Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall. Although commonly classified as a surf rock band they rejected the label, going so far as to release a track called "We're Not a Fucking Surf Band", although they also later released a compilation box set titled Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All.
The band's origins are in Calgary, where founding members Reid Diamond and Brian Connelly were members of the punk rock band Buick McKane in the 1970s. After that band broke up, Diamond, Connelly and drummer Alex Koch moved to Toronto, where they joined with Don Pyle to form a new punk band, Crash Kills Five. That band released one EP, What Do You Do At Night?, in 1980 before breaking up in 1981, and the members briefly pursued other projects before Diamond, Connelly and Pyle reunited in 1984 as Shadowy Men. The group split up in 1995, and the three members went on to work with other bands. On February 17, 2001, bassist/vocalist Reid Diamond passed away after a battle with cancer. In 2012, the band reformed to play gigs.
== Links to Peel ==
Peel first gave airplay to Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet in the summer of 1987, when he played tracks from their Schlagers EP. In 1993, the band did a session for his show, and this provided a firm favourite of Peel. The Pixies as well as Steve Albini, both played often by Peel, were also fans of the group.
== Sessions ==
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1. Recorded: 1993-05-23. Broadcast: 26 June 1993. Repeated: 06 November 1993
*Telepathetic / They Used To Pay Him To Watch The Trains / The Jehrny / The Last Of My Hiccups / 16 Encores
== Other Shows Played ==
;1987
*12 May 1987: Egypt Texas (7" EP - Schlagers!) Jetpac WRC3-4996
*13 May 1987: Good Cop Bad Cop (7" EP - Schlagers!) Jetpac WRC3-4996
*22 May 1987 (BFBS): Egypt Texas (7" EP - Schlagers!) Jetpac WRC3-4996
*26 May 1987: Shadowy Countdown (7" EP - Schlagers!) Jetpac WRC3-4996
*26 May 1987: Harlem By The Sea (7" EP - Schlagers!) Jetpac WRC3-4996
*02 June 1987: Good Cop Bad Cop (7" EP - Schlagers!) Jetpac WRC3-4996
*13 July 1987: Theme From T.V. (7" - Wow Flutter Hiss '86) Jetpac Music
*14 July 1987: Our Weapons Are Useless (7" - Love Without Words) Jetpac Music
*21 July 1987: Shake Some Evil (7" - Wow Flutter Hiss '86) Jetpac
*24 July 1987 (BFBS): Theme From T.V. (7" - Wow Flutter Hiss '86) Jetpac Music
*29 July 1987: Zombie Compromise (single - Wow Flutter Hiss '86) Jetpac
*23 November 1987: Theme From T.V. (7" - Wow Flutter Hiss '86) Jetpac Music
*24 November 1987: Shake Some Evil (7" - Wow Flutter Hiss '86) Jetpac Music
;1988
*12 April 1988: Run Chicken Run (7" - Explosion Of Taste) Glass
*16 April 1988 (BFBS): Run Chicken Run (7" - Explosion Of Taste) Glass
*16 April 1988 (BFBS): Popcorn (Flexi Disc)
*09 May 1988: Good Cop Bad Cop (LP - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*24 October 1988: Aunt's Invasion (LP – Sounds And Shigaku Limited Present: Beautiful Happiness) Sounds And Shigaku
*04 November 1988 (BFBS): 'Aunt's Invasion (Compilation LP-Sounds And Shuigaku Limited Present: Beautiful Happiness)' (Sounds And Shigaku Limited)
*06 December 1988: Aunt's Invasion (v/a LP - Sounds And Shigaku Limited Present: Beautiful Happiness) Sounds And Shigaku Limited
;1989
*thumb|330x330px06 January 1989 (BFBS): Aunt's Invasion (v/a album - Sounds And Shigaku Limited Present: Beautiful Happiness) Sounds And Shigaku Limited
*23 May 1989: Good Cop Bad Cop (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*24 May 1989: Egypt Texas (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*29 May 1989 (BBC World Service): Egypt Texas (LP - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*01 June 1989: Egypt Texas (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass (Peel mistakenly calls it Good Cop Bad Cop)
*02 June 1989 (BFBS): 'Egypt Texas (LP-Savvy Show Stoppers)' (Glass)
*05 June 1989: Our Weapons Are Useless (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*06 June 1989 (Radio Bremen): Shadowy Countdown (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*09 June 1989 (BFBS): 'Bennett Cerf (LP-Savvy Show Stoppers)' (Glass)
*12 June 1989 (BBC World Service): Our Weapons Are Useless (LP - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*13 June 1989: Theme From T.V. (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
*23 June 1989 (BFBS): 'Our Weapons Are Useless (LP-Savvy Show Stoppers)' (Glass)
*29 June 1989: Egypt Texas (album - Savvy Show Stoppers) Glass
;1990
*16 November 1990 (BFBS): unknown (CD-Savvy Show Stoppers)' (Cargo)
*18 November 1990: 'Theme From T.V. (CD-Savvy Show Stoppers)' (Cargo)
*08 December 1990: Zombie Compromise (LP - Savvy Show Stoppers) Cargo
;1991
*05 January 1991 (BFBS): 'Run Chicken Run (CD-Savvy Show Stoppers)' (Cargo)
*21 April 1991: Baby Elephant Walk (EP - Music For Pets) Jetpack
*03 August 1991: Tired Of Waking Up Tired (shared 7" with Change Of Heart - Tired Of Waking Up Tired) Cargo
*10 August 1991: The Alouette, She Was America's First Satellite, Way Before The Americans Even (split 7" with Change Of Heart - Tired Of Waking Up Tired) Cargo CAR 702
*23 August 1991 (BFBS): Tired Of Waking Up Tired (shared 7" with Change Of Heart - Tired Of Waking Up Tired) Cargo Records CAR 702
;1992
*15 May 1992: 'Reid's Situation (CD-Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham)' (Cargo)
*16 May 1992: I Know A Guy Named Larry (album - Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham) Cargo
*22 May 1992: Exit From Vince Lombardi High School (LP - Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham) Cargo
*30 May 1992 (BFBS): Hunter S. Thompson's Younger Brother (album - Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham) Cargo
*03 July 1992: 'Misogomy & The Object (CD-Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham)' (Cargo)
*04 July 1992: Hunter S. Thompson's Younger Brother (album - Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham) Cargo
*11 July 1992: Babakganoosh (CD - Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham) Cargo Records
*19 July 1992 (BFBS): Misogomy & The Object (album - Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham) Cargo CARCD 14
*14 August 1992: Spy School Graduation Theme (7" - Dog & Squeegie) Estrus
*24 August 1992 (BFBS): Spy School Graduation Theme (7" - Dog & Squeegie) Estrus
;1993
*30 April 1993: 'Three Piece Suit (LP-Sport Fishin' The Lure Of The Bait, Luck Of The Hook)' (Cargo)
*08 May 1993 (BFBS): 'Three Piece Suit (LP-Sport Fishin' The Lure Of The Bait, Luck Of The Hook)' (Cargo)
*14 May 1993: 'Plastics For 500, Bob (CD - Sport Fishing)' (Cargo)
*22 May 1993: Spy School Graduation Theme (CD – Sport Fishin’) Cargo Record
*28 May 1993: ‘Honey You’re Wasting Ammo (CD – Sport Fishin’)’ (Cargo Records) (JP: ‘Very cross that I didn’t get to see them [Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet], but that seem to be the way things are going at the moment.’)
*25 June 1993: 'Haig Earl (CD – Sport Fishin’)’ (Cargo)
*03 July 1993 (BFBS): Honey You're Wasting Ammo (album - Sport Fishin' - The Lure Of The Bait, The Luck Of The Hook) Cargo
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Unofficial Website
*YouTube
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