Straight Lines (band)


Straight Line was a Canadian pop-rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. They are most noted for their single "Letting Go", which was a Top 10 hit on the Canadian charts in 1982 and earned the band nominations for Best Single and Best Composer at the Juno Awards of 1983.

Background

The band was formed in the 1970s by vocalist and keyboardist Bob Buckley and guitarist David Sinclair, initially under the name Spring. Sinclair had previously been associated with Sunshyne, an early incarnation of Prism.
They later added bassist Peter Clarke, percussionist Peter Padden and drummer Daryl Burgess, changing their name to Dogstar. After attracting the attention of Bruce Allen, they signed to Epic Records, changing their name to Straight Line.

Recording career

As Straight Line, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1980. The album saw modest radio success with the singles "Roanne" and "The Things You Didn't Do", and the band toured Canada as an opening act for Prism and Klaatu. "Roanne" peaked at #76 in the RPM100 the week of
Padden and Burgess left the band, and were replaced by Geoff Eyre, before the band released their 1981 album Run for Cover. The second album featured "Letting Go" and the more modest followup hit "There Are No Secrets", but when the album's third single "Illusions" failed to chart they were dropped by their record label, and broke up by the end of 1982.

Later career

Following the band's breakup, Sinclair and Buckley went on to form the band Body Electric. Sinclair played guitar parts on "Tears Are Not Enough", and went on to work as a touring and session musician for k.d. lang and Sarah McLachlan, while Buckley became a songwriter for other artists and a composer for film and television, most notably composing the long-running "Root Bear March" jingle for A&W Canada.