Helix is a Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band. They formed in 1974, and are best known for their 1984 single "Rock You".
The history of the band has been marked by many lineup changes, with Brian Vollmer being the sole constant member and only remaining member of the original lineup. The original lineup was formed by drummer Bruce Arnold, and consisted of lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, keyboardist Don Simmons, and bassist Keith "Bert" Zurbrigg. However, their most well known lineup, and the one that recorded "Rock You", was the 1980s version of the band: Vollmer on vocals, accompanied by guitarists Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman, bassist Daryl Gray, and drummer Greg "Fritz" Hinz. Although Hackman was killed in a tour bus accident in 1992, the surviving members of the 1980s lineup reunited in 2009 for an album, and the band has continued to tour since 2011.
Helix have toured with bands such as Kiss, Aerosmith, Rush, Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Whitesnake, Night Ranger, Heart, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P., Ian Gillan, and Motörhead among others. Their most recent studio album is Scrap Metal (2026).
History
Early years: 1974–1982 Helix were formed in 1974 for a battle of the bands contest in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada by drummer Bruce Arnold and lead guitarist Ron Watson. They were originally a six-piece, consisting of Arnold, lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, keyboardist Don Simmons, and bassist Keith "Bert" Zurbrigg, who always wore his trademark tuxedo on stage.Vollmer, Brian (2004) Gimme an R!: The story of Brian Vollmer, lead vocalist of Helix Their original name was The Helix Field Band, soon shortened to simply Helix. Trembley left after a few months, making the band a five-piece. Soon after, Helix scored some crucial shows as Del Shannon's backing band on some Canadian dates. However, the original lineup dissolved by 1976, and three new members entered the fold. Replacing Simmons, Watson and Arnold were guitarists Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman, who would both remain with Helix through the 1980s, and drummer Brian Doerner, Brent's twin brother. Brian Doerner only stayed four years, but returned as a member and a guest several times before joining Saga in 2005.
With new management under Kitchener's William Seip, Helix released two independent albums on their own H&S Records, entitled Breaking Loose and White Lace & Black Leather, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. During the sessions for Breaking Loose, Helix recorded a cover of the Del Shannon hit "Thinkin' It Over", unreleased until the 1999 Helix CD B-Sides. Their second album, White Lace & Black Leather, brought more lineup changes with drummer Leo Niebudek taking over for Brian Doerner. Michael J. Fox auditioned to replace bassist Keith Zurbrigg but the job ultimately went to Mike Uzelac. With Zurbrigg gone, Brian Vollmer was now the last remaining original member.
Commercial success: 1983–1989 Changing their image from that of a standard bar band to a more image-conscious metal band, Helix finally signed to Capitol Records after being rejected by them three times. In 1983, they released No Rest for the Wicked, with Greg "Fritz" Hinz (ex-Starchild) on drums. This album featured the Canadian hit video "Heavy Metal Love," which featured their new look. Under Seip's advice, Helix dropped their T-shirts and jeans in favour of leather clothing in order to stay current. The tour for this album cycle was not without drama. Mike Uzelac, whose drug use had become problematic, left the band to be replaced by a bass player named Peter Guy from London, Ontario. Guy was unable to travel to the United States due to a previous drug conviction, and Uzelac came back to finish the tour. When Uzelac had fulfilled his commitment, Mark Rector of Kitchener was hired on bass. He was let go at the conclusion of the tour. With the addition of bassist Daryl Gray completing the band's classic 1980s lineup, they released Walkin' the Razor's Edge in 1984. It sold over 100,000 copies in Canada, and over 400,000 internationally. The album included their best known song "Rock You" and a cover of A Foot in Coldwater's "(Make Me Do) Anything You Want".
The band also released a music video for the Crazy Elephant cover "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" the same year, creating a parody of the Miss America Pageant titled the "Miss Rock Fantasy" Pageant. Two versions were created: an uncensored version featuring semi-nude and topless women, and a censored version made available for the more mainstream media markets like MTV. The ending of both versions of the video feature comedian Rip Taylor seated on a motorcycle surrounded by the band and the models all waving goodbye. It caused some controversy several years after its initial release when it was learned that among the cast of porn stars that appear topless in the uncensored version was a then-unknown 16-year-old Traci Lords as "Miss Georgia". (This version was also featured in a pornographic video titled Electric Blue 26.)
In 1985, Helix released their fifth album Long Way to Heaven, featuring the singles "Deep Cuts the Knife" and "The Kids Are All Shakin'". The album allowed the band to tour Sweden, becoming the first Canadian rock band to do an extensive Swedish tour. According to Brian Vollmer, the result was a No. 1 album in that country. However, based on the Swedish chart history, the album peaked at No. 14. The following year, their song "It's Too Late" was featured in the movie Iron Eagle and its soundtrack album (this was a completely different song than the track "It's Too Late" that appeared on their second album).
Long Way to Heaven was followed by the release of Wild in the Streets in 1987, featuring the title track and a cover of "Dream On" by Nazareth. One song from that record, "She's Too Tough" was written by Joe Elliot, lead singer for Def Leppard. Leppard also recorded their own version of "She's Too Tough" and released it as a B-side and on their album Retro Active. The recording of Wild in the Streets, done in England with producer Mike Stone, was plagued by extensive takes and remixes. Still, the album went gold in Canada, but only managed a disappointing No. 179 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.[ Billboard - Wild In The Streets]
Capitol released the first Helix compilation album Over 60 minutes with... at the end of 1989, which featured new and unreleased material as well as the hits. At the end of the decade, Brent Doerner quit the band, tired of the grind of touring. Helix was left as a four piece.
Lineup changes and tragedy: 1990–2003 Helix began the 1990s with Back for Another Taste, which Doerner contributed songwriting and guitar parts to. On tour, Helix brought in their first American member, Denny Balicky. As a touring member, Balicky was not featured in any of their music videos, but he did make significant appearances in the MuchMusic hourlong special Walzing With Helix, which documented Helix's European tour with Sacred Reich and Ian Gillan. Balicky later appeared in the retrospective documentary 30 Years of Helix: No Rest for the Wicked after changing his name to Denny Blake.
After this tour, Vollmer and Hackman began writing songs with the intention of Hackman's material being used for the next Helix release, and Vollmer's going towards a solo album. In the meantime, The Early Years was released by A&M Records, which compiled their first two independent albums on CD for the first time. Helix toured sporadically during this time, including a special reunion show in Kitchener featuring Keith Zurbrigg and the Doerner brothers. A 1992 Western Canadian tour was booked, with Brian Doerner filling in on drums for the unavailable Greg Hinz, and Brent Doerner filling in for Denny Balicki. It was during this tour when disaster struck.
On July 5, 1992, Paul Hackman, not wearing a seatbelt, was killed when the group's van rolled down a 40-foot embankment after a concert in Vancouver. Recovering from the shock of his death, Vollmer regrouped with Brent Doerner once again, and also recruited former Brighton Rock guitarist Greg Fraser. Vollmer took the songs he had recorded for his solo album, and released them as the next Helix record, It's a Business Doing Pleasure (released on Aquarius in 1993, their Capitol contract now finished). He included the song "That Day Is Gonna Come" as a tribute to Hackman, and the video for the song featured unique Super 8 and video footage shot by Vollmer on the road over the years. Brian Doerner played drums on the album. Greg Fraser stated that no then-members of Helix aside from Vollmer himself actually played on the album, since it was in fact a solo album, although they were all pictured and credited in the packaging. However, longtime bassist Daryl Gray did play fretless bass on "Love Is a Crazy Game" and sing background vocals on the rest of the album. Brian Vollmer would later call the album:
Brent Doerner left the band for the second time after a few shows supporting It's a Business Doing Pleasure. Helix were forced to carry on with a rapid succession of replacement guitar players: Gary Borden (ex-Ray Lyell), Mark Chichkan (ex-Mindstorm), and Rick Mead (ex-Sire), a rotating cast who played at shows when they were available. By 1996, both Greg Fraser and "Fritz" Hinz had departed as well. Brian Vollmer and Daryl Gray carried on with new drummer Glen "Archie" Gamble in 1997, who took on some of their workload such as road managing duties.
In order to keep the new Helix product in stores, five new studio tracks were recorded and released in 1998 on half-ALIVE, produced by Daryl Gray, which compiled these with live tracks from previous tours. Vollmer also released compilations of hits and rare tracks, as well as his first official solo album (When Pigs Fly, 1999) through his website. The band continued to play live through this period, recruiting new guitar players as they were available. At various times, Mike Hall and Gerry Finn, who were both in Killer Dwarfs, joined Helix on the road, as did Darren Smith, the former Harem Scarem drummer, who had switched to guitar. Periodically, the surviving members of the classic 1980s lineup would reform, as they did on the B-Sides CD to record three new songs including "Danger Zone", which were again produced by Daryl Gray. This was a song that Paul Hackman had been working on shortly before his death. At the beginning of the new decade, Helix had to endure another major lineup change. Daryl Gray left the band in 2002 due to an increasingly strained relationship with Vollmer, leaving Brian as the sole member from their 1980s heyday.
With Glen Gamble's help, Vollmer added three new members to bring some stability back to the lineup: Jeff "Stan" Fountain replacing Daryl Gray on bass, Dan Fawcett on guitar, and Shaun Sanders on guitar. All three had played together with Gamble in London's Buffalo Brothers.
30th anniversary In 2004, the 30th anniversary of Helix, the band released several titles to mark the occasion. Their first new studio album of all-original material in over a decade came out, titled Rockin' in My Outer Space. Two compilation CDs were also put together, Never Trust Anyone Over 30 in the US, and Rockin' You For 30 Years in Canada.Metal Shrine - Mail-intervju - Brian Vollmer, Helix These albums were marked by a new Helix lineup, and for the first time since 1974, a six-piece: Vollmer, Gamble, Fountain, and new members Jim Lawson (ex-Cherry Smash, guitar), and the husband and wife team of Rainer (guitar) and Cindy Wiechmann (acoustic guitar and vocals). Vollmer first encountered the Wiechmanns in Newfoundland when their band, KAOS, opened for Helix on the Long Way to Heaven tour.