Live Off-The-Floor Demo

Boys Brigade were one of the more distinctive bands to emerge from Toronto's early-1980s new wave scene, a six-piece outfit whose sound fused synthesizers, guitars and an expanded percussion section. Formed in Toronto around 1980, the band featured Malcolm Burn on lead vocals and keyboards, Tony Lester on guitar and vocals, Wayne Lorenz on bass, Billie Brock on drums, and David Porter and Jeff Packer on percussion and vocals. With three percussion-driven players working inside a rock/new wave framework, Boys Brigade stood apart from many of their Toronto contemporaries, creating a rhythmic, atmospheric sound built on guitar/synthesizer textures and dance-floor momentum.

From the beginning, there was a mystique around the band. Rather than simply grinding through Toronto's regular rock circuit, Boys Brigade developed at some distance from it, appearing at rare and often under-publicized performances that helped build their following before they had a record. In those early days, they were still a loose alliance of young musicians, some already working professionally, others holding down day jobs, who only began to take shape as a band after semi-organized rehearsals and jam sessions produced an early version of "Mannequin."

That song became the first major turning point. "Mannequin" found its way into Q107's annual Homegrown contest, and when the group needed a name to identify the submission tape, one of the members casually suggested "Boys Brigade." The name stuck. To everyone's surprise, "Mannequin" became a local radio success, was selected for Q107 Homegrown Volume 3 in 1981, and pushed the group to take itself seriously. What had started as a loose creative circle suddenly had a name, a song on the radio, and a reason to move forward.

The newly surfaced demo cassettes help fill in a valuable missing chapter from the band's formative period, capturing Boys Brigade at the point where their early rehearsal-room ideas were beginning to circulate beyond the band itself, before the Anthem album fully defined their recorded identity. One cassette, carrying the singular spelling "Boy Brigade," lists "Saigon," "Voices," "Portrait," "Black + White," "Exodus," "Cut Up," "Touch Glass" and "Shadows." A second cassette, marked "Boys Brigade," contains "Mannequin," "Cut Up," "Touch Glass," "Shadows" and "Saigon." Together, they connect the band's early breakthrough with the material still taking shape before the album: "Mannequin" points back to the Q107 Homegrown breakthrough, while "Saigon," "Exodus" and "Cut Up" show familiar songs still in early form. The remaining titles, "Voices," "Portrait," "Black + White," "Touch Glass" and "Shadows," are otherwise unreleased.

The importance of those early tapes was not only archival. By 1982, Boys Brigade were circulating a raw live off-the-floor demo that helped push the band beyond the local club circuit. According to later accounts, the tape reached Arthur Fogel, who was impressed enough to book the still-unsigned group as an opening act for The Pretenders at the CNE in the summer of 1982. That exposure helped move Boys Brigade closer to the Rush management and Anthem Records circle that would soon lead to Geddy Lee producing their debut album.

As the band's profile grew, they favoured concert/dance settings and after-hours appearances that allowed them to preserve the unusual musical identity they were developing. Geddy Lee of Rush later saw the group at a private party and was drawn to their rhythmic force and the difficulty of fitting them neatly into a category. Lee described the band as having strong songs and a challenging, uncategorizable approach, exactly the qualities that made him want to produce them. His involvement brought Boys Brigade into the Anthem Records orbit through the broader Rush management connection.

Produced by Geddy Lee, Boys Brigade's self-titled debut album was released by Anthem Records in 1983. Recorded at Nimbus 9 Studio in Toronto, mixed and digitally mastered at McClear Place, and engineered by Nick Blagona, the album presented the group in a more focused studio form while still preserving their rhythmic urgency and moody new wave character. It produced the singles "The Passion Of Love" and "Melody," with "Melody" becoming their signature track. The group's official 1983 output also included the promo 12" Into The Flow, pairing that track with "The Passion Of Love," and the radio-only Interview With Boys Brigade And Producer Geddy Lee, which included "Melody" and "The Cut Up (Breaking Glass)" alongside interview segments.

The band toured nationally and also played dates along the U.S. eastern seaboard, including a performance at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York that was recorded for The King Biscuit Flower Hour. Despite the momentum, Boys Brigade's original run was short-lived. By the mid-1980s, internal tensions and the strain of sustaining a large six-piece lineup pulled the band apart.

Several members continued in music after the breakup. Malcolm Burn went on to a solo career before becoming an internationally respected producer and engineer, working with artists including Blue Rodeo, Bob Dylan, The Neville Brothers, Midnight Oil, Patti Smith and Emmylou Harris. His work on Harris's Red Dirt Girl earned him a Grammy Award. Tony Lester also remained active as a musician, producer and songwriter, including work with Strange Advance and later solo recordings.

-Robert Williston