Payolas

The Payolas (or just Payola$) were a Canadian rock band, most prominent in the 1980s. Evolving from a new wave sound toward mainstream pop-rock, they released several albums and singles that were Canadian chart hits. The band's name is a reference to the payola scandal in the United States in the early 1960s. The group was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and recorded mostly at Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound Studios. Through several lineup changes and name changes (the band also played as The Payola$, Paul Hyde and the Payolas, and Rock and Hyde), the Payolas core members remained Paul Hyde and Bob Rock, who together wrote virtually all of the band's songs, occasionally with co-writers. As well, Rock engineered and mixed virtually every Payolas recording. They disbanded in 1988, but reformed again from 2003 to 2008, issuing a new EP in 2007. Although in the 1980s the Payolas always seemed poised for a big international breakthrough, the band never quite broke out despite their artistic growth and popular success in Canada. They were, however, one of the most prominent and successful platinum-selling Canadian bands of the early 1980s.