Red Rider

Red Rider was a Canadian rock band which was most popular in the 1980s. While the band had large successes in the Canadian market, Red Rider never managed to really break through in the United States.

In 1978,

Red Rider was a Canadian rock band which was most popular in the 1980s. While the band had large successes in the Canadian market, Red Rider never managed to really break through in the United States.

In 1978, Tom Cochrane and Ken Greer were performing in local coffee shops in Ontario. They hooked up with Rob Baker on drums, Jeff Jones on bass and Peter Boynton on keyboards to form Red Rider in 1979. They were signed to Capitol Records and released their first album Don't Fight It in 1980. With the singles "White Hot" and "Don't Fight It", the album quickly reached gold status. Their second album As Far as Siam was released in 1982 and featured the hit "Lunatic Fringe". Two other tracks "Cowboys in Hong Kong" and "What Have You Got To Do" were featured in an episode of Miami Vice which helped push the album to platinum. Boynton was replaced by keyboardist Steve Sexton on Red Rider's third album Neruda, released in 1983. The track "Napoleon Sheds His Skin" was easily one of the most popular on the album.