalist, and The Start was in business. After a few shows at Lee's Palace, The Horseshoe, The Edge and Larry's Hideaway, they were noticed by Capital Records and offered an album deal. In 1980, Hey You was released as an album and a single. The recording was engineered by Daniel Lanois.

The Start received airplay on CFNY, and shared the stage with the likes of The Pretenders, The B52s, Teenage Head and Elvis Costello at Toronto's outdoor festival, Heatwave. But as all loyal fans all remember, The Start's claim to fame was having their single Hey You being adopted as the theme song for the All Night Show on CFMT-TV. Chuck the Security Guard (Chas Lawther), used to dance and sing along throughout the summer of 1980.

Unfortunately, the song, the band and the show were relatively short-lived, and are now but pleasant memories of a long-gone era.

Simon Slinger: lead vocals, harmonica
Mark Valdez (Mark Bajona - Mantis): lead guitar, vocals
Richard Rudolph: keyboards
Andrew St. George: drums
Reggie Steeler: guitar
Tracy Striker: drums

Written by Gouldman (track B4), Richard Rudolph (track A1), Simon Slinger (tracks A2, B2, B3, B5), Blaise (tracks A1, A3-B3)
Produced by Stacy Heydon
Engineered by Dan Lanois and Ed Stone, assisted by Greg Roberts, Hugh Cooper, John Free, and Owen Vallis
Recorded at Grant Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario
Recorded at Sounds Interchange

Photography by Shun Sasabuchi
Art Direction by Dave Elliot

Management: J.J. Eansor & Associates