| Strange Advance | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | New Wave |
| Years active | 1982–1995 |
| Labels | Capitol |
| Website | www.strangeadvance.com |
| Past members | |
| Drew Arnott Darryl Kromm Ric deGroot Ian Cameron Joey Alvero David Quinton Paul Iverson |
|
Strange Advance was a Canadian New Wave band formed in 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were nominated for a 1983 Juno Award as Most Promising Group of the Year and again in 1985 as Group of the Year.[1] Their 1982 album Worlds Away[2] was a Canadian gold selling record.[3][4]
Contents |
Strange Advance was initially made up of Drew Arnott (keyboards, percussion, vocals), Darryl Kromm (lead vocals, guitars), and Paul Iverson (bass). The three met up in Vancouver and founded the group in 1980.
The group's first album, Worlds Away, featured the title track "Worlds Away", which saw modest airplay in North American markets in 1983. The album was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, known for his work with Loverboy and Prism, but featured a very different sound from those groups. Rather than commercial hard rock, Strange Advance's music was a fusion of progressive rock and new wave, with a heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards.
Iverson left the group after the first album and was not replaced. The group's 1985 album 2WO was produced mainly by Arnott, used an extensive array of session players, and brought the band their first big Canadian hit with "We Run". Strange Advance had never played a live gig prior to 1985, so Arnott and Kromm added musicians Ric deGroot (keyboards), Ian Cameron (guitar, violin), Joey Alvero (bass) and David Quinton (drums) to the line-up as session players, and supported the first two albums with a tour of Eastern Canada.
Strange Advance's third album, 1988's The Distance Between[5] also used sessioneers (inclding Randy Bachman and Allan Holdsworth), and produced the top 20 single "Love Becomes Electric". Following this album's release, the group became essentially inactive.
In 1995, the Strange Advance compilation album Worlds Away & Back featured a mix of previously released material, outtakes, remixes, demos, and three newly-recorded tracks -- one from 1991, and two from 1995.
| Release Date | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
| Canada Pop |
Canada A/C |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "She Controls Me" | Worlds Away | ||
| 1983 | "Kiss In The Dark" | |||
| 1983 | "Love Games" | |||
| July 1983 | "Worlds Away" | #46[6] | #29[7] | |
| January 1985 | "We Run" | #28 | 2WO | |
| April 1985 | "Running Away" | |||
| June 1985 | "The Second That I Saw You" | #20 | ||
| January 1988 | "Love Becomes Electric" | #20 | The Distance Between | |
| June 1988 | "Till Stars Fall" | |||
| August 1988 | "Hold You" | |||