Vancouver pop-rock / melodic rock heroes CHILLIWACK occupy a prominent and secure place in the history of Canadian rock’n roll. Their career was a long and fascinating one. It began in the midst of the West Coast explosion of the late ’60s, and reached its commercial peak with a string of albums and hit singles for the Solid Gold label in the early ’80s.
As requested, here’s the digitally remastered reissue of CHILLIWACK 1981’s album ”Wanna Be A Star”, a great LP plenty of catchy melodies and that early ’80s festive Canadian sound.
At the early Eighties the band had collapsed into a trio, without a full-time drummer, but vocalist Bill Henderson and guitarist / keyboardist / drummer Brian MacLeod had become a powerful songwriting team during the interim. The album track “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)” resulted #1 in Canada and giving Chilliwack their U.S. Top 40 breakthrough peaking at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just when Chilliwack was ready to make it big, the band broke up business with their label Mushroom, and they signed with new company Solid Gold Records in the early ’80s. Bill and Brian began writing and then recording their debut album for the label. Seven of the songs on the ironically entitled ”Wanna Be A Star” were Henderson/MacLeod co-writes, with the rest being solo Henderson compositions, save for MacLeod’s “Live For A Living.”
Produced by the dynamic duo, the album was recorded over four months at Waterstreet Sound studios in Vancouver. Despite its commercial, song-format 10 tracker, it’s something of a concept album, built around the theme of stardom, and how many barriers the bands found along the way.
“They are realistic observations about the lifestyle. A little cynical, maybe, but not negative. It’s not a put-down of the rock star syndrome, more a discussion of it. It’s not meant to be heavy, it’s a joke. The song “Mr. Rock’ is about rock star poseurs, and there’s a lot of them out there.” said MacLeod.
The album’s back cover photo fits in with the concept neatly. Surrounded by scantily-clad groupies, the band is cavorting on their yacht in front of the typical mansion and swimming pool. This is ironically juxtaposed against the cover shot, featuring a hunched old man shuffling past a seedy photo booth.
Unlike so many rock concept albums of the day, there is nothing self-indulgent or pretentious about ”Wanna Be A Star”. This is in fact a radio-ready LP with catchy melodies and cool choruses.
Well-received critically and commercially successful, it revitalized the band’s career. By this stage, Brian MacLeod had really come into his own as a key ingredient in the new, more commercially viable Chilliwack sound.
The irresistibly catchy pop-rock ballad “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)” became the biggest song of Chilliwack’s storied career, thanks to the refrain, “Gone Gone Gone,” that burrowed right into the brain. The album’s closing cut, “I Believe,” was also a serious hit, nudging the American Top 40 and scoring major Canadian airplay.
In 1998, in fact, the album was recognized by SOCAN as a Canadian rock classic, based on sustained radio play since its release.
Fans of ’80s Canadian style & sound need to check out Chilliwack’s ”Wanna Be A Star”, a wonderful album from an unrepeatable decade.
Highly Recommended
01 – Sign Here
02 – (So You) Wanna Be A Star
03 – Tell It To The Telephone
04 – Too Many Enemies
05 – Living In Stereo
06 – Mister Rock
07 – My Girl
08 – (Don’t Wanna) Live For A Living
09 – Walk On
10 – I Believe
Brian MacLeod (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums)
Bill Henderson (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Ab Bryant (bass guitar)