The Northern Pikes

The Northern Pikes are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1984. The original members were Bryan Potvin, Jay Semko, Merl Bryck and Glen Hollingshead. Hollingshead left the band in 1985, and was replaced by Don Schmid in 1986. The band was active until 1993 and subsequently reunited in 1999.

History

The Northern Pikes released two independent EP before being signed to Virgin Records in 1986, "The Northern Pikes" (1984) and "Scene in North America" (1985). Their first album for the label, Big Blue Sky, included the Semko-penned "Teenland", the band's first significant hit. The follow-up album Secrets of the Alibi contained two more minor Canadian hits, "Wait for Me" and "Let's Pretend" (both by Semko), as well as the slightly bigger hit "Hope Go Astray", written by Potvin.

Their 1990 album, Snow in June became their biggest seller in Canada and the US. That album's lead single, "She Ain't Pretty", was the band's biggest hit, and was written by Potvin. An innovative music video for that song received heavy play on MuchMusic and was nominated for a Juno Award. Overall, the band has been nominated for 5 Juno Awards, but have yet to record a win.

In 1992, the band released Neptune. The album's biggest hit, "Believe", was again written by Potvin. After touring to support the album, they announced their retirement as a group in July 1993.

In 1999, Virgin Records asked the band...
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