The Northern Pikes were formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in January 1984. Over the next two years the band recorded and released the independent EPs The Northern Pikes (1984) and Scene In North America (1985) with producer and pal Mitch Barnett. Both were recorded and mixed at Studio West located near Pike Lake, SK.
With the help of friend and local booking agent Robert Hodgins, the band cut its teeth on the prairie bar circuit. The combination of exciting live performances, well-received indie albums and the continuous stream of demos finally caught the ear of Doug Chappell, President of Virgin Records Canada, and with the help of managers Fraser Hill and Ed Smeall, The Pikes signed to the label on December 18, 1986.
In January of 1987 the band began sessions at Metal Works Studio in Toronto with producers Rick Hutt and Fraser Hill, and finished mixing at McClear Place Studios for what would become its first Virgin release, entitled Big Blue Sky.
The album hit the streets in June of ‘87 and featured the hit singles “Teenland”, “Things I Do For Money” and “Dancing In A Danceclub”, introducing the band to a wider audience and expanding the touring range to all parts of Canada and the USA. Spring of 1988 saw The Pikes at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY, and later in Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec for the recording and mixing of Secrets of the Alibi.
The sophomore album had a more “live off the floor” feel, and the heavy airplay of the singles “Wait For Me”, “Hopes Go Astray” and “Let’s Pretend” kept the band on the road virtually non-stop across the continent until the summer of ‘89.
Up to this point, the primary singers and songwriters were Jay and Merl, with the exception of some group compositions and “Hopes Go Astray” written by Bryan.
The Pikes third album Snow In June saw the blossoming of Bryan as a singer and writer, most notably for the wildly popular hit single “She Ain’t Pretty”. In addition the album featured other smash hits, “Girl With A Problem”, “Kiss Me You Fool” and “Dream Away”, and featured a star-studded cast of additional musicians – Garth Hudson, Crystal Taliefero, John Sebastian and Stan Szelest, as well as mixes by acclaimed engineers Bob Clearmountain and Hugh Padgham. Recording again in Bearsville and mixing at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, The Pikes spent almost six months working on the album, and it became their biggest selling album to date. After almost two years of touring to support Snow In June, the band began work on Neptune in July of ‘92 at A&M Studios in LA with Rob Jaczko as co-producer.