Idle Eyes is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. They are best known for the Canadian hit single "Tokyo Rose", which peaked at #16 on ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'''s Canadian singles chart in June 1985. There is also a Hardcore band from Australia with the same name.

History

The band had its genesis in 1980 while Tad Campbell (a Canadian, born in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Landing, and the name was shorten ...

) was travelling in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He encountered an advertisement for a local band looking for a guitarist, and wound up spending several months as a member of the house band at a resort in the

Whitsunday Islands The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are ...

. During this time, the band were joined by new vocalist Donna McConville, who would also become Campbell's girlfriend. They later moved to

Townsville, Queensland Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, where they recorded early demos of several songs that would eventually end up on the band's first two albums. Campbell eventually returned to Canada with McConville, putting together a new lineup since most of the original Australian members had not moved with them. The band lineup changed frequently over the early years, including McConville eventually leaving the band when her relationship with Campbell ended. She returned to Australia, where she became a backing vocalist for

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

. The band was nearly dormant when Campbell made a last-ditch effort to record a demo, which he sent to

Payolas Payolas (stylized as Payola$) was a Canadian rock band that was most prominent in the 1980s. Evolving from a new wave sound toward mainstream pop rock, they were best known for the single "Eyes of a Stranger", from their 1982 album '' No Stran ...

manager Cliff Jones in the hopes of securing a recording contract. Jones responded favourably, so Campbell and drummer Phil Robertson recruited Glenn R. Smith (guitars), Miles "Foxx" Hill (bass) and John Webster (keyboards) to record the band's self-titled debut album. Campbell wrote all the songs on the album, occasionally with assistance from outside collaborators; Smith also co-wrote one song ("Two Rivers"). The singles "Tokyo Rose" and "All Day" won awards from

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

as two of the top ten most played songs on Canadian radio that year. The band toured extensively as an opening act for Loverboy,

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...

, Toto,

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

and

Red Rider Red Rider, later known as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, is a Canadians, Canadian Rock music, rock band popular in the 1980s. While they achieved significant success in Canada, the band never had a song in the top 40 in the United States, although "L ...

, as well as at a nationally televised

Expo 86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

gala which also featured Adams, Loverboy,

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

Véronique Béliveau Véronique Béliveau (born January 24, 1955), originally Nicole Monique, is a Canadian actress and pop/rock singer who was nominated for a 1987 Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Her first full-length album was ''Prends-moi comme je su ...

and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

. Also in 1985, Campbell participated in the recording of "Actions Speak Louder Than Words", a charity single to raise money for Canadian

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

s, alongside

Mike Reno Mike Reno (born Joseph Michael Rynoski; born January 8, 1955) is a Canadian musician, singer and the lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He is reported to have taught himself how to play guitar. He fronted other bands, including Moxy, before h ...

, Paul Dean and Matt Frenette of

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits r ...

Darby Mills Darby Phyllis Mills is a Canadian rock vocalist, former figure skater, and the past lead singer of the Headpins. She has embarked on a solo career, having signed a worldwide record contract and released both a remastered solo album and a live CD. ...

Headpins Headpins are a Canadian rock group, founded as a side project in the late 1970s by then Chilliwack members Ab Bryant and Brian MacLeod. Macleod was impressed by the vocal talents of Vancouver rock singer Denise McCann, and asked her to join his ...

Johnnie Dee John Richard DeGiuli (born October 20, 1961), known as Johnnie Dee, is a Canadian rock vocalist best known as the lead singer for the rock band Honeymoon Suite. Dee (who also plays guitar) and guitarist Derry Grehan formed Honeymoon Suite in N ...

and Derry Grehan of

Honeymoon Suite Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. History 1981–1985 The band was originally formed ...

Paul Hyde Paul Reginald Nelson (born 21 May 1955), known by the stage name Paul Hyde, is a British-born Canadian singer-songwriter. He co-founded the rock band Payola$ with Bob Rock, serving as the band's main lyricist and vocalist. He later performed and ...

Carole Pope Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950) is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian entertainers t ...

and

Murray McLauchlan Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore". Early life Mc ...

. Idle Eyes were nominated for three

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

in 1985, winning for Most Promising New Group. Other awards included six West Coast Music Awards, winning group of the year honors in 1985 and 1986. Campbell won Songwriter of the Year in 1985 for "Tokyo Rose", which was also named Song of the Year. "Tokyo Rose" was inspired by the generic name "

Tokyo Rose Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific ...

", which was used to describe female Japanese DJs who attempted to shake the morale of American soldiers and spread propaganda in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during World War II. Smith and Webster left Idle Eyes in 1986, and were replaced by Scotty Hall (guitars) and Bruce Mackenzie (keyboards). The group's second album ''Love's Imperfection'' was produced by

Michael Beinhorn Michael Beinhorn is a North American record producer, composer, author and musician. He has produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Hole, Violent Femmes and Marilyn Manson. Career 1977-1983: Early Years, Material, Herbie Hanco ...

and engineered by

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...

at the Little Mountain Studio. Released at Christmastime with no videos, the single "Sandra" topped out at #83 on the Canadian charts, and the album sold fewer than 20,000 units. The band was dropped from their label a few months later. The band carried on, with Hill and Robertson dropping out, leaving Campbell as the sole remaining original member of Idle Eyes. Joining Campbell, Hall and Mackenzie for Idle Eyes' independently produced third album ''Standing at the Edge'' (1988) were Tom Christianson (bass) and Dudley Welsh (drums). The album spun off a minor hit, "Blue Train". By the early nineties, the Idle Eyes line-up was subject to constant flux, with Campbell being the sole permanent member. A best-of album, ''Land of the Midnight Sun'', was released in 1994, and was credited to "Tad Campbell & Idle Eyes". In addition to the original versions of tracks such as "Tokyo Rose", "All Day" and "Blue Train", it featured six new songs, with the newly-recorded material being played by a line up of Tad Campbell (vocals, guitar), Darryl Havers (keyboards), Randy Booth (bass), Al Webster (drums), Tony Ferraro (percussion), Caley Faryon (saxophone). After the band's breakup in 1994, Campbell formed the bands Leghold Trap, Millions of Brazilians and Big Daddio before reforming Idle Eyes in the early 2000s. In February of 2021 Cambell was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor on a night between September 1996 and January 1999. Campbell received a 12 month conditional sentence.

Discography

Albums

* ''Idle Eyes'' - 1985 #42 CAN * ''Love's Imperfection'' - 1986 #93 CAN * ''Standing at the Edge'' - 1988 * ''Land of the Midnight Sun'' - 1994 (released as "Tad Campbell & Idle Eyes") * ''Karma Cops'' - 2000 * ''Bites Back'' - 2002

Members

* Tad Campbell (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) * Phil Robertson (drums) * Glenn R. Smith (guitars) * Miles Fox Hill (bass) * Scotty Hall (Guitar — Loves Imperfection) * Bruce MacKenzie (Keyboard - Loves Imperfection and post 1985) *

John Webster John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...

(Keyboard - Idle Eyes 1985 tour) * Touring members post 1988 * Randy Booth (Bass) * Al Webster (Drums)

Additional touring members post 1988

* Bud Omstead (Bass-loves imperfection tour 1986) * Dave Stone (keys) * Russel Newell (drums) * Gus Vassos (vocals) * Tony Ferraro (drums) * Mark Poy (keys) * Patrick Miles (guitar) * Kelly Cook (bass) * Thom Christiansen (bass)

First version of Idle Eyes

* Donna McConville (lead vocals, keyboards) * Dudley Welsh (drums) * Mike Poulter (bass) * Kevin O'Brien (bass, saxophone, vocals) * Bill Miekle (saxophone) * Don Biggar (bass) * James Chadwick (drums) * Steve Elaschuk (bass) * Terry Alton (guitar) * Larry Pardue (bass, vocals) *Kevin Swain (bass, vocals)

References

;Citations

External links

Idle Eyes
CanConRox entry
Idle Eyes discography
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Idle Eyes Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 Musical groups reestablished in 2002 Musical groups from Vancouver Canadian pop rock music groups 1983 establishments in British Columbia 1994 disestablishments in British Columbia 2002 establishments in British Columbia Canadian new wave musical groups Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year winners