Their 1983 single "Don't Walk Past" became one of their best known, helped by its cinematic, "Blade Runner"-inspired music video where Humphrey donned a few crisp suits while improvising dance moves. The band caught the last gasps of the punk rock explosion on their 1979 EP "Test Patterns for Living" before easing into the synth-pop scene with "Radio Silence" in 1980 and "Up to You" in 1982, which include the popular song "Chinese Graffiti."
"He appeared to be more slick, more professional, more in command of the situation."Īfter a brief stint at York University, Humphrey dropped out of the theatre program and agreed to invest more seriously in Blue Peter's future. "He could do things that other frontmen couldn't do," said McOuat. At the time, Humphrey was a ponytailed flutist with glimmers of some big potential. Some of these characteristics weren't so obvious when Humphrey joined Blue Peter in high school, on the insistence of McOuat. "Of course, he had a certain look that was a bit Bryan Ferry and moves that were a bit David Bowie." "He had been influenced by Frank Sinatra's presence as much as he had by Elvis Presley's," said McOuat, who had known Humphrey since elementary school. Their music video for "Don't Walk Past" helped usher in the glory days of MuchMusic while Humphrey's stage persona was punctuated by improvisational storytelling and dance moves - years before Gord Downie would adopt similar characteristics as the frontman of the Tragically Hip.īassist Geoff McOuat, who played in Blue Peter from the late 1970s until 1981, said Humphrey took inspiration from an array of sources, whether they be classic film noir or the icons of popular music. Singer-songwriter Paul Humphrey, whose Hollywood good looks and theatrical stage presence commanded attention as the frontman of 1980s new wave band Blue Peter, has died at 61.īandmates of the Toronto performer said Humphrey died on Sunday after a long battle with multiple system atrophy, a rare degenerative disorder.Īlthough Blue Peter was not a household name, the band was deeply influential to a generation of Canadian listeners who were attuned to the new wave scene that reverberated through the post-punk era.
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