Headpins - The Complete Greatest Hits 2002 [FLAC] [h33t] - Kitlope

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 new venture. Originally, Matt Frenette played drums for The Headpins while Bernie Aubin played drums for fellow Vancouver band Loverboy but, within months, Aubin and Frenette swapped bands where each continues to play to the present. The Headpins began gigging around the Vancouver area throughout 1980, quickly building a fan base. McCann left at the end of that first year, and MacLeod brought in Darby Mills to provide lead vocals.

They achieved their height of popularity in 1982 and 1983, with songs such as "Don't It Make You Feel" (Sample "Don't It..." here) and "Just One More Time". Soon after, Darby Mills was replaced by Chrissy Steele. Later, Steele went on to make her own band with MacLeod and signed with Chrysalis Records, although the outfit was soon dropped by the label. She ended up having two hits, "Love You 'Til It Hurts" and the ballad, "Love Don't Last Forever."

They continue to perform live with Darby, Ab and Bernie from the 80's lineup.

Originally formed by Brian MacLeod and Ab Bryant as a sort of 'side project' from Chilliwack in 1980, the group's earliest beginnings included drummer Matt Frennette, ex of Streetheart and Randy Bachman's wife Denise McCann, who had enjoyed a moderately successful disco career a few years earlier on vocals. The Pins and Loverboy swapped drummers, and Frenette was gone and Bernie Aubin was in, who incidentally co-wrote Loverboy's "The Kid Is Hot Tonite".

Before the end of the year however, it was decided that McCann wasn't right for the job of translating MacLeod's musical vision and was replaced by Darby Mills, already a seasoned session worker and singer of Streetback, a group closer to what MacLeod had in mind than McCann's disco background.

They continued playing the Vancouver area and won a local radio station's 'battle of the bands' competition in 1981. CFOX's album later that year featured two of their tracks, a live version of "Breakin' Down" and "When A Man Loves a Woman", their only recorded cover. Even while still negotiatiating a record deal their impact was immediate. The band's live magnetism was rivalled by few and they soon became one of the hottest commodities on the West Coast, beginning with their first show in hometown Vancouver backing up Pat Travers and Blackmore's Rainbow.

They inked a deal with independant Solid Gold Records before year's end and went into Vancouver's Little Mountain Studios, coming out with TURN IT LOUD in the spring of 1982. Co-produced by Bill Henderson, Bryant and Macleod's Chilliwack-mate, the record allowed the Headpins to hit the scene with an experienced master behind the controls. Charged with emotions, Macleod's guitars rang predominant, almost a friendly battle with Mills' immediately signature voice. With Bryant and Aubin serving a tight powerful backbeat and beginning with the lead-off title-track, it grabbed you by the balls and refused to let go, finding its place in rock history as one of rock's greatest anthems of all time.

Mills' style became known as the growl and would go on to lead the charge in their energized live show, She was compared more to Robert Plant or David Coverdale than, say Ann Wilson or Janis Joplin. "Don't It Make Ya Feel" turned the FM stations upside down, as did the title track, backed by the killer "Breakin' Down", one person's handling his problems via suicide, and "People". Even the power ballad "Winnin'" packed a punch, but still showed Mills' range. By the time TURN IT LOUD turned platinum just a few short months later, the band had already toured most of the continent. The debut would go on to sell over a quarter-million copies in Canada alone and be certified double platinum, making it one of the most successful debut albums by a Canadian group ever. Macleod's and Bryant's prior commitments to Chilliwack allowed them to only tour part of the schedule, while Mills and Aubin carried on with replacements Darcy MacDonald on guitars and bassist Dave Reimer

After touring the majority of the planet, they returned to Little Mountain and Immediately began work on the follow-up LINE OF FIRE, released in '83. Backed by the singles, "Feel It (Feel My Body)" and "Don't Stand In The Line Of Fire", it stayed true to the course its predecessor had laid out. Other tracks included "Mine All Mine", "I Know What You're Thinking" and "Celebration", helping the album make it two straight platinum records. LINE OF FIRE not only played the same chords at varying volumes as TURN IT LOUD, but the group also showed growth and diversity with "Feel It", incorporating synthesizers as well as a horn section. An extended tour ensued, seeing the band on every major event in North America and Europe, including dates with the likes of KISS, Billy Squier, Helix, Black and Blue, Streetheart, Quiet Riot and Whitesnake.