Mark Holmes emigrated from
Mansfield, England to Canada in 1977. He attended commercial art college, apprenticed in
hairdressing and played in bands on the side. They played songs by such artists as
Marc Bolan,
Gary Glitter, and
The Police. Galli (b. 1959/1960) was enrolled in the
architecture program at the
University of Toronto when he answered Holmes' ad. The band recorded a seven track
demo tape on a
four-track recorder and sent it to British music producer
David Tickle who liked their sound and flew to Toronto to work with them. The band signed to
Epic Records Canada and Tickle produced their
self-titled EP, which was released in 1983.
Standing in the Dark sold over 200,000 copies in Canada, which was
certified double platinum at the time. The band's videos for the singles "Standing in the Dark" and "Doesn't Really Matter" were directed by
Rob Quartly and were both nominated for video of the year at the 1984
Juno Awards. The Canadian music cable network
MuchMusic (later known as Much) also launched in 1984, further exposing their music to a wider audience. While the band's lyrics were not particularly romantic ("Not In Love", for example, was quite the opposite), the band's look in combination with their music's catchy pop hooks attracted a fanbase that consisted heavily of teenage girls. The band toured across Canada on
Bryan Adams' 1983 tour and on
Billy Idol's
Rebel Yell tour in 1984. Produced by British producer
Eddy Offord, the album was a departure from their first two releases and added elements of funk. Holmes said that the sound was greatly influenced by the
Ohio Players. Singles from the album included "Situation Critical", "Crying Over You", "Somebody Somewhere", and "Hungry Eyes". "Crying Over You" marked the band's first #1 single and went
gold. The video for "Crying Over You" won a
Gemini Award for best music video and
Alien Shores sold over 500,000 copies. Steffler left the band in 1987 was replaced by drummer Alexander "Sascha" Tukatsch, who provided percussion for Platinum Blonde's 1988 album,
Contact.
Contact was a continuation of Platinum Blonde's evolving sound, which further incorporated elements of funk. The album also includes a remake of the
Ohio Players hit single "
Fire". While
Contact was positively received by critics, and the title track was a modest hit in Canada, the album sold 150,000 and did not become the breakthrough into the US market that the band had hoped for. The band parted ways in 1989 and the following year
Yeah Yeah Yeah was released under the band name The Blondes. MacLean, who also released a solo album that same year, told the
Calgary Herald that he was "not proud of"
Yeah Yeah Yeah and that it was produced out of "contractual obligation". Having worked as a hairdresser prior to joining Platinum Blonde, MacLean returned to the profession from time to time to supplement his income. The band was not finding any labels to take them on, so Holmes began to organize once-monthly club events, called "Orange Alert" (based on the alert that sounded whenever penal colonists of the 1960s, British TV series,
The Prisoner managed to make an escape.) On November 21, 2008, MacLean held a CD release party at the Mod Club for his third solo album
Completely. MacLean and Holmes also played some Platinum Blonde songs for the attendees. MacLean had been suggesting to Holmes for some time that the band get back together, but he died of a heart attack within hours of his performance at the Mod Club. Holmes' said during his acceptance speech: "We decided, because of Kenny, that we would get back together. It was great to play together the other night. We wish Kenny was there." ==Musical and visual style==