Baby Oil
On November 2, 1998, Toronto musician Stephen "Baby Oil" Hall died at the age of 42. Within a week of his death, ex-bandmates reunited to mourn and to tell old war stories. They soon realized that some of the best (and worst) of times were shared with Stephen.
Some kind of tribute was needed...
The Toyz
Stephen's first band was The Toyz. As punk fans, Stephen and his friend Barrie Farrell decided that if you were going to spit on and abuse your friends you might as well form a punk band. By the late summer of '77, the Crash and Burn club has been shut down and the small but vocal scene moved to Club David's on Phipps St. At this gay/disco/punk club, Baby Oil (Stephen's new stage name) would shower the pogo dancers near the stage with cat food, link sausage (which he pulled from his fly) and pork and beans. The performance at the Shock Theatre was the culmination of the Toyz and 1977. After Steve rolled in broken glass, the band capped their show by fire extinguishing the audience. A few weeks later, Stephen went missing near York University where he was trying to book a gig. After a night of drugs and alcohol, the police found him naked in a puddle and he was committed to Whitby Psychiatric Hospital. That was the end of the Toyz.
The Existers
In the summer of 1978, Barrie's new band 'The Existers' had just lost their bass player (deported). Baby Oil had learned to play guitar in the asylum and after one jam it was obvious that the Oiler was a natural on the bass. The Existers took off a wild pace with a 30 night stint at the Turning Point. After starting to turn green from cheesy draft beer, the band was ready to tour. Over the next 8 months, the Existers played over 100 gigs with such bands as Johnny Thunders, The Troggs, and Teenage Head. Baby Oil had incredible stage presense. Even during sound checks, it was not unusual for the cooks and wait staff to be standing in front of the stage waiting for Steve to cause a train wreck.
Working straight jobs all day and playing late eachnight of course led to the usual substance abuse, with Stephen leading the way. Just as the band was releasing it's first record (Telex Love/Spadina), Stephen succumbed to the downward spiral of amphetamines and quit the band. He sold his bass for drugs. After being up for four or five days, he hit on artery instead of a vein and ended up losing half a finger. Soon after, he went back home to Australia with the intention of joining the army. This plan did not work out and after a few months, Stephen came home to Canada to marry his longtime companion, Terry Adams. Bipolar depression and the inevitable substance abuse would continue to haunt him.
Australia
In February of '82, Barrie and Steve decided to form a power trio. With drummer George Burns Harrison, the group 'Australia' was founded. This band was an obvious progression from the Toyz and the Existers. Loud, mean and polished; the band had a good local following. The punks thought they were metal, and the metalheads thought they were punky. The band didn't worry about it. When Cabanna Lounge owner Jimmy sent out the word that Australia fans had set his best bar sales night in Spadina Hotel history, other clubs started to book the group. Most clubs loved the band, except for the wimpy Cameron House where management declined further bookings due to the band's refusal to "TURN IT DOWN!". During their almost three years together (with band photographer Terry, and personal hair stylist Debbie), Australia played many venues: Larry's Hidewaway, Scuffer's Tavern, The Iguana Lounge and an insane gig at the Harbour Castle Hilton. Late in '84, Steve and George decided to change direction, and formed an outrageous Ramones cover band called Spike.
Spike
After the messy split with Australia, Steve, George and former roadie, Ron, wanted a quick start and founded a Ramones cover band - Spike. That took all of two weeks to throw together (with a lot of hair dye, makeup and leather) and they went on to become regulars at Toronto's 'Frankenstein's' and London's 'Call The Office'. T.O. noteriety turned to Northern Ontario 'infamy' when Spike was booked to play the small town of Espanola. The gig would have been great if they had played Garth Brooks, but the locals weren't ready for these scary Toronto boys. After one night, they were 'escorted' to the city limits.
Photography by Terry Adams