Strange Advance is a Canadian new wave band formed in 1982 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

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

. They were nominated for a 1983 Juno Award as Most Promising Group of the Year and again in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

as Group of the Year. Their first two albums, 1982's ''Worlds Away'''''' and 1985's ''

2WO ''2WO'' is the second studio album by Canadian new wave band Strange Advance released in February, 1985. It featured two hit Canadian singles, "We Run" and "The Second That I Saw You". Along with their first album, this was a Canadian gold ...

'', were Canadian gold selling records.

History

1982–1995: Formation and Canadian popularity

Strange Advance was initially made up of Drew Arnott (keyboards, percussion, vocals), Darryl Kromm (lead vocals, guitars), and Paul Iverson (bass). The three met in

and founded the group in 1980. Initially called Metropolis, they changed their name after discovering a band in Germany using "

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

". The group's first album, ''

Worlds Away Worlds Away may refer to: * ''Worlds Away'' (Pablo Cruise album) (1978) * ''Worlds Away'' (Strange Advance album) (1982) * ''Worlds Away'' (Crumbächer-Duke album) (1990) * ''Worlds Away'' (Ian Moss album) (1991) * ''Worlds Away'' (John Norum album ...

'' featured the title track, "Worlds Away", which saw modest airplay in North American markets in 1983. The album was produced by

Bruce Fairbairn Bruce Earl Fairbairn (December 30, 1949 – May 17, 1999) was a Canadian record producer. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999, and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are '' Slippery When Wet'' a ...

, known for his work with

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 ...

and

Prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

, but featured a very different sound from those groups. Rather than commercial hard rock, Strange Advance's music was a fusion of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

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 ''

'' also went gold in Canada and was produced by Arnott, using 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'' also used well-known session musicians (including

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a n ...

and

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...

), and produced the top 20 single "Love Becomes Electric". Following this album's release, the group became essentially inactive. Arnott stated in 2021 that other music genres such as grunge were gaining popularity, and he wasn't interested in changing the group's sound. 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.

2016–present: Remastering and reunion

On 24 June 2016, '' The Distance Between'' was remastered and re-released on CD with two bonus tracks, an extended club mix of "Love Becomes Electric" and the previously unreleased song, "Flow My Tears". In December 2018, ''

'' was remastered and re-released on CD with two bonus tracks, the UK Dance Mix of "Love Games" (transferred from vinyl) and the b-side to "She Controls Me" – "Lost in Your Eyes". This marked the first time their debut has seen a CD release of any kind, despite the albums' popularity. This release is only available in the Philippines, on the Sound Philosophy label, which is a new boutique label for titles not released on CD. This version appears to be sourced from the master tapes. On 17 September 2018, Drew Arnott announced a crowdfunding campaign on Facebook to finance a summer 2019 Strange Advance reunion tour. The fundraising was successful, and the band (minus Kromm) planned to perform in 2019 for the Radical Orbits Tour. Unfortunately, due to cancellations and delays, the tour was rescheduled to 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1982) *''

'' (1985) *'' The Distance Between'' (1988) *''4'' (2021)

Compilation albums

*''Over 60 Minutes with... Strange Advance'' (1987) *''Worlds Away & Back'' (1995)

Music video compilations

*''Strange Advance'' (1985)

Singles

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strange Advance 1982 establishments in British Columbia 1995 disestablishments in British Columbia Canadian new wave musical groups Canadian synthpop groups Capitol Records artists Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups from Vancouver Musical groups reestablished in 2019