Plain Jane

By the time she’d left The Headpins in the mid 1980s, Darby Mills had already cemented herself as one of Canada’s hardest rockers and most distinctive voices.

With management handled by Mainstreet Productions, she recruited some of the west coast’s top session players and formed Plain Jane in ’87. The group was rounded out by ex Guy Jones Band members Alfie Galpin and Joe Wowk on guitars, along with drummer Darry Major and Rork Olaffson on bass.

Together they toured western Canada for about eight months while she looked for a solo deal. Geffen expressed interest and they recorded some songs at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver but were never signed.

Eventually things fell apart, and Wowk and Major rejoined Jones’ band. Galpin went on to join The Edge with Ray Roper (ex of Stonebolt) until the end of the decade. From there he spent time in Longtrain, Wild Kingdom, and then Scotty & The Slam Dogs throughout the ’90s.

Mills meanwhile recruited a new cast of musicians and dubbed them The Unsung Heroes, landed a recording deal and released her debut solo album, the critically acclaimed NEVER LOOK BACK in 1991. She then joined the reformed Headpins a few years later. In the early ’00s, Galpin was added to the Pins roster.

• With notes from Alfie Galpin, Don McLeod