Idle Eyes

Idle Eyes were a Canadian modern-rock band behind the 1984–86 WEA albums Idle Eyes and Love’s Imperfection, followed by the 1988 Black Rose release Standing at the Edge.

Members: Don Biggar (bass), Tad Campbell (lead vocals, guitar), James Chadwick (drums), Kevin Cook (bass), Miles Fox Hill (bass), Donna McConville (lead vocals, keyboards), Bill Miekle (saxophone), Kevin O’Brien (bass, saxophone, vocals), Mike Poulter (bass), Phil Robertson (drums), Glenn R. Smith (guitar), John Webster (keyboards), Dudley Welsh (drums), Steve (bass), Scotty Hall (guitar, 1986-94), Bruce MacKenzie (keyboards, 1986-94)

Background

Idle Eyes formed in Vancouver in 1982 when guitarist-vocalist Tad Campbell reunited with Australian singing partner Donna McConville; Campbell rebuilt the group in 1984 with bassist Miles Fox Hill, drummer Phil Robertson, and guitarist Glenn R. Smith.

Campbell was born in Terrace Bay, Ontario, and grew up in Trail, British Columbia, where older brother Don taught him his first guitar chords. He played junior hockey in Kelowna and Vernon, then left a University of Minnesota–Duluth scholarship and turned to music.

In 1980, Campbell went to Australia and answered an advertisement for a guitarist at the Daydream Island resort in Queensland. He joined the resident Daydream Islanders, then invited resort employee Donna McConville to sing with the group. Campbell and McConville later left Daydream Island for Townsville, where they performed as a duo and cut early four-track demos.

The pair reconvened in Vancouver and built Idle Eyes through club dates across British Columbia. Idle Eyes recorded early versions of “All Day” and “Sandra (Doesn’t Live Here Anymore),” but lineup changes and visa departures eventually dissolved the first version of the band. McConville also left the project.

In January 1984, Campbell financed a new eight-track demo and brought the tape to Payola$ manager Cliff Jones, who arranged further demos and helped build a new Idle Eyes with bassist Miles Fox Hill and two prior members of Vancouver rockers Sequence: drummer Phil Robertson and guitarist Glenn R. Smith. Idle Eyes signed with WEA and entered Ocean Sound studio with producer Declan O’Doherty and former Stonebolt keyboardist John Webster.

Discography:

• Idle Eyes (1984)
• Love’s Imperfection (1986)
• Standing at the Edge (1988)

Research notes

• Roger Knox — “Best of Both Worlds,” Smart Hockey Magazine, BCHL 50th Season Edition. The strongest source for Campbell before Idle Eyes: Terrace Bay birth, Trail childhood, Don Campbell and the first guitar chords, junior-hockey career, Minnesota-Duluth scholarship, Arlington Hotel debut, regional solo dates, Australia, McConville, the Jones demo, and the eventual major-label deal. The article quotes Campbell extensively.
• Steve Newton — Tad Campbell interview, Georgia Straight, April 26, 1985. Contemporary interview that dates the Australian group to Townsville, the move to Canada to 1982, the visa collapse of the early lineup, the eight-track demo, Campbell approaching Cliff Jones in January 1984, the production deal, Payola$ support dates, the November recording start, and the pre-LP backgrounds of Robertson, Smith, Hill, and Webster. (earofnewt.com)
• RPM, May 25, 1985 — “WEA Debuts Vancouver’s Idle Eyes.” Contemporary Campbell interview confirming Daydream Island, Donna McConville, the two New Zealand musicians, immigration problems, the demo submitted to Jones, Declan O’Doherty, the album lineup, and the Vancouver recording sessions. (World Radio History)
• The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia — Idle Eyes entry. Supplies the most detailed reconstruction of the shifting Canadian lineups: Hanks in Richmond, James Chadwick, Don Biggar, Merritt, Dudley Welsh, Mike Poulter, Kevin O’Brien, Bill Miekle, the two-year club circuit, Campbell financing the final demo, the Bruce Allen audition, and the late recruitment of Hill and Smith. I treated this as a secondary source and retained details that fit the contemporaneous accounts. (canpopencyclopedia.home.blog)
• Warner Music Canada — company history. Identifies Bob Roper as the WEA Canada A&R executive responsible for an early-eighties signing run that included Idle Eyes. (warnermusic.ca)
• Release-date cross-check: RPM reviewed the Canadian WEA LP on April 27, 1985; Museum of Canadian Music dates WEA 25 17511 to 1985; MusicBrainz dates the U.S. Mirage LP to April 22, 1985. The anomalous 1984 date belongs to a U.S. “Tokyo Rose” promotional 12-inch. (World Radio History)