Artist:Platinum Blonde
Song:Situation Critical
Album:Seven Year Itch 1982-1989
Situation Critical was one of two Canadian top ten hits for the 80s band Platinum Blonde. They were unable to convert this into success in the US. Singer, songwriter and bassist Mark Holmes was born July 26, 1960 in Mansfield, England. He moved to Toronto in 1977 and was playing in bands on the side while working as an apprentice hairdresser. Platinum Blonde was formed in 1979 as a glam cover band. They released one single and split up. In 1982, Holmes placed an ad in a newspaper looking for musicians. Guitarist Sergio Galli and drummer Chris Steffler responded. The band recorded a demo and British producer David Tickle (Split Enz) liked it enough to move to Toronto to work with them. Tickle would go on to produce several Canadian bands. Platinum Blonde signed with Epic and released an EP followed by the 1983 album Standing in the Dark. The album did OK mostly because the videos were played a lot on Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. The music was similar to Duran Duran and the glam look appealed to teen girls. For the 1985 album Alien Shores, Kenny MacLean was brought in to play bass so Holmes could concentrate on singing. Born in Scotland, MacLean was a hairdresser like Holmes. Steffler worked with him in a couple of bands. Eddy Offord was brought in to produce. He is a recording engineer who worked with Yes. Holmes was credited as co-producer. The first single Crying Over You topped the Canadian charts. Situation Critical was the second single and it reached #8. So the album did well in Canada. For the 1988 album Contact, Steffler was replaced by Sascha Tukatsch. David Bendeth was the main producer. Bernard Edwards of Chic was brought in to produce a couple of tracks and he brought with him drummer Tony Thompson and Ohio Players singer Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner. Holmes was a big Ohio Players fan and the album contains a cover of Fire. But the album didn't do as well in Canada. And it flopped when it was released in the US. Platinum Blonde split up in 1989. This comp is available on CD. There was a 1990 album Yeah Yeah Yeah released as The Blondes. Kenny MacLean said this album was a contractual obligation and not recommended. MacLean had already released a solo album and released another in 1995. Galli started the architectural design firm Belair Design. That's what he studied in college. Steffler owned the nightclub Twiggy's from 1993-2000. Holmes and Tukatsch formed the band Vertigo in 1996. And though the band went nowhere, it led to Holmes opening The Mod Club in 2002. MacLean convinced Holmes to reform Platinum Blonde. But MacLean died in 2008 before they could do it. As a tribute, Platinum Blonde reformed and released the 2012 album Now & Never. They were active in 2020 but the pandemic may have shut them down. Holmes was forced to close The Mod Club due to the pandemic. Here's the video for Situation Critical by Platinum Blonde.
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