Glass Tiger

Formed: 1983, Newmarket, ON
Debut: 1986
Most Active: 1986 – 1991
Genre: Pop

Members

Alan Frew: Lead vocals
Sam Reid: Keyboards
Al Connelly: Guitars
Wayne Parker: Bass
Michael Hanson: Drums (to 1988)
Randall Coryell: Drums (replaced Hanson)

Achievements

– All studio albums at least 1x Platinum
– 14 Top 40 Singles, including 7 Top 10, 1 of which was #1
– 3 major Juno Awards

Major Juno Awards

– Song of the Year “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone” 1986
– Album of the Year The Thin Red Line 1986
– Song of the Year “Someday” 1987

Albums and Hit Singles

1986: The Thin Red Line

– 4x Platinum
– Hit Singles: “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone” (-w/ Bryan Adams- #1 CAN; #2 U.S.; #29 U.K.), “Thin Red Line” (#19), “Someday” (#14 CAN; #7 U.S.), “You’re What I Look For” (#11), “I Will Be There” (- w/ Bryan Adams – #29 CAN; #34 U.S.)

1988: Diamond Sun

 – 2x Platinum
– Hit Singles: “I’m Still Searching” (#2 CAN; #31 U.S.), “Diamond Sun” (#5), “My Song” (-w/ The Chieftans- #19), “(Watching) Worlds Crumble” (#27)

1991: Simple Mission

 – Platinum
– Hit Singles: “Animal Heart” (#4), “Rhythm of Your Love” (#8), “My Town” (-w/ Rod Stewart- #8 CAN; #33 U.K.), “Rescued (By the Arms of Love)” (#8)

1993: Air Time: The Best of Glass Tiger

 Hit Single: “Touch of Your Hand” (#34)

Although they released only three studio albums (one of which was certified 4x Platinum), Glass Tiger dominated the charts in the late 80s / early 90s with 14 hit singles. Their “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone” was the 4th biggest song of the year in 1986 outdoing their contemporaries Platinum Blonde and Honeymoon Suite. They were also the one band to enjoy significant success internationally. Like the Payola$, their lead singer was born in the United Kingdom (Scotland).

They originally called themselves Tokyo which was formed by members of local bands Onyx and The End and played the Toronto bar circuit. They managed to attract the attention of American manager Derek Sutton of Styx who took their demo tape to a new label, Manhattan Records distributed by Capitol. In 1985, the band changed its name to Glass Tiger while Capitol sent them into the studio recruiting the assistance of Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams. The result was their 4x Platinum debut album The Thin Red Line. Five Top 30 hit singles were released from the album.

The band wished to move beyond their being labelled a preppy teeny-bop band and worked hard with Vallance on their follow album Diamond Sun for an edgier sound. Four Top 30 singles, two of which made the Top 5, resulted and the album was certified double Platinum.

With the musical climate changing into more guitar-oriented rock in the 90s, Glass Tiger redefined their sound a second time for their third album Simple Mission (1991). Alan Frew’s duet with high-profile Rod Stewart in the song “My Town” helped the band gain more international exposure which had been largely absent in the Diamond Sun release. Although a remarkable four Top 10 hits resulted from the album, the band felt, in the face of unfavourable reviews and unappreciative concert attendees, they were alienating their fans with their constant changing of musical styles and also felt they could not compete with the new grunge movement emerging. After all, pretty pop ballads were their specialty. After completion of their tour, Glass Tiger split up and its members worked on solo projects.

Alan Frew, as a soloist, had a pair of notable hits in the mid-90s: “Healing Hands”, the 66th biggest song of 1994 and “So Blind”, 90th of 1995.