Images in Vogue

The band released four EPs before their full-length debut, 1985's In the House. Their first notable chart hit was "Lust for Love", from the 1983 self-titled EP. The EP reached No. 97 on the Canadian albums chart.[2] Gordon left the band in 1984, and was replaced by Ed Shaw.[1]

Their debut album, 1985's In the House reached No. 85 on the Canadian albums chart.[3] Their song "In the House" won the 1986 CASBY Award for Single of the Year, with the band named Group of the Year.[4]

Crompton left Images in Vogue in 1986, indicating that the band's "new romantic" sound was too commercial for his tastes, and concentrated on his side project Skinny Puppy.[1] Crompton was replaced by Derrick Gyles. Nelson also left the same year, and was replaced by Tim Welch.

The band considered changing its name to The Spell while recording its 1988 album, but discovered that an Australian band was already using that name. The album ended up titled as The Spell, but the band remained Images in Vogue. That album was not commercially successful, however. By June 1988, Images in Vogue could no longer count on the support of its record label and this, combined with the band's internal conflicts, influenced Gary Smith to leave the band. Images in Vogue's final concert featuring original content was at Toronto's Opera House in November 1991, after which the band unofficially split as members pursued different ventures.

In 1994 the band released their first compilation album titled, Best of Collection, on SPG Music Ltd. The collection featured their greatest hits, extended versions and an orchestral version of "Lust for Love". The selections were culled from recordings made between March 1982–October 1984.[5][6]

Since breaking up in 1991, the band has continued to release various compilation CDs featuring remixes and live, rare, and unreleased songs; additionally, rare, commercially unreleased tracks are made available for download by the band at its website.

Images in Vogue reunited for gigs at Toronto's Opera House in 2002 and at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom in 2004, and again in Toronto in 2012 as a special guest opening act for Spoons at their 30th anniversary show for their Arias & Symphonies album.

The song "Lust for Love" was featured in a 2009 episode of the Canadian comedy-drama television series, Being Erica. The penultimate episode of the first season, entitled "Erica the Vampire Slayer", features Erica traveling back in time to 2001 to attend a vampire-themed role play party.

Their 2010 compilation album, Prototypes contains demo tracks and alternate recordings.

In 2017 the band released a 4 LP coloured vinyl box set, Incipience. The collection includes, Incipience 1: Studio Tracks 1981-1982, Incipience 2: Prerelease - Educated Man, Incipience 3: Extended Play Redux and Incipience 4: Live at LuvAFair October 6th, 1982. Limited to 200 copies this set collects some of Images in Vogue's earliest recordings, and represents the group's initial, possibly most famous line-up of Dale Martindale, Joe Vizvary, Glen Nelson, Gary Smith, Kevin Crompton, and Don Gordon.

The set includes the band's long-lost first unreleased album; unreleased demos; the band's first, now rare EPs; the self-titled Images in Vogue EP, including b-sides and rarities; and an unreleased 1982 live performance at Vancouver's famous Luv-A-Fair club. The limited box set includes limited colour vinyl LPs, download cards, and a bonus insert, all collected in a unique box designed by the band.[7] The vinyl versions are available for individual sale while the 4th vinyl, Incipience 4: Live at LuvAFair October 6th, 1982, was also released individually on CD with bonus tracks.[8] All of the tracks on the box set are available for individual download online.

The first vinyl, Incipience 1: Studio Tracks 1981-1982, features the group's earliest demos, as well as the long-lost, unreleased first album. These tracks represent the first-ever studio recordings by Kevin Crompton, as well as of vocalist Dale Martindale and were recorded in 1981 and 1982 in Vancouver, Canada’s Bullfrog, Water Street, and Mushroom Studios.[9]

The second vinyl, Incipience 2: Prerelease - Educated Man, collects Pre-Release, originally released with 500 copies on June 1982 and Educated Man, originally released with 1,000 copies in October 1982. These were the first vinyl releases by the group, as well as the first appearances on vinyl from Dale Martindale (vocals), Joe Vizvary (synths), Kevin Crompton and Don Gordon.[10]

The third vinyl, Incipience 3: Extended Play Redux features the band's first major label release from October 1983. The self-titled record features the top 30 single "Lust for Love", and this re-release also includes remixes and b-sides from the "Lust for Love" and "Just Like You" 7” singles. The recordings were produced by Joe Vizvary and Lindsay Kidd, with assistance by Dave Ogilvie in Vancouver’s Mushroom and Little Mountain Studios. The tracks have been remastered and the sleeve includes enhanced artwork.[11]

The fourth vinyl, Incipience 4: Live at LuvAFair October 6th, 1982, features a 35 year-old live performance at the Vancouver club, Luv-A-Fair. Recorded live on October 6th, 1982 the vinyl includes an unreleased recording of Images in Vogue’s 12th live performance. The concert was the premiere performance of the band’s hit, "Lust for Love", as well as the live debut of then-new member Glen Nelson. Live personnel include Joe Vizvary, Gary Blair Smith, Dale Martindale, Don Gordon, and Kevin Crompton. The tracks were mastered for vinyl and the CD version includes 6 bonus live tracks.[8]

Since 2018, Images in Vogue has returned to performing occasionally at various events around Ontario.

The band is scheduled to perform at the "Back to the 80's" charity concert on 22 September 2019 in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The show will take place at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts and will also feature performances from two other Canadian 80s bands, Spoons and the Box.[12]

• In the House (1985)
• The Spell (1988)

• Incipience 4: Live at LuvAFair October 6, 1982 (2017)

• Best of Collection (1994)
• Collection Version 2.0 : Chronology (2004)
• Collection Version 3.0 : Evolution (2006)
• Prototypes (2010)
• Incipience 1: Studio Tracks 1981-1982 (2017)
• Incipience 2: Prerelease - Educated Man (2017)
• Incipience 3: Extended Play Redux (2017)

• Incipience (2017)

• Pre-Release (1982)
• Educated Man (1982)
• Images in Vogue (1983)
• Rituals (1984)

• "Lust for Love" (1983)
• "Just Like You" (1984)
• "Rescue Me" (1984)
• "Call It Love" (1985)
• "Save It" (1985)
• "In the House" (1985/1986)
• "So Careful" (1988)
• "Strangers" (1988)
• "Look Me In the Eye" (2004)