Singer Mike Reno tells where the pants are now
By Peter Lindblad
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| Loverboy's Get Lucky - 1981 |
In the morning, when Mike Reno wakes and goes to get
dressed, he sometimes takes a moment to brief moment to acknowledge an old
friend, namely the red leather pants he used to wear in Loverboy.
“They’re in my closet right now,” laughs Reno. “I say ‘hi’
to them every once in a while. When I’m packing my stretch denim jeans, I say ‘hi’
to my red leather pants. You know, those red leather pants used to leave a red mark
down my leg and on my ass. Every time I took them off, I had to scrub my ass
with soap for about 20 minutes to get the red leather off my butt. I got ‘em,
though. I got ‘em. They’re sitting right on the hanger. I look at ‘em every
once in a while. They probably fit one of my younger kids. They don’t fit me,
that’s for sure. I can fit one leg and then I give up.”
It’s been more than 30 years since Loverboy’s cheeky Get Lucky album cover – the iconic one
showing someone’s backside clad in red leather pants and the crossed fingers
indicating that a promise made was about to be broken in some mischievous manner
– stuck its gluteus maximus in the faces of record buyers looking for a little
fun and some high-energy, New Wave-tinged rock and roll. Now pushing 60 years
old, Reno admits he can no longer fit into the red leather pants he and the
rest of Loverboy made famous. On occasion, however, they do get some use.
“Well, my son Alex used to come with us a little bit [on the
road], when he was 20,” explains Reno. “He’d come on the summer tours and help
out with the road crew. He couldn’t believe the response. He’d go, ‘These
people love you out there. They’re going crazy. They’re throwing their
underwear and bras and stuff.’ I went on his Facebook page recently, and I
noticed there’s a picture of him for Halloween. And he had a wig on and a
headband around the wig and my red leather pants from the closet. I guess he
helped himself to my red leather pants from the closet for a Halloween outfit.”
On Aug. 14, Loverboy, one of the ‘80s biggest-selling acts,
will release its new album Rock ‘N’ Roll
Revival, a mix of new songs and live versions of Loverboy classics, via
Frontiers Records. Even producer Bob Rock has come back to the fold, working
with Loverboy on “Heartbreaker” and “No Tomorrow,” two brand-spanking new
tracks from the band. And in less than a week, Reno and the boys will hit the
concert trail once again, this time as part of a massive package tour with PatBenatar, featuring Neil Giraldo, and headliners Journey.
“You know what it’s like? It’s like going to a high school
reunion,” said Reno. “We know all the guys in their bands, and they know us.
We’ve got big hits and they’ve got big hits. It’s just going to be a hit fest,
really. We’ll play like seven songs that were all in the top hit parade, then
Pat Benatar’s going to play seven or eight songs that were all on the hit parade,
and then Journey’s going to come out and play 14 or 15 songs – ‘cause they’re
the headliners – and they’re all going to be from the hit parade. You know,
it’s going to be like a family reunion. It’s going to be a total riot to go to
that concert. It’s going to be nothing but hits.”
As for those red leather pants, they’re probably not going
with Reno this time around. So, what’s the story behind those pants anyway?
Reno relates how that particular article of clothing becoming part of the band’s
look.
“One of the girls who worked in Bruce Allen’s office, her
name was Alison,” said Reno. “Her husband owns Metal Leather, which is a
leather shop that made leather pants and jackets and stuff like that. It was a
leather shop just down the street from Bruce Allen’s office. And Alison said, ‘I
know you guys are just getting started. You can go down there and pick out
anything you want, and you can put it on … and we’ll give it to you for half
price and save you some money.’ Bruce went, ‘Oh, thanks Alison.’ So Bruce said,
‘Hey guys, get down there, pick out some stuff so you don’t look sh*tty so we
can start shooting videos and stuff.’ We went down there, and I tried on a
million pairs. I took a black pair and a red pair, and the red pair just fit
really great. And I started wearing them around and people kind of started
saying, ‘Look at the red leather pants.’”
Having sparked a reaction, Reno continued wearing them, and
eventually, they became Loverboy’s calling card.
“So when they started shooting videos, I wore the red
leather pants and then one thing led to another … and I always had a headband
on when we played concerts because I was sweating so much that my hair would
just get like I was in the shower,” said Reno. “So I put on a headband and it
would suck up some of the moisture so my hair wouldn’t look so sh*tty. So, I
wore the headband and the red leather pants, and it just somehow turned into …
to tell you the truth, Paul wore the red leather pants probably more than I
did. Somehow they equated it with me, probably because of the video – one of
the first videos to come out, I wore them that day. Paul (Dean) wore the black
ones. But if you really look at all the videos, Paul’s wearing red leather
pants more than I am. Somehow they equated it with me, and I just went along
with it. Why bother rocking the boat and make a big deal out of it.”
Sans red leather pants, Reno and his Loverboy band mates
Dean, Matt Frenette, Doug Johnson and Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve, who replaced the
late Scott Smith, will be making the tour rounds this year. Below are the tour
dates with Journey and Pat Benatar:
Loverboy supporting Journey and Pat Benatar featuring Neil Giraldo:
JULY
21 San Bernardino, CA San Manuel Amphitheater
22 Stateline, CA Harvey's Outdoor Arena
24 Paso Robles, CA Paso Robles Fair
26 Cheyenne, WY Frontier Days
28 Seattle WA The Gorge
29 Spokane, WA Northern Quest Casino
AUGUST
1 Great Falls, MT Montana State Fair
3 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
4 Boise, ID Idaho Center
6 Sturgis, SD Buffalo Chip Campground8 Indianapolis, IN Indiana State Fair
10 Wantagh, NY Nikon Theater At Jones Beach
14 Watertown, NY Watertown Fairgrounds
15 Canandaigua, NY Constellations Brands PAC
17 Louisville, KY Kentucky State Fair
18 Des Moines, IA Iowa State Fair
22 Albuquerque, NM Sandia Outdoor Theater
24 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
25 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
27 Pelham, AL Oak Mountain Amphitheater
28 Lafayette, LA Cajun Dome
31 Kansas City, KS LiveStrong Sporting Park
SEPTEMBER
1 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair
15 Mt. Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino
19 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center
21 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
22 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
25 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum
26 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
28 Bangor, ME Waterfront Park
29 Providence, RI Dunkin Donuts Center
OCTOBER
2 Norfolk, VA Constant Convocation Center
3 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
5 Mobile, AL Bayfest
6 Atlanta, GA Aaron's Amphitheater At Lakewood
9 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
10 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
12 Tampa, FL 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheater
13 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
30 New York, NY Barclays Bank Arena
NOVEMBER
2 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
3 Manchester, NH Verizon Center
5 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
7 Columbus, OH Schottenstein/Nationwide
8 Evansville, IN Ford Center
10 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
11 Fort Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial
13 Moline, IL iWireless Center
14 Sioux City, IA Tyson Center
16 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
17 Green Bay, WI Resch Center
19 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
24 Grand Praire, AB Crystal Center
27 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
28 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
30 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
DECEMBER
1 Kelowna, BC Prospera Place
3 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
4 Victoria, BC Save-On Food Centre
7 Las Vegas, NV Planet Hollywood
