Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet took shape in Toronto in 1984 as a largely instrumental trio whose core lineup featured Brian Connelly on guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals, Reid Diamond on bass and lead vocals, and Don Pyle on drums and backing vocals. Recognition for the group rests chiefly on the theme they supplied for the television comedy series The Kids in the Hall. Their sound fused the punk attack associated with the Dead Kennedys and the surf style of the Ventures into a singular approach that yielded a succession of EPs and singles throughout the mid- and late 1980s, among them "Love Without Words," "Wow Flutter Hiss '86," "Schlagers!," "Live Record with Extra Bread and Cheese," "Explosion of Taste," and "Reid Does Neil."

When the comedy troupe, already friends with the musicians, received its own program in 1989, the Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet track "Having an Average Weekend" became its theme. The band’s first full-length album, Savvy Show Stoppers, appeared the following year as a collection drawn from earlier singles. Two further releases arrived in quick succession: Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham in 1991 and Sport Fishin’ in 1993, the latter recorded by Steve Albini. The trio also accompanied B-52s frontman Fred Schneider on several cuts for his solo album Just Fred. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet disbanded in 1995. Diamond and Pyle subsequently formed Phono-Comb, while Connelly worked with Neko Case’s Boyfriends and Atomic 7. Reid Diamond died of cancer in early 2001. In 2016 Yep Roc Records issued expanded, remastered editions of the group’s three albums.