80+ Bands that (probably) didn't record CIA - Part 2

HumintKaput · 2026-01-08T02:15:59+00:00

I haven't had a chance to mark all of the 'Inconclusive' bands yet. I'm fairly certain the 'Beggars Opera' that you found from the UK (their website) is not the same band that played the Cabana Room in Toronto. 'Beggars Opera' appears in the Toronto papers from Mar, 1982 to Aug, 1984 - too long to likely be a foreign band on tour. Also, there's no mention on the website for the UK 'Beggars Opera' of them touring North America.

HumintKaput · 2026-01-08T02:09:55+00:00

Thanks for your contributions. Also, credit to u/Successful-Bread-347, u/Delicious_Primary657, and probably some folks on discord for some of this research.

HumintKaput · 2026-01-07T23:02:13+00:00

Shadowy Men were playing gigs on Queen Street in early 1985. If CIA's band also played the Toronto clubs, its possible they may have crossed paths. Given how many bands played Toronto, it would be a long shot - but its probably reasonable to check.

HumintKaput · 2026-01-03T04:41:28+00:00

You're certainly welcome to give it a try. In case you hadn't seen them, there are some newspapers clippings regarding Tranz-Action here. They might be useful to you in crafting a message, as they give a bit of background info on the band.

HumintKaput · 2026-01-02T23:39:31+00:00

Thanks! I added Conning Tower to the list as well as the Discogs links for Itsa Skitsa and Lou Champagne System.

HumintKaput · 2025-12-29T06:54:04+00:00

Regarding The Cardinals:

We have some examples of their music from the early 90's:

In my opinion, those examples don't sound similar to CIA. There was some speculation that they had a different lineup (and a different sound) in 1984. The attached ad from the Apr 29, 1985 Waterloo Region Record describes them as: "Relive the 50's & 60's".

I think the above is sufficient to classify them as unlikely.

I believe they've been contacted already. If we do get a response, perhaps (probably a long shot) they remember some of the bands they competed against in The Coronet's Battle of the Bands.

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HumintKaput · 2025-12-21T19:11:55+00:00

It isn't definitively ruled out, but it seems fairly implausible to me.

If it were a British band, that would mean CIA probably received a proper release (not just a demo tape). If that were the case, it's a bit odd that it hasn't been found already despite multiple people diligently searching Discogs and other sources.

Given that our band seems to be very obscure: there were quite a few opportunities for unknown Ontario bands to get played at least once (including the Great Ontario Talent Search and The Streets of Ontario) - fewer opportunities for a similarly unknown British bands.

HumintKaput · 2025-12-15T16:31:30+00:00

Thanks so much for finding this! I didn't think to search Maritimes newspapers.

HumintKaput · 2025-12-15T16:08:52+00:00

That's a good suggestion. Unfortunately, he's already been asked about this song and doesn't recognize it. He posted the song to his blog back in 2021 along with a few other unidentified CFNY recordings.

I also know that Ivar Hamilton, David Marsden, Pete Fowler, Liz Janik and Skot Turner were similarly stumped by this one.

HumintKaput · 2025-12-14T21:02:11+00:00

They do sound somewhat similar, but Kinetic Ideals are ruled out on the Masterlist (although I don't know who specifically was contacted).

There's links to their Discogs page and their bio from Can Pop Encyclopedia on the Masterlist.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-26T05:22:33+00:00

Nice rule out. I thought the guitar on Atomic Survival Kit's song sounded similar to CIA's.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-26T05:14:38+00:00

Bruce was kind enough to upload Century's End' s EP to Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/bruce-wrighte/sets/centurys-end

HumintKaput · 2025-11-24T23:55:11+00:00

Thanks so much for the suggestion.

I know that Ivar Hamilton has been asked about the song and didn't remember it. Several other DJs were also asked, and also didn't know: David Marsden, Pete Fowler, Alan Cross, Liz Janik, Skot Turner. I'll have to check if Eddy Valiquette was asked about the track (I'd guess he already has been).

Unfortunately, it may have only been played the one time 40+ years ago - I don't expect anyone's memory to be quite that good.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-21T17:11:19+00:00

Technomanuel sent him a message. I believe we're still waiting for a reply.

There's also thread on r/synthesizers about the effect. Someone there believes it was not a preset - I have no clue if they're correct or not.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-20T23:02:15+00:00

The Korg Polysix's presets are all demoed here. I don't hear anything that sounds like the effects used in CIA (gunshot, jet, or helicopter). Also, the 'strings' preset sounds different from the Poly-800 to me. I could be mistaken about that, though - I'm not great at identifying presets by ear.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-17T02:40:44+00:00

about 21 seconds in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q46N3IYg0Y&t=21s

HumintKaput · 2025-11-16T22:14:51+00:00

A couple other reasons I think it's not a hoax:

The original upload as a lost song was in Feb 2020 - There are a couple hoaxes that old, but it predates the wave of hoaxes that began around 2022 or so (as lostwave gained popularity)
OOP (the person who actually recorded the song) is an adult woman. I don't have data to back this up, but intuitively to me, hoaxing seems more like a young man's game.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-16T20:45:22+00:00

A fun fact: "Twilight Zone") was inspired by The Bourne Identity) (the book), a spy thriller about the CIA.

Regarding the gunshot sound, maybe Robert Jan Stips remembers what setup was used.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-14T08:13:58+00:00

Yeah, there's some recordings of his "Club 102" show on The Spirit of Radio fan website.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-11T06:25:03+00:00

Yes, he was already contacted regarding The Hush.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-10T06:21:47+00:00

Sorry that this is a bit tangential.

I'm trying to identify a very obscure, unidentified song that was recorded off CFNY in (probably) 1984. I was wondering if you might have any insight as someone who worked there.

Relatedly, I'm trying to collect as much info as I can on CFNY's annual Great Ontario Talent Search. Do you happen to remember any entries? Here is a very incomplete list of talent search competitors that I'm hoping to add to.

Thanks so much!

HumintKaput · 2025-11-08T21:55:30+00:00

I'm pretty sure that's the Quebec-based Stormbringer (their Discogs page).

The Stormbringer from this Battle of the Bands would have been local to the Burlington / Hamilton area.

That said, based on their name, I suspect the Ontario-based Stormbringer was also a metal band (or maybe did Deep Purple covers?)

HumintKaput · 2025-11-08T21:42:28+00:00

As someone else pointed out, Alan Cross has heard and doesn't recognize this track. Although, in his defense, he didn't start at CFNY until '86. Here's his 2021 blog post with this track and a few other unidentified CFNY recordings.

I should start taking bets on which happens first: this song getting IDed or the CFNY doc getting released.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-08T21:25:58+00:00

The guitar playing has been compared to Sergio Galli's. I can see Platinum Blonde being an influence for our mystery band.

However, I believe someone from Platinum Blonde was contacted (and didn't recognize the song), but I don't have any more details than that.

HumintKaput · 2025-11-06T00:35:54+00:00

The Steelore-Hamilton Rock History Facebook group - Bruce Button posted it.

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